For the seventh year in a row in Mission Australia’s 2017 National Youth Survey, young Australians have identified body image as one of their top three personal concerns. This is an increasing trend from 20.4% in 2012, 26.5% in 2015 to 31.1% in 2017.

As the Butterfly Foundation says “Mission Australia’s annual survey provides the strongest recognition of body image needing to be a national mental health concern. There is a compelling rationale for the need to address negative body image thinking in all ages of a child’s life, particularly before negative body image thinking takes root.” Eating disorders are estimated to affect approximately 9% of the Australian population and the rate is increasing. Approximately 15% of Australian women experience an eating disorder during their lifetime and eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness. A very sobering statistic indeed. But leaving serious disorder aside, don’t we all want our little girls to grow up with an easy comfortable relationship with their bodies? And surely we want our gorgeous tweens and teens not feeling their value is inextricably connected to their weight or dress size?

Here’s something shocking that you might not know: a recent study  found 34% of 5-year-old girls  showed a moderate level of dietary restraint, while  half  showed internalisation of the thin ideal.  Yes. That’s over a third of five year old are restricting their food intake and half are conscious of weight, size and idealized thinness. Five year olds.

This is an emergency.

Both mums and dads need to learn how to know how this stuff begins, how to model healthy body image and make their little girls media literate by developing the skills and knowledge required to negotiate the world of social media and photoshopped images.

Having worked for years with young girls and women, and run research projects for the Butterfly Foundation with children from early primary to high school we are uniquely well qualified to help you find a way that works for you and your family to grow healthy, confident and media literate girls.

Sign up for one of our workshops.  Click through to find the one for your daughter’s age group.

And talk to your little girl … before the world does.

Solutions and support. Informed by science. Motivated by love.