Restoring my soul.

….Would smell as sweet?  Or would it? 

Obsession with beauty, body image, losing weight, being “perfect”, is eating up our young people today.  Our most vulnerable, innocent children are falling prey to an industry of ‘perfection seekers’.  Really what hope do our five year olds have when they listen to and watch their mothers stand on scales every morning and bemoan that french fry they had yesterday or complain about ‘having’ to go to the gym as a chore.

There are small children as well as adolescents suffering from eating disorders such as Anorexia and Bulimia because they cannot see themselves as beautiful.

This phenomena is affecting not only our girls but our boys as well. A small percentage of Anorexia sufferers are boys, this number is growing every week.  Teachers on the front lines are powerless to do anything unless a parent or guardian signs off on the assistance.

If there is a young person in your life that you suspect may be suffering in silence, please open a line of communication with them, whether it is your child or a friends child or even a friend of one of your own children.  Help them feel safe to tell you what is going on in their lives.

Research eating disorders, find your local health care professional and get some advice.  I urge you as an adult if you, yourself suffer from such an issue to seek help now.  

Let’s not keep perpetuating this myth that outer beauty is the be all and, end all of life. Please help stop advertisers from using children in their ads as sex objects.  Stop them asking adolescents to look like they are 12 years old, by slimming down to skeletons and shaving all signs of pubic hair.  Stop them placing women into sexualised images to sell innocuous products such as hammers and nails.

I don’t know about you but I do not want my children growing up in a world where the only thing of value about them is what they look like.