Posted on 03/04/2005 6:52:18 AM PST by grellis
Let me preface by saying that this thread is aimed at discussing kids who are dealing with socially driven syndromes or disorders. In a thread in the very near future, we will discuss family members with special physical needs: Down's syndrome, autism, Alzheimer's, et al.
There is a lot of ground to cover on this subject and it is difficult to know where to begin. All of us have heard, I am sure, that Americans (particularly children) are more obese today than we have been in the past. Are our children becoming food addicts or couch addicts? How do we stop this problem before it starts? What help is available to parents who have an obese child? Are we dong the best that we can, as parents, to set a good example: Do we exercise on a regular basis or come up with excuses not to do so? Are we eating healthy most of the time? Then there is the opposite end of the spectrum: anorexia and bulimia. Are we as conscious as we can possibly be of our childrens' self images? How do we encourage our children, especially our young girls, to embrace their frames rather than strive to look like one of the Olsen skeletons? Am I wrong in thinking that steroid use in adolescent boys is, in a way, related to anorexia in girls?
How many parents are aware of cutting? I'll be honest--I do not know that much about it, just that it is on the rise. Cutting entails the intentional, physical harm of one's self, ie slicing open the skin with a razor blade. What drives a child to do this?
Addiction to drugs and alcohol might best be left to a thread on its own. What say all of you?
Don't do it unless she has large lobes. I had my ears pierced at 13 and then double pierced at 25. My earlobes are attached at my jaw and wearing large heavy earrings resulted in me having torn earlobes. It looks as if someone tore my earlobes with a knife.
I was at work on day and had an earring fall in the sink in the bathroom, leaving a tear in my earlobe.
Let her decide when she is older.
Same here!!! We managed to get around it, when we really wanted to. Since my parents couldn't watch all six of us at the same time, we got creative about hiding food in our napkins, in our milk glasses, or throwing it out of the dining room for the dogs. That last one was tricky. If you missed the entryway, there would be a big splat of pot roast on the wall and you were done for. We never talked about our bodies or weights or self-images growing up. I don't know why, really, we just didn't. It was really tough for me. All my sisters are very pretty and I'm the original plain jane, with buck teeth to boot. Plus I wore leg braces until I started fourth grade--by that time I was convinced I was the ugliest duckling of all. That self-image stayed with me all through high school. Now, I don't even think about how I look. I keep myself well groomed, that's about it. One weird thing about starting back at work is that I am wearing makeup again--just a little bit, but it makes my face feel really strange, like I'm wearing a mask.
I don't have any daughters, and in a way, I'm grateful. Not because of their sex. I just had a wretchedly lonely childhood. In trying to keep any daughters of mine from experiencing the same, I would be bound to screw them up in some other way!
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