There are multiple multibillion dollar industries sending girls the message that they need to be thin and pretty to be loved. I am bothered about how obsessed my three year has gotten with the whole princess mindset. Right now to her being a princess means you have a pretty dress, ride a pegasus and live in castle but that will likely change with time.
I'm not a big fan of the princess deal either. I guess American girls are more obsessed with them because princesses are so exotic to the US and its mentality, but that's no excuse.
I blame Disney. I don't think it has anything to do with not actually having princesses, my daughter is enthralled with them and she has no idea that social and political aspects of it. To her is mixed together with fairy god mothers and talking mice.
The problem I have with the Disney stories is I think the lead girls to unrealistic ideals and expectations.
Two things a young girl can learn from Disney.
Pretty on the outside means pretty on the inside and throwing away your life for someone you met for 5 min is a good idea.
I have been trying to focus on telling my daughter how smart and brave she is but she is so beautiful it is hard not to tell her so. I really don't know which is worse, telling my daughter she is pretty and risk her thinking that her looks affect how much I love her or not telling her and risk her believing she isn’t the most beautiful little girl in the world to me. I didn't have these issues with my boys.
What's the deal lately with having to use the word "beautiful" to express your love? (Sorry to rant at you, nothing personal, you just provided a good soapbox.
)Why say "my beautiful girl" to your daughter when you just mean "I love you"? Why say that "my wife gave birth to a beautiful baby boy" when you just mean "my wife gave birth to a boy and we love him very much"? You seem to mostly agree with me on this, but still you don't want her to think that she's not the most beautiful little girl in the world to you - isn't what you really mean that you want her to know you love her more than any other little girl in the world? With the way that word "beautiful" is being misused constantly nowadays, it's no wonder that girls care too much about their looks. Beauty is of course of some importance in romantic relationships, though it's hardly the ultimate factor and beauty is in the eye of the beholder; but it really doesn't matter in other kinds of love, family and friendship. Parents would be better off making that clear to their children than to express their affection and love by saying the child is beautiful.
Didn't I say that? I do both. I tell my daughter I love her hourly and I also make sure she knows that i love her unconditionally. Even when she misbehaves I make sure she knows that it is behavior and not her I disapprove of and that I still love her.
What do you do though when she ask if she is pretty? The only real answer I see is to try and teach her to see beauty all around her even in things that may not seem beautiful at first. She is three though so it is a process.
The real problem is the girl was drawn to pretty clothes from the beginning. She wants pretty dress and loves to stand in front of a mirror admiring her dresses. And no I didn't encourage that I wanted to make her a Tom Boy.
Sorry my daughter is beloved but she is also a very pretty girl and I confess to the sin of being proud of how pretty my daughter is. My youngest son was a very pretty child as well, now he is cougar bait.
They do need to do more to teach children proper nutrition. The American diet has gotten so bad that it is almost impossible for the majority of these girls, or the boys for that matter, to maintain a healthy weight. One of the reasons so many young girls are dieting is that their parents and schools have them on such poor diets that they are overweight and need correction in their diet. Of course that doesn't mean they need to be on a calorie restricting diet but they do need to be on healthier diets and they do need to be encouraged to be more active. The most commonly eaten vegetable for five year olds in this country is the french fry.
Yeah, definitely, bad nutrition is a big factor.
I think we are doing pretty good there. My daughter gets at least three to four servings a fruit or vegetables a day, some days a lot more. She gets sweets but they are treats and she only gets a few a week. She does get to go to MacDonald's but only about once a month.
Wow! Weight and Diet info for women in America.
- 04/09/2009 07:11:28 PM
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Scary but hardly surprising
- 04/09/2009 07:29:59 PM
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Re: Scary but hardly surprising
- 04/09/2009 07:34:46 PM
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Here is an article my friend posted on Facebook about the subject.
- 04/09/2009 08:06:19 PM
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Re: Here is an article my friend posted on Facebook about the subject.
- 04/09/2009 08:10:30 PM
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But when did "beautiful" come to mean "beloved"?
- 04/09/2009 09:37:41 PM
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No I mean beautiful
- 05/09/2009 07:00:23 AM
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Hrm
- 04/09/2009 07:43:12 PM
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I also thought the 5'7" 100 pound size 8 was wack.
- 04/09/2009 07:46:49 PM
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*shrugs* I dn't know too much about weight and such from the woman perspective.
- 04/09/2009 07:53:01 PM
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Yes.
- 04/09/2009 08:50:41 PM
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Are they British sizes?
- 04/09/2009 09:01:01 PM
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It would make more sense...
- 04/09/2009 09:17:20 PM
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Wait do British sizes start at 6?
- 06/09/2009 04:06:31 PM
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No, American.
- 04/09/2009 09:40:36 PM
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Er, that was me.
- 04/09/2009 09:41:15 PM
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Did you mean 14 British is huge?
- 04/09/2009 09:43:37 PM
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I have to doubt some of their facts.
- 04/09/2009 08:13:43 PM
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well, someone who is 5'4" and 140 lbs isn't a size 14, I don't think...
- 05/09/2009 12:26:34 AM
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100 lbs is a lot smaller than a size 8...more like a 0/2/4 *NM*
- 05/09/2009 12:59:36 AM
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I actually
- 06/09/2009 04:08:24 PM
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*NM*