Little girls on diets?

That makes me so mad that society has made kids think they are fat and need to go on diets. I have a 19 year old daughter and I used to go thru magazines with her and tell her some of the models that were too skinny. And, when watching tv, I'd point out the girls that were really pretty weren't the pencil thin ones. It is so hard to know the right things to do because of all the eating disorders. I know what we did too, was have an eating healthy week whenever she would say she wanted to go on a diet. We'd eat lots of fruit and veggies that week. I, always, tried to make it eating healthy instead of dieting or trying to lose weight.

My 13 year old daughter and 10 year old daughter started doing the same thing about a year ago. I sat them both down and set up a diet regiment to go by. I told them that it was fine to eat salad, but only for one of their meals a day. I explained (and coaxed) that they should eat whatever they want for breakfast because they will burn it off through out the day. They now get up and eat a HUGE breakfast, a salad for lunch usually, and a healthy dinner. They do not get large portions at dinner, but i am just happy they eat an entire dinner. They both take vitamins every day, and are doing much better since we set down ground rules for what they will and will not eat. I told them that NOT eating was unacceptable, and that they would be punished for pulling some crap like that in my house. That alone straightened them up really fast.

I do know what you mean. My neice is 12 and she's into trying to lose weight, she needs to but she doesn't go hog wild with it either. Her one friend though worries me. Her mother had her when she was younger if she gained 3 pounds above ideal weight she had to drink slim fast until she lost the weight. She's a year older then my neice but is atleast 1/3 of her heigth and you can count her ribs and vertebrea. It just makes me wonder. It's crazy and I agree it's stupid. I see these girls trying to attain some ideal image that is based on these stupid images they see on tv and in magazines. Most of them aren't possible for the normal person. I would suggest getting the doctor to talk to them about healthy eating habits. Perhaps if they really want to "lose weight" take them to weight watchers. That will open their eyes to the amount of food they should be eating and what types. Getting them though with someone who is a nutrionist might help.

This seems to be more oand more of a problem. My son is all grown and was never concerned about his weight or eating healthy. How about downloading some stuff from the FDA or even other healthy sites and get them involved in meal planning. You can then teach them good food, preparation and eating habits. You can show them weight charts for their height as well...this will show them that they are healty and will teach them how to stay healthy. Good bonding and talking time as well.

It's so sad that girls that little are stressing out about their bodies! I think that schools and parents really need to step up and teach about nutrition. The focus needs to shift from what you look like to how healthy you are! I would much rather head a child say that they want to eat a salad because it is good for their body than because it won't make them fat!

well its just the influence of television and media,i think the best way is to make them eat healthy food.that way they'll eat necessary things also like protein, crbohydrate etc .its beter to join a gym or aerobics class, that helps burn out extra calories and helps us in staying fit.

Sadly the number of young people with eating disorders is going up. And I hate when I hear young girls grab a bit of fat and say that they are overweight, many don't seem to understand that you need a bit of fat to protect your organs and help keep you warm. As long as young people are healthy that is all that should matter.

One of my daughters went through this stage too .. she was living with her mother and so there were endless fights over it. She came to us for a few months and my partner had a good talk to her .. the rules were that she had to have a good breakfast as that would start her off right for the day. For lunch she could take fruit and salad .. but she had to eat the evening meal that was prepared .. mostly low fat but something not .. this was to prove that not all foods were bad. My partner also bought low-fat milk for my daughter and so on. Exercise was limited to what she played at school .. and a walk every evening with my partner, and myself if I was at home and not away working. Some 5 years later my daughter is still thin .. but not skinny and if I think she is losing too much weight I will have something to say about it. My partner also takes pains to say something if we see someone really skinny .. whether in a book or in person when out. We live in different states but see my daughters regularly .. we always go out for a meal when we are visiting .. and sometimes my partner will deliberately choose something that is not entirely healthy .. just to get the point across to my daughter that she can eat a variety of foods .. and stay slim but healthy.

If I was in your situation...I will explain to my kids what dieting is about..I will let them know what kind of food I serve and tell them it's fat free because I either used fat free oil, fat free butter, etc. Be strict let them know that when it is time to eat they should eat what you eat.If they want to diet tell them fine but tell them it's the in between snacks that makes them fat..so they will eat the regular meal..Tell them okay you want to diet then lets all diet from now on I'll serve fat free dishes (even if you're not...just to get them to eat what you serve):)

This is the way things are these days because the fashion is short little shirts and skirts - that is the style. I have a 10 and a 14 year old, both daughters and while they don't say that they are fat, they do worry about it (we are pretty active...walking at night and hiking on the weekends)... i dont know what to tell you...but what i would suggest is to look on the net and get healthy recipes and show them to your daughters...also get them into some sort of self esteem class...my 14 year old daughter (grade 8) has one that meets once a week @ school that one of the teachers started...you might want to approach the school (they had it last yr too)... good luck, hope it works out for you

What you can do is have your daughter talk to a nutritionist. And you cn show her some height and weight growth charts for girls her age, Then you can tell her that all things in moderation (as far as food and drink) and that is good. Teach her what a portion size is, and teach her what foods are good for her skin, hair, nails, and growth, Explain to her that sodas and diet drinks are not a healthy choice for a growing young lady, and that her best choices for drinks is water, milk and juice, (all in moderation. Candy and sweets are not healthy, so these need to be limited. As these cause weight gain and cavities and usually have no redeeming value in and of temselves. As for wanting to eat mostly salads that is fine, But these salads need to be made healthy, plenty of leafy greens, then you can add pieces of fruit, nuts, grilled meats (like chicken or steak, or even fish) Your children need to eat, and they can eat salads that are healthy and be okay. But not eatting is not good, you can explain that when someone does not eat that this will slow down their metabolism to the point that over time they will gain weight and get fat, and have a very hard time loosing the weight. They can eat portion sizes and exercise and be healthy and the right size for life or they can get an eatting disorder and end up with many health problems. And sometimes it may help to have a doctor or nutritionist set down and talk to them about why they are wanting to loose weight. I know that there are many people who do have weight problems even children, but not eatting or even an extreme diet is not going to help most people. Most people will benifit more from the proper amount of water, exercise, and eating in moderation. Staying away from sodas and sweets will help prevent cavities and complextion problems and weight problems. Hope that helps some.

This is a very slipperly slope. I know firsthand since I've already been through it with my own daughter who is now fifteen. She had to go into therapy to deal with her food issues and negative body image. I also had to look at my own habits and my own feelings about myself to see if it was impacting her. I also got my daughter involved in hobbies that didn't warrant any vanity on her part (she works with animals and horses). There are ways to discuss these things openly without getting too emotional.

One thing I think we as mothers need to be careful about is how we talk about our own bodies. If we are constantly talking about how we want to be thinner/more shapely/younger looking then we can't expect our daughters to be happy with their own bodies. We need to accept our less than perfect bodies and show our daughters that we like ourselves, so they can learn the same skills.

This is a serious problem, and as the mom of two girls I get very angry at this. We constantly stress that yes, health is important, but it's what's on the inside that really counts. I am overweight and I have some medical issues that contribute to that, but I tell my girls that even though I am overweight I am also kind, loving, smart and interesting. That is where true beauty comes from. Have any of you watched Dr. 90210? A while back I saw this show and this doctor was giving a 16 year old a boob job. It was a birthday gift from her mom. Are you freakin' kidding me? What was that woman thinking? I mean, first of all, that girl isn't fully grown, and I think that kind of surgery is totally inappropriate. Second, what does that tell her about her true worth? That her looks are paramount? Ridiculous! I am encouraged by all the pressure that the entertainment industry is getting to get things real. Not that we need to encourage obesity, but we can encourage our kids to broaden their horizons and look beyond a person's size to determine true beauty.

I think children have such a hard time in this society because so much is expected of them and yes they are expected to be thin and it doesn't help with all the models size zero. I can understand your fear all you can do is reasure your children that they look fine the way that they are. If you are really worried it might help getting them counselling sooner rather than later.

I hate that kids are being exposed to the aspects of society that demand a perfect body. Drives me batty. My daugheter is 8 years old and is a very active and thin little girl. She recently hit a growth spirt and needed to move up a size in pants. Kids grow, it happens. But she sees it as getting "chubby" and that complaining about being fat and chubby is the "cool" thing to do. It took me a while to explain to her that going up a size means that she got taller too. Kids have to grow, they have to go up a pant size. I also told her that her doctor thinks she is a very healthy and active child which means she is not fat and if she continues to eat her food that I give her and not so much junk, and continues to play outside and be active, she will never become unhealthy. Good luck to you!! It is hard to reverse what society has put into little girl's heads about gorwing up way too fast.

Isn't it a sad world we live in when our young kids want to be all "skinny" because of models and the people we see on tv- Talk to your little girls. Show them a healthy way to eat- Eat heathly as a family. Explain to them that they aren't fat they are beautiful! I think (me included) that we need to build up our daughters self-esteem. Hopefully with a high self- esteem- they won't want to diet.

The best way would be atleast telling them about the consequences of it. Show them web pages or Surveys carried by various organisation. I think the problem with kids are they believe what they see and hear since they are no exactly exposed to the surrounding to know what is good and whats not. Hope u can get them back on track

agree your childen to lose weight, but there must be right way instead of on diet.

That is horrible! You should explain to your daughters and their friends that no one is perfect. Not even models!!! Tel them that the images that they see on TV and in magazines are airbrushed to look perfect. Tell them it is important to eat right and stay active to be healthy not SKINNY!