Well,
these chicks better stay far away from my daughter or I will have to flex my
mommy-muscles! But, this is not a perfect world and I can’t protect my daughter
from everything. What I can do, however, is empower her to be strong and
protect herself. I am going to teach her to be much more powerful than Ana or
Mia can ever be.
‘Ana’
is short for Anorexia and ‘Mia’ is Bulimia. If you were a teenage, or pre-teen
girl then you would most likely already know this vernacular. Unfortunately,
even some much younger girls are being introduced as well. With all of the
social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and others, girls are now
being exposed to ‘Group’ such as ‘Pro-Ana’ and ‘Pro-Mia’. These ‘groups’ allow
girls to communicate with others and share how many calories they eat, tricks
for controlling hunger, various ways to use diuretics and vomiting, etc. They
often talk about ‘thinspiration’ and even use pictures of overly skinny models
as their online avatar.
This
is beyond dangerous, and unfortunately it is very real. We live in a world
ruled by ‘extremes’. We go from super-sized to super-skinny. It is so sad that
the pendulum swings so strong in our culture. The youth are so impressionable
and can easily fall victim to this.
My
goal is that when Ana tries to approach my daughter, she will see my daughter
on either the soccer field or track. She will notice how fast my daughter can
run, how beautiful her muscles are, and how shiny her hair is. Ana will never
have that beauty because she doesn’t eat enough protein and healthy fats. She
will walk away and try to find someone else to seduce.
Mia
will approach my daughter next. My daughter will look at Mia’s yellow teeth and
notice how bad her breath is. My daughter takes great pride in her teeth and
will be disgusted by Mia. Bulimia rots away tooth enamel and causes horrible
breath. And, oh yeah, it can also kill you! My daughter loves her life too
much, but she is sweet so will try to get Mia to find help for herself.
That
is my ideal for my daughter and I am going to work hard to make her strong
enough to stay away from Ana and Mia. Here is what we can do as parents:
Moms:
Lead by example! If you are not at a healthy weight (and I said ‘healthy’ not
‘skinny’), then get to it! Discretely. Privately. Do not share any of your
weight struggles or diets with your daughter. Exercise and take care of
yourself. Praise your daughter constantly for all of the wonderful, magical
things she does each day. Build her self-esteem.
Dads:
Do not make comments about your daughter’s body. Ever. Do not make comments
about your wife’s body in front of your daughter. Or, in front of anybody. Do
not make comments about any woman’s body. Your daughter learns her self-worth
from you. Every woman is some-body’s daughter. Got it.
Hopefully,
by the time my daughter is older, there will be no more pro-Ana and pro-Mia
social media groups. Hopefully everyone will realize that Strong is the new
Sexy. Healthy is Hot. No more extremes, and no more dangerous behaviors. One
can hope.
Love
yourself and your children.
Sharon
XOX
XOX
This blog is for informational purposes only. It’s not
intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem, nor is it
intended to replace the advice of a physician. No action should be taken
solely on the contents of this website. Always consult your physician or
qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health. It is
advised see your physician before changing your diet, starting an exercise
program, or taking any supplements of any kind.
