The 3-Year-Old Obsessed with Her Looks

[Nizzy 1]

That last part about the teen model/soccer captain description of self loathing is a bit over done. Yesterday I watched a piece on VJ about a 27 year old woman's struggle in Afghanistan fighting politically against Warlords. This kind of article on self image makes me think what a self absorbed society we live in. These girls in this article have nothing on the women in other regions of the world. This is what Oprah is covering these days!? Maybe she is preparing for her Dr. Phil and Britney Spears special that sends the message "Britney hates her self-image & this is the reason for her actions."

I dunno. I just don't know.

I discussed the same thing with my husband the other day. I was saying how you would never find this in our country. They are more into how they don't have enough water to last them a week and how they can't go outside due to suicide bombers. Going to my country was really an eye opener for me. But sometimes I forget and get a little self absorbed.

My Dad used to say, "Eat all your dinner there are starving people in China." Well Dad there are starving people right here in the US. I wish we could all go abroad and get the eye opener though.

When my sister complains about this and that I tell her a story from my trips abroad. I wish she could go get a first hand experience.

[Aymerlu 3]

That last part about the teen model/soccer captain description of self loathing is a bit over done. Yesterday I watched a piece on VJ about a 27 year old woman's struggle in Afghanistan fighting politically against Warlords. This kind of article on self image makes me think what a self absorbed society we live in. These girls in this article have nothing on the women in other regions of the world. This is what Oprah is covering these days!? Maybe she is preparing for her Dr. Phil and Britney Spears special that sends the message "Britney hates her self-image & this is the reason for her actions."

I dunno. I just don't know.

I discussed the same thing with my husband the other day. I was saying how you would never find this in our country. They are more into how they don't have enough water to last them a week and how they can't go outside due to suicide bombers. Going to my country was really an eye opener for me. But sometimes I forget and get a little self absorbed.

My husband and I talked about this a few weeks ago because I was watching a show on anorexia. He had no clue what it was. When I explained that to him he said that there really are no eating disorders in Egypt! Society is just messing up young girls. (along with some of the parents)

[Ban Hammer 13,622]

A smile appears on Jordyn's face when she sits down with one of her favorite magazines—the Victoria's Secret catalog.

sounds like she's in a head start class to be a stripper when she grows up.

[Aymerlu 3]

A smile appears on Jordyn's face when she sits down with one of her favorite magazines—the Victoria's Secret catalog.

http://lifestyle.msn.com/familyandparentin...8&GT1=10822

What kind of mom lets her 3 year old sit down with a VS magazine?

[almaty 19]

A smile appears on Jordyn's face when she sits down with one of her favorite magazines—the Victoria's Secret catalog.

sounds like she's in a head start class to be a stripper when she grows up.

yes ..or see hooker thread

[Jamie&Dora 0]

I don't mean to try to say something novel about this thread, but WHERE ARE THE FATHERS? I am 39 and have a 5 yr old daughter (2 older sons). Some people have commented on the mother, but she has a father too. I think that good men are equally important to the self image of a child. We men can be powerful and inflict great damage. But when we use our "power" to do good, likewise we CAN do great good.

I try to make sure that my daughter feels comfortable being with me. I strive to be the safest thing in her life. I also try to help her understand when her father fails and stumbles. After all, i do want her to be attracted to and marry a good man. And this desire forces me to analyze myself very seriously as to how i effect this precious angel from Heaven.

So, don't just blame the mothers. There are crappy fathers out there too. And unfortunatly, sometimes i may be one of them.

-jamie

[panamania79 2]

There's an entire generation of American girls growing up with low self-esteem. Mothers and daughters—it's time for a wake-up call!

Children are becoming obsessed with external beauty at a much younger age, Oprah says, and "the consequences are going to be shattering."

A recent study by the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty revealed that 9 out of every 10 girls wants to change at least one aspect of their appearance, and only 2 percent of women around the world would describe themselves as beautiful.

Jordyn's looks occupy her every waking moment. She is obsessed with makeup, inconsolable when her hair is messy and glued to the mirror most of the time. She's not a grown woman…she's not a teenager—Jordyn is only 3 years old.

Margie, Jordyn's mother, says she and her daughter get into the worst fights about makeup. "She comes and tells me, 'I don't look beautiful. I want lipstick,'" Margie says. When Margie tells her toddler that she can't wear lipstick, Jordyn screams, cries and tells her mother "I hate you" and "I don't love you." Finding the perfect outfit and the right hairstyle is also a challenge. Jordyn wants to use hairspray and gets upset when she doesn't look "handsome."

A smile appears on Jordyn's face when she sits down with one of her favorite magazines—the Victoria's Secret catalog.

http://lifestyle.msn.com/familyandparentin...8&GT1=10822

I blame the mother.Pretty soon,she'll be sending the poor tot to modeling classes and those "JonBenet Ramsey" type pageants.What a shame.

[wishbone 0]

This is crazy and over acting, blame her mother.

I wonder what it would look like a beauty pageant for a 3 year olds.

[JODO 2]

huh?

[joelunchbox 0]

There's an entire generation of American girls growing up with low self-esteem. Mothers and daughters—it's time for a wake-up call!

Children are becoming obsessed with external beauty at a much younger age, Oprah says, and "the consequences are going to be shattering."

A recent study by the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty revealed that 9 out of every 10 girls wants to change at least one aspect of their appearance, and only 2 percent of women around the world would describe themselves as beautiful.

Jordyn's looks occupy her every waking moment. She is obsessed with makeup, inconsolable when her hair is messy and glued to the mirror most of the time. She's not a grown woman…she's not a teenager—Jordyn is only 3 years old.

Margie, Jordyn's mother, says she and her daughter get into the worst fights about makeup. "She comes and tells me, 'I don't look beautiful. I want lipstick,'" Margie says. When Margie tells her toddler that she can't wear lipstick, Jordyn screams, cries and tells her mother "I hate you" and "I don't love you." Finding the perfect outfit and the right hairstyle is also a challenge. Jordyn wants to use hairspray and gets upset when she doesn't look "handsome."

A smile appears on Jordyn's face when she sits down with one of her favorite magazines—the Victoria's Secret catalog.

http://lifestyle.msn.com/familyandparentin...8&GT1=10822

Wow

As if I weren't paranoid enough about being a stepfather to a seven year old girl!

I have been actually practicing different ways to encourage her when she gets here using phrases that don't use the "B" (beautiful) word!

Fathers, we have an important role to fill in our daughters' lives and we had better step up to the plate on this one.

[Nessa 23]

This new generation is so fuc*ed up. I was out riding bicycles, couldn't wait to go to the beach with my mom make sandcastles, playing with dolls, not reading catalogs with models that represent what, less than 1% of the women in the world?

[Nagishkaw 510]

huh?

JODO.....W?? WCYJBN ?????

[Alex & Rachel 78]

I don't mean to try to say something novel about this thread, but WHERE ARE THE FATHERS? I am 39 and have a 5 yr old daughter (2 older sons). Some people have commented on the mother, but she has a father too. I think that good men are equally important to the self image of a child. We men can be powerful and inflict great damage. But when we use our "power" to do good, likewise we CAN do great good.

I try to make sure that my daughter feels comfortable being with me. I strive to be the safest thing in her life. I also try to help her understand when her father fails and stumbles. After all, i do want her to be attracted to and marry a good man. And this desire forces me to analyze myself very seriously as to how i effect this precious angel from Heaven.

So, don't just blame the mothers. There are crappy fathers out there too. And unfortunatly, sometimes i may be one of them.

-jamie

You are a good man!

However, while I appreciate what you have said, the reason the mother is usually blamed is because the greatest pressure to look a certain way usually does come from the mother. I know that my father, and my friends' fathers, (well, except for one Japanese friend) are very supportive and have never criticised how we look. Doesn't prevent our mothers' words from having an effect on us.

My mother, and many of my friends' mothers are very concerned with our weight and our looks. They in turn were pressured by their grandmothers and great-grandmothers; even those who grew up during war time austerity. Okay, so we were not criticised at young an age as 3 years old, and I agree that there is something wrong there. But once you hit double figures it doesn't seem uncommon to me to have your mother urge you to diet and to look your best. That doesn't necessarily mean that the mothers are rushing their daughters into beauty pageants or cosmetic surgery - far from it!

I really don't think this is a problem unique to this generation, or to the spoiled masses. I know my mother is constantly worried about her weight because my grandmother was always criticising her. My grandmother's memories of living through WW2 include how her mother saved her clothing stamps in order that my grandmother might dress nicely. I remember there's a scene in the Little House on the Prairie series when in the midst of trying to survive through droughts and harsh winters, the main character is urged to wear her corset to bed so that she might retain a neat, small waist.

The mother isn't always to blame; true. However, even if it's just that her daughter is picking up on her subconscious behaviour, she still usually has a lot more influence over the way a girl sees herself than the father.

Anyway, it is sad that children under the age of 10 are starting to feel this way; and I agree that parents can certainly help to minimise the pressure children feel by hiding their own magazines and perhaps looking at how they present themselves in front of their children.