Living in YOUR Body

Body issues: Everyone has them. I don't think I've met a single person who simply loved the body in which they were born. Men... Women...everyone has an issue with SOME PART of their body. At least most grown-ups do. Young children seem to be different...for the most part. They have no problem running around, being naked and loving all their parts. So when do the body issues start? ---AND---more importantly ---WHY---? In today's society we are now seeing more children under the age of twelve developing eating disorders. Anorexia nervosa and compulsive eating are the most common among such young children, but there are cases of bulimia being reported. It is estimated that 40% of nine year olds have already dieted and we are beginning to see four and five year olds expressing the need to diet. Are young children being robbed of their childhoods? Why is it that so many young children are becoming obsessed with dieting and their weight? More reason to LOVE THE BODY you are in. Children are at a risk for developing an eating disorder if the parents themselves are too preoccupied with appearance and weight. If the parents are constantly dieting and expressing dislike towards their own bodies, the child will receive the message that appearance is very important. Eating Disorder Awareness week is coming at the end of February. The point of today's show is to make US AWARE of how our own stresses and negative body images affect our children. If they are going to grow up to love and accept their bodies, they must be raised to love and accept themselves. Today Ryan Sallans returns as a guest on the show to discuss how to have a positive attitude about our bodies, and how we can save our children from self-esteem issues.