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If you have children, daughters especially, you probably worry about their self esteem and their views on what is beautiful in a person. With media influencing our kids and setting unrealistic examples on what is beautiful, no matter how much we try to protect them from it, their self esteem can be come effected.
A recent study showed that 7 in 10 girls ages 8-17 feel that they do not measure up in some way including their looks, performance in school and relationships. Girls with low self-esteem are engaging in harmful and destructive behavior that can impact their lives forever. The study, commissioned by The Dove Self Esteem Fund was used to help Dove better understand the issues, causes and outcomes of low self esteem. The findings were issued in a report called Real Girls, Real Pressure: A National Report on the State of Self Esteem. The full report can be found HERE.
Statistics from the study are alarming. A whopping 75% of girls with low self esteem engage in negative and potentially harmful activities when feeling bad about themselves. 25% of girls with low self esteem resort to cutting or injuring themselves in some way. Another 25% practice eating disorders.
Dove has created a program- The Dove Self Esteem Fund (DSEF) to try to reach 5 million young girls worldwide to inspire and educate girls about a wider definition of beauty. The Dove brand uses real women, not professional models, in various ages, sizes and shapes to provoke discussion on what beauty really is. Dove’s mission is to make more women feel beautiful every day by widening the stereotypical views of beauty.
DSEF is a global effort. Here in the U.S. they support the Boys & Girls Club and Girls Scouts to help build confidence in girls with after school programs, self-esteem building events and educational resources. www.campaignforrealbeauty.com also has a wide selection of resources and useful tools for girls, moms and mentors. Download your free copies of True You! workbooks that contain self-esteem exercises designed for moms and daughters to do together and register to receive a Real Beauty Workshop DVD/CD free of charge. Be sure to explore the whole website. There is a wealth of valuable information and ideas for building self-esteem in young girls that you won’t want to miss!
Enter to Win! We are giving away a “Your Beautiful Pass It On” t-shirt and 2 books titled “Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters” by Courtney E. Martin and “Life Doesn’t Begin 5 Pounds From Now” by Jessica Weiner. To enter, please leave a comment with a suggestion on how to help build self-esteem in young girls. For an extra entry, blog about this giveaway then come back and leave us the link. This giveaway is open until November 26th at 11:59 pm. A winner will be selected by random number generator and notified by email (so be sure to leave a valid email address!) The winner will then have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address or an alternate will be drawn.
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This sounds perfect!
I think it’s important to stress inner beauty and that it’s who we are, not what we look like that makes us attractive. When it seems too much attention is being paid to physical beauty, I like to point out people we can admire who may not have physical perfection, but we still find attractive because they are truly good at heart.
Teach them that they are important. That they have as much right to be treated well as anyone.
Set a good example.
imcat66@yahoo.com
I think when you expect equal things from boys and girls they help self-esteem. If not, you are telling girls either that they aren’t supposed to be as good as boys at something, or that boys are allowed to get away with more.
urchiken at gmail dot com
Self esteem is so important I think more role models need to be heavier, less perfect, show some faults. I think there are some out there that are not the size 0's and show their flaws but the industry needs to do more.
Telling girls they are beautiful early on helps too. I see it in my kids they are already pretending to put on makeup… even though I never use it they have never seen me wearing it but they see it elsewhere and they are only 5&6.
Great giveaway! A way to help build self esteem in girls is for mothers to build their own self esteem. Girls usually learn from their moms!
By telling them they can do anything they want to do.
watch what you say around them as young children. They will remember the words later. If you have a “funny” nickname for them describing their weight, that will be carried on. We don’t always think our words can hurt, but they can and we need to always show children and teens the respect they deserve and be careful of what we say.
i think encouraging girls to set goals and then celebrating with them when they achieve them is a good way to start!
I tell my daughter everyday that she is gorgeous & special.
If I had the answer to that question, I’d be famous! But I can tell you what helps. We don’t have TV, or any other kind of media sources in our home, so my two daughters never see TV ads or printed ads, or hear ads on the radio. Also, they have never been to a mall or in any store besides our grocery store, so they have never seen the images that one is constantly bombarded with in those environments. They seem very confident, but then again they are only three and 8 months!
Alicia Webster
5webs@comcast.net
Well, having them see parents that are happy with their image is a big bonus. Growing up with the outside world is challenging enough but if mom is always dieting or not happy with herself- what example is that. In our house my husband as well as I do, we have taught them beauty comes within, and this world is made of of different looking people- and beautiful to one may not be beautiful to another. We have taught and are teaching them, take care of your body, exercise, eat right and take care of your inner self- because some of the most beautiful labeled people in the world are actually ugly with attitude and living. Be yourself and live right and you cannot go wrong- helping and doing, and living healthy.
Get them involved in volunteering, sports, or a hobby that they are successful at.
Help them to love who they are with out all the makeup and designer clothes.
First of all, I love Dove products! Second, I have a teenage daughter. I have made sure to talk to her a lot about body image, self esteem, etc. Being there for your children is half the battle of dealing with eating and self esteem issues with our children. Stressing that we are all different, and that is okay is so important.
Girls are so often put down by each other because they are insecure about themselves. I feel that we have lost the sisterhood that we all should share. By sitting young girls down in a small group and talking to them about the pressures put upon them by society, often the girls see each other, and themselves, in a new light. Girls need to be told how great they are, you would be amazed at how much a difference such a little thing like that can make.
THE FIRST THING YOUNG WOMEN REALLY NEED TO KNOW TO BOOST THEIR SELF ESTEEM IS THAT THEY ARE ACCEPTED JUST THE WAY THEY ARE. THEY DON’T NEED TO BE A CERTAIN WEIGHT OR DIFFERENT IN ANY WAY OTHER THAN WHO THEY ARE NOW. THEY NEED TO EMBRACE WHO THEY ARE AND BE PROUD!
Starting from small a child should hear words of encouragement and how special and unique they are.Also as a family together taking part in sports for exercise and having balanced,healthy meals together so the child grows up healthy and strong.
Elaine R
emrosser@shaw.ca
always teach that nobody is any better than anyone else we’re all equals
tell them to be themselves
Our community offers an all girl one day camp for girls in their tween years which I think is wonderful….
i think education is the key! both parents and teachers should teach young women about the dangers of the media and its false portrayal of “beautiful” women. it’s a really difficult subject matter to tackle because kids these days cave in to peer pressure but with lots of supports and positive encouragement from parents, teachers, friends, etc. it can be done.
fertawert AT yahoo DOT com
think it’s important for girls to understand that people are unique – there are many kinds of beauty!
I love this giveaway…it actually sets it apart from the rest because this is a growing problem affecting our young people..
I blogged about it!!!
http://betasigmaphisister1.blogspot.com/
amzonwmn_us@yahoo.com
I really think that we as women need to let our children know from a young age that the women in the magazines arent real and constantly praise their beauty and teach them beauty is on the inside, if they have a good home support then they will grow up knowing that life is not all in magazines. I do this with my own daughter and she is very confident and takes putdowns with a grain of salt. At 9 that makes me extremely proud!
amzonwmn_us@yahoo.com
Having them volunteer doing something meaningful. This was they can tap into their potential and feel good about helping others. I think it is also very important for young girls to have a mentor.
jamielz@verizon.net
i always comment on something they’re wearing. make it a habit of telling them their hair is cute, their outfit is cute and that they are special.
let them know that they are beautiful, inside and out. That beauty comes from within, our intelligence, caring and deeds. Feeling good about who you are and what you can and have accomplished showing her how much she has to be proud of and how much is yet to come.
Praise, praise, praise, and lots of compliments!
Pricousins at gmail dot com
Kids need to stop comparing themselves to others. They need to look inside themselves and value the good person they are or should be.
If you want the young girls in your life to have self-esteem, have self-esteem yourself! I know this first hand because I am a product of parents who DON”T have the best self-esteem and I still struggle with low self-esteem myself. I am working on it, but to produce confidence you have to portray confidence. Not to be confused with being conceited, just be confident and assertive yourself and you will not believe your influence on others!
All girls should volunteer, at least once, to learn the value of helping others and giving of themselves, which makes one feel good about oneself and puts focus on actions and attitude instead of appearance. :)
The most important aspect of builindg self-esteem in younger girls is having a strong role model as a mother. Somebody who is more concerned with personality than beauty and a mom who does not pressure her daughter to look a certain way.
Thank you for the giveaway and please enter me :)
hurdler4eva(at)gmail(dot)com
Now this prize I would give to my sister-in-law. She’s a new Mommy. Her and her husband adopted a little girl last year. I love Dove myself, but that’s OK.
i would try to teach them that they are beautiful as they are and don’t have to impress anyone but themselves. we are all unique and diverse in our own way.
texan_michael(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Keep them out of co-ed schools!
I am taking a women study class in school and I actually used the Dove site as a good example of how the media portrays women! One way to help girls with self-esteem is to surround them with family who loves them as they are. Also give them lots of opportunities to find something they can excel at.
smchester at gmail dot com
Lots of praise, right from the start and telling them you love them a few times a day.
Let them express themselves with a a variety of toys and activities. Encourage daddy to really be involved and always keep the lines of communication open. ashlyn@chuparkoff.com
Give a girl a lot of praise and love..always tell her she is special!
I’m an Elementary School Counselor so I’m a big proponent of building self-esteem in girls and I LOVE the Dove Real Beauty campaign! I build self-esteem by having small groups of girls for about 6-8 sessions. We do fun activities such as making colleges and comparing the difference between real bodies and “media” bodies. Thanks for helping promote this!
Give them lots of love and praise.
I believe we need to stop obsessing over our own bodies first. that is easier said than done but no matter what you teach your daughters they learn from watching you. I tell my daughter she is beautiful no matter what but she has to see that I really believe that size doesn’t make who you are inside.
Give lots of encouragement and guidance. They learn by example. We need to show them the way. Let me know that it is NOT ok to bully other girls. Let them know that it is NOT ok to let boys (or girls) abuse them in any way.
I know from experience that just telling your children they are beautiful and praising them builds their self esteem. My dad would always (and still does) tell me that I was beautiful and he made sure I knew he meant it. That, in itself, goes a long way.
whitneyleann07@hotmail.com
Beauty is about self-confidence and who you are–not your outward appearance. Inner beauty lasts a life time; outer beauty fades away……awhisnant@comcast.net
Be a good example to your daughter
Ditch the church teachings I grew up with that boys are more important than girls so says God. I like what President Obama said in one of his ads — he wants the same opportunities for his girls as others have for their boys! :)
Give them freedom to develop who they are as their inner selves and give them positive feedback on their inner beauty!
I think we should encourage our young women to volunteer and to find their own inner beauty through giving to others. There is nothing more beautiful than a giving spirit.
And it doesn’t hurt that it makes you feel good too!
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