Children and Body Images

Our professor sent out an email about how young girls view themselves and possible ways to stop this point of view. The first part of the article discusses all the influence these girls have in their life about being thinner. It starts with the media but is mainly what is done at the child’s home. Their home life is what sets the idea of how to be healthy or the way to eat. I believe since the age of a parent is getting younger in today’s society that this is a reason for the age drop for false body images. If the parent of a three or six year old child is between 18-22 years old themselves how is the idea of body image going to be reflected? The 18-22 year olds usually all, just want to party and look good, and to look good they either strict diets or excessive workouts. The article discussed how the influence of healthiness by going to the gym also affects the child. To a child that means in order to be healthy they must go to the gym. In class we discussed how sometimes athletes in different sports develop an eating disorder of some sort because of the pressure to be a certain image. I know we discuss about women and girls but I can also see the pressure or influence at a young age for boys to have muscles and be the ‘manly’ image. I believe this article helps counter that because the second half gives advice on how to encourage a health lifestyle with out the harsh routines. At this young age parents want to have their children try different activities so by counter acting the negative they sometimes goes with a certain activity we can stop a false body image from being started at that age and to keep with it throughout your child’s, girl or boy, life.

V.G
Kin 338I. S6
Tu/Th 9:30