There’s a reason why kids are suffering from body image related problems in greater numbers than ever before. We let them. Society has a responsibility to ensure that the same dreadful affliction that has had diabolical effects on our generation, doesn’t torment the next. We have made the mistake of valuing people for all the wrong reasons, putting too high a price on weight, shade and form and too little emphasis on character, personality and integrity. We place celebrities on pedestal so high, we barely notice that we don’t know anything about them.
Our young notice our insecurities and base a world view on them. They see the pressures their parents feel about appearance and weight and base their own self-worth on precisely these factors. Before you know it, you’ve got kids as young as five with eating disorders:
Children are suffering from eating disorders at younger and younger ages according to disturbing new research.
Media consumption, peer pressure and negative messages from parents are all contributing to the problem of poor self-image in children, which can trigger eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating. According to the Eating Disorder Resource Centre of Ireland, children as young as five are displaying signs of poor body image – and some seven and eight year olds have developed eating disorders.
Experts are stressing that such disorders are not confined to girls, with little boys also being susceptible. Psychologist and author Deirdre Ryan told TheJournal.ie that parents can unthinkingly pass on negative messages to their children: “I was speaking with a six-year-old boy who said that he wanted to lose weight – when I asked him why he said: ‘I have a wedding coming up’. That message was more than likely passed on by a parent,” she said, “Parents have to be aware of what they are saying, even in front of boys, and not engage in ‘fat talk’. Children of this age are hypersensitive.”
Parents need to be more aware of their relationship with their own bodies as well, Ryan said: “It is starting younger and younger – but it is also affecting people who are older – spreading across the life span. Now, there is an expectation that even if you’re in your 60s you should conform to a certain image. It’s very damaging.”
Our generation has already let ourselves down by buying in to the media driven lie about what a person should aspire to be like. We have been fooled into believing that life is about striving to beat aging, keeping a toned figure and withstanding lines and wrinkles. The beauty industry has made a bundle out of us, and all we are left with in return is confusion, pressure, anxiety and in many cases a battered self-image. Is this what we want for our children?
It’s great to invest in one’s health and appearance, but it is important that these things don’t take over. Our children need to see that we place more value in perfecting our character than our figure. That we consider integrity, honesty, empathy and loyalty on a higher level than six packs or breast size.
As a teacher, there is only so much I can do. As a parent, I have a big job ahead of me.
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