Issues

I’m so very thankful for the children with whom God has blessed me..

I was chatting Sunday evening with my eldest daughter, just about this and that… Facebook came up.. Oh, you don’t have it? I asked, surprised. She’s at the age of social media… No, I realized that most of my friends are ______… And it’s all body shots and diets and weight loss. I don’t really think that’s of God. I had to agree. I know we’re supposed to take care of our bodies, she continued, but we’re not supposed to change them. We’re made in God’s image. We’re supposed to be happy with how we look. Everyone is made different and you can’t try to look younger when you are older.

Well, if those weren’t words of wisdom from my almost fifteen year old gal, I don’t know what to tell you!

Did you know:

• At the age of thirteen, 53% of American girls are “unhappy with their bodies.” This grows to 78% by the time girls reach seventeen.

• 26.2% of teens report being “dissatisfied” and 50% are “self-conscious” about their bodies. By age 60, 28.7% of women feel “dissatisfied” and 32.6% feel “self-conscious” about their bodies.

• When asked “Are you happy with your body?” 43.2% of teens answered “yes,” 37.7% of women in their 60s answered “yes”.

• 40-60% of elementary school girls are concerned about their weight/becoming “too fat”.

• 46% of 9-11 year-olds are “sometimes” or “very often” on diets, and 82% of their families are ‘”sometimes” or “very often” on diets.

The above facts were found in various locations, but the last place I looked was the National Organization for Women.

Startling, or nah? I was actually startled upon reading these facts… I mean, maybe I shouldn’t have been. I don’t diet. But, I know so many people who do.

I mean, I cannot count the times my kids come home from dad’s house excited to eat, because of whatever food restriction is going on at his house for the moment. Not that I’m unhealthy, I just don’t believe in making kids diet because I cannot restrain myself and make healthy food choices. Even when I was vegetarian, my kids were omnivores – I cooked meat for them.

But, you know… What gets me the most about the facts above? The “body image issues” don’t improve as time goes by. They get worse. How sad. What does that say about us?! I mean, I feel like my daughter hit the nail on the head, we’re made in God’s image! Doesn’t that mean anything?! Isn’t the older generation supposed to teach the younger?? But, how can they if they are feeling worse about themselves? What can they really teach??

Image by KayBee05