Blogs & Body Image: What are we teaching our kids?

[jct3636]

show them how to be good sheep

[WhatAreYouSuggesting]

My family are the reason I was obese growing up and bulimic now as a teenager. I was brought up to eat like there is no tomorrow, and then got criticised for being fat and eating too much. Then when I was 11/12 I discovered that when I leaned over the toilet after binge eating I could throw up and it was like I never ate. That's how I became bulimic. Now my family have suspicions I'm bulimic and I'm criticised about that. My weight fluctuates. I'm either too thin or too fat. I can't please them!

[Kimbro111]

How old are you now?

[misstiggykins]

Most, if not all women are concerned about their 'body image' - and perhaps very unhappy about the way they look, whether they have an eating disorder or not. Eating disorders stem from a lot more than poor body image. The more researchers and doctors focus their efforts to prevent and treat these illnesses through the focus on body image, the less success they're likely to have. Eating disorders are biologically based illnesses and have been linked socially to bullying and abuse; not vanity.

[SucculentSaskie]

I've noticed a lot of the same stuff with the other moms at my son's school. He's 8, and his classmates are already struggling in that area.

During a parent-teacher conference a couple of weeks ago, his teacher and I were discussing books he has been reading in class. One of the books that I looked at as an example talked a lot about "green light, yellow light, red light" as food guidelines. I told the teacher that I'm not okay with that, as someone who is recovering from an eating disorder

[SucculentSaskie]

...and that I'm in favour of teaching the kids *balance,* but not talking about restrictive diets or "red light" foods. The teacher got all uncomfortable and defensive and changed the subject.

My "Fat History" series of videos talks a lot about what I was taught as a kid on this subject. For anyone who checks that out, they do all come with a big trigger warning.

Awesome idea for a subject!!

[hamstergeisha76]

A year ago, when I was researching for a paper about how media affects children, I decided to watch some contemporary cartoons. In one cartoon a girl character said celery makes a great lunch! This wasn't anything like the media nutritional messages I grew up with which preached moderation and nutrition for a growing body ( not weight loss or to look "sexy" as is promoted by kid's media these days).

[YouHaveASmellyVagina]

this girl is butt ugly, therefore she has no value.

[guiseofyouth]

I will be 25 in two weeks and have had an eating disorder for ten years. I've never told my mom. Why? Because she has such skewed body image/self-esteem/eating-relat­ed issues herself I know it would not be beneficial to me. No matter how much she tells me I'm beautiful and she loves me, she also encourages me to keep trying to lose weight and that yes, I would be more attractive if I did. It makes me sad, but I know it's her issue and she believes societal bullshit. It's up to me to love myself.

[BriNCee92]

same here, mom was the bad example, stuffed diet pills down my throat...then complained about herself

[rainygirl7]

i'm going to try to make a video just know my movie maker isn't being that great but i think it has to do with things other then just movie maker. I hope I answer what you want and that i am not to late

[AninhaNinah]

wierd youtube bug. Everythin is upside down by me o.0

[luticia]

yes dude, it was the same by me 5 minutes ago!