-- choose -- Buy - postcards, posters, etc References for your paper Facts Our recommended reading list Lots o' links Your forum - send us your ideas Gallery of offenders Gallery of winners Presentations How to contact us Feedback Form     Early Childhood Body Awareness Exercise Background for Presenters Why should we (teachers, parents and school counselors, etc.) be concerned how preschoolers view their bodies? We know that the seeds for body dissatisfaction, dieting, and a drive for thinness (the 3 D's) can be planted in early childhood even though eating disorders most often fully develop in the teenage years. In fact, a pregnant mother's mindset about her own body and how she cares for herself emotionally and nutritionally will very likely influence the health and emotional well being of her child in early childhood. Cultural images and stereotypes of "acceptable" bodies combined with the body image concerns modeled by parents are a powerful force in young children's lives. Research findings support this position: A 1990 study by M. Elizabeth Collins, H.S.D., M.P.H., (International journal of Eating Disorders, Vol. 10, No. 2, 199-208, 1991) examined perceptions of body shape in a survey of 118 preadolescent children. The study questioned whether desire for thinness is widespread before puberty. The children came from 7 public elementary schools in 2 Indiana school corporations, selected purposely to represent a broad range of school community settings. They were shown pictorial child and adult figures ranging from very thin to obese. They were asked questions about self, ideal self, ideal other child, and ideal adult. The conclusion was that children begin to develop gender based stereotypes of attractiveness early in life and that 42% of black and white first, second and third grade girls in the study preferred body figures different and thinner than their own perceived shapes. Based on this study, dissatisfaction with perceived body shape and expectation about thinness among females may start as early as 6 and 7 years of age. The study suggests that body dissatisfaction among children are important concerns bearing further study. Why start so early to raise a child's awareness about body image? Preschool age is precisely when children are forming opinions about themselves and when they are so influenced by the comments of parents and other significant adults. For example, consider the effects of some often heard statements to children: "Isn't she a cute baby, she has so much baby fat!" "Don't eat that, it will make you fat!" "Be a good girl/boy and eat all your food!" Adults either directly or indirectly give negative messages how children should view their bodies. All too often the messages are conflicting (eat/don't eat), or food and eating are incorrectly associated with a person's self worth (you are good if you can deny yourself, or you are good if you eat to please someone else). Copyright 1993 Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention Inc. All rights reserved

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