When I saw that The Children’s Society were running a campaign encouraging people in the UK to “stand up for girls” I was very interested. You may have seen before we’re doing our best to raise a confident and happy little girl who believes that girls are just as good as boys. So this campaign is right up my street!
The Good Child Report
There’s a lot of pressure facing young girls today, more than ever before. The recent Good Child Report had some findings that will frighten any parent.
More than a quarter of a million girls aged 10-15 across the country aren’t happy with their lives. A third of 10-15 year olds aren’t happy with their looks.
Little H is almost 6 – the thought that in just 4 more years she might be unhappy with her life or herself is really quite frightening. I can remember being self-conscious around that age but not desperately unhappy, so why are girls now feeling the pressure so much more?
Social Media and Mental Health
I assume social media plays a big part in this. Some days I feel a bit rubbish about myself after seeing all these perfect photoshopped women, so can only imagine how it must make teenage girls feel.
The difference is I understand these celebrities have been photoshopped, and I’ve heard all about the tricks people use to take the perfect selfie. But young girls won’t see it like that, they’ll just see these perfect (but totally unrealistic) girls with big boobs, tiny waists and ridiculous curves.
It’s no wonder research by the Office for National Statistics suggests extended periods on social media is linked to a higher risk of mental ill-health.
Stand Up For Girls
What can we do? You can’t ban teenagers from social media completely. Though I will definitely be trying to delay it for as long as possible!
Us parents need to continue trying to raise strong girls. Girls who understand there’s more to life than how they look – that their brains are far more important. We need to encourage our girls to work hard at school, and keep praising them when they do well.
Maybe getting our girls into sports will help them to learn that their bodies have much more to offer than just looking good for boys.
The Children’s Society is calling on the Government to take action to improve children’s happiness across the nation and make sure young people can access mental health support in all schools and colleges.
I’m all for this, we need to be doing everything we can to raise happy, healthy girls. Otherwise, we’re going to have a generation of very unhappy girls with mental health problems.
To get involved in this campaign, follow The Children’s Society on Twitter.
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Oh this is so sad! As a mama to two girls this breaks my heart xx
a great campaign to make changes. I can’t imagine being a teen on all the social media that there is now and the pressure to look a certain way x
Sounds like a great campaign. I’m dreading this stage when my girls are teenagers.
Oh my goodness this makes me sad for my daughter and all the other girls out there. Social media and the internet has a lot to answer for when it comes to a lot of these problems. I hope we can raise our girls to be strong independent women that destinys child would be proud of! Great campaign x
These statistics are absolutely terrifying! It makes me so sad. Thanks for highlighting the campaign to us all. I just followed it on Twitter 🙂 #KCACOLS
Fantastic campaign. I’m doing something with the Children’s Society too and they are great at getting the government to make real changes to improve children’s lives. #kcacols
Being a mum of three girls, those statistics are shocking. Great campaign.
What a wonderful campaign! Thank you for raising awareness. I’ve got two teenage girls and a son but it is definitely the girls who are more affected by the social media than he is. I agree with everything you say about us being able to rationalise the effects of photoshopping but this is very difficult for teens – I see it with my girls for sure. Lots of communication helps and definitely limiting time spent on social media – though that is not without its problems! #MarvMondays
I do think this is a great campaign and am totally behind it as the mother of a 14 year old girl but I’d like to see the flip side of the research too – how many boys are unhappy with their life or the way they look. Certainly at this age I would imagine the figures would be very similar x x
Great idea – there needs to be more done about the mental health of kids. #kcacols
Great campaign. I have a 12yr old son and I’m trying to bring him up to respect girls, to accept girls come in many ways and all are beautiful. I also have twin girls, so will be doing that for boys and themselves.
Oh man! Makes me cherish the fact
That I am raising
Boys. But at the same point, I need to make sure my young men don’t contribute to this culture where girls need to be something other
Than just who they are….#KCACOLS
This is such a great campaign. I have no idea how I would cope being a teen in this day and age now where you are always “connected”
Thank you for linking up to #KCACOLS and I hope to see you back again on Sunday
I love this. I’m hoping to be able to raise Ben to be the kind of man that all girls dream of, one that is well mannered, loves the woman for who she is, not what she looks like and not what kind of clothes she wears. I do not want him to become the kind of tool that makes some girls feel like they’re not good enough.
The internet is such a brilliant thing, but also has many downfalls. I hope that the next generation will be raised in a world where people are less judgemental! #sharingthebloglove
Great campaign to highlight and take part in. This is an area and topic that I have become really aware of since I became a mum three years ago. The pressures the young face these days are just so different from the type of pressures that we faced growing up. Its a completely different world and one that feels a lot harder to control or manage as a parent, especially as we are so consumed with social media ourselves. Definitely something I’m going to continue to try stay close to as a topic and campaign. Great post, thanks for sharing it on #MarvMondays. Emily
Raising two girls myself I constantly think about what social media will be like by the time they are old enough to understand it and for it to be in their life. It’s definitely very different to the pressures I faced as a child. I will be doing everything I can to raise two girls that are confident and proud to be themselves. Thank you for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove
I think raising children with an awareness of the kind of ‘life filter’ that people put on social media is really important. I know my husband felt the need to come off social media as he often felt inadequate about his life (he has a great job, lovely house, and a lovely family – if I do say so myself!). For someone of his age to feel that, I can only imagine the pressure on our children. I agree completely, we should be trying to raise children who are confident in themselves and who understand the different pressures that social media can bring. Thanks for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove