building self-esteem in girls

What to Say to Enhance a Young Girl’s Self Image

1020
14 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, media messages, Parenting

Check out this brilliant article by Lisa Bloom, author of ‘Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed Down World’

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-bloom/how-to-talk-to-little-gir_b_882510.html?ref=fb&src=sp

3 Ways that Kids’ Anger Bites Back

783
14 years
by in anger, angry smile, assertiveness, Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, intentional inefficiency, kids, Parenting, passive aggression, passive aggression by children, passive aggression in families, passive aggressive, passive aggressive behavior in families

How many of you were told as a child, “Don’t be mad at your friend. She was just kidding,” or even “It’s not nice to be angry with your parents?” How many of you–gulp–have even uttered messages like these to your own children? Don’t worry; my hand is raised also. Despite the fact that I just wrote a book about helping kids accept and manage angry feelings, sometimes these knee-jerk responses just fly out of my mouth–as they do everyone else’s.

Are they the worst things to say to a child? Well, having worked for several years with abused children, I can definitively say (more…)

Rosalind Wiseman, The WWE & the NEA

276
14 years
by in building self-esteem in girls, bullying, media messages, Parenting

I just love a good debate…especially when I get to listen in on a conversation that is so well-stated by Rosalind Wiseman.  Check out her most recent article, The Smackdown on Common Sense: How the Anti-Bullying Movement is Hurting Itself, a rebuttal of sorts and follow up to her article about the dubious partnership between the NEA, the Creative Coalition, and the WWE.

5 Practical Strategies for Encouraging Your Daughter to Enjoy Being a Kid–and Not Rush Growing Up

920
14 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, media messages, Parenting

Love this site.  Adore this article.  Great, practical strategies for parents grappling with the question of “what is age-appropriate for my daughter?”

http://www.daughters.com/article/?id=344&page=1

I especially love the idea of letting our daughters know that it’s okay to enjoy getting to be young–that growing up quickly doesn’t (more…)

The Healthy Media for Youth Act

1005
14 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, media messages, online, Parenting

According to Change.org:

  • More than half of girls (55 percent) admit they diet to lose weight
  • 42 percent of girls know someone their age who forced themselves to throw up after eating
  • 37 percent know someone who has been diagnosed with an eating disorder
  • 31 percent admit to starving themselves or refusing to eat as a strategy to lose weight.

According to the Girls Inc, even young girls, 3rd through 5th grade, worry about their appearance (54 percent), and specifically their weight (37 percent).

The American Psychological Association’s Report on the Sexualization of Girls (2007) found that three of the most common (more…)

Seeing Isn’t Believing: Helping Young Girls De-Bunk Media Myths

942
14 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, bullying, media messages, Parenting

http://youtu.be/iYhCn0jf46U

Check out this great video for sharing with daughters and talking about beauty pressures.  As adults, we know that seeing isn’t necessarily believing, but it’s amazing (read: sad) how much kids buy in to what they see in the media.

 

 

The Breathtaking Cruelty of Formspring: What Every Parent Should Know

864
14 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, bullying, cyberbullying, internet, kids, Parenting

Read below for bestselling author Rachel Simmons’ (Odd Girl Out, Odd Girl Speaks Out, The Curse of the Good Girl) perspective and very helpful suggestions for talking to young girls about the “breathtakingly cruel” website Formspring:

 

http://www.rachelsimmons.com/2010/03/what-every-parent-should-know-about-formspring-the-new-cyberscourge-for-teens/

Formspring: Enabling the Cruelest Form of Bullying with the Greatest of Ease.

483
14 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, bullying, internet, kids, media messages, online, Parenting

Having just read the post below, I am still speechless…which is fine because this Mama said it all so well:

http://www.rachelsimmons.com/2011/06/guest-blog-a-mothers-battle-to-get-her-daughter-off-formspring/

I adore her apt description: Formspring is the present-day version of the bathroom stall on steroids, enabling the cruelest form of bullying with the greatest of ease.

Are you aware of the website Formspring?  As the mother of 8 and 5-year old girls, I was not…yet…but am so glad to know about it early so that I can do a little early intervention and hopefully prevention.

You know, it’s crazy–I feel like me, and so many other parents and professionals out there, are putting their hearts and souls into helping girls cope with bullying–then a site like this comes along and makes money hand over first with no purpose or objective other than to wreck young girls.   Where is the conscience?

 

 

 

Beauty Pressure: Innoculating our Kids

214
14 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, bullying, kids, media messages, Parenting

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei6JvK0W60I&w=425&h=349]

The article I posted below reminded me of this film clip from the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. I suggest this clip to parents and professionals in my Friendship & Other Weapons curriculum, as a way of teaching young girls about the impact of media messages–sort of an innoculation measure, with the idea that when girls are aware of the media’s intentions, they are better able to resist its negative influences.

I would love to hear your reactions to the video and feedback on how you talk with your kids about media messages and beauty pressure.

Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies

451
14 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, bullying, media messages, Parenting

I love this post about Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies, by Andrea Owen.  “I know I can’t shelter my daughter from seeing and sometimes believing that she needs to be prettier, thinner, firmer, sexier, smoother, younger-looking, etc. But, I can sure as hell tell her from my own mouth that her body is the most perfect thing created, just as it is. That it was meant for kicking ass…”

 

http://thefeministbreeder.com/guest-post-teaching-our-daughters-to-love-their-bodies/

 

This is a key lesson in the Friendship & Other Weapons curriculum as well; part of fortifying girls against the pressures of bullying has to do with teaching them to be proud of who they are and the bodies they live in, rather than becoming overwhelmed and swept away by media messages to the contrary.

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