It Begins So Young

We tend to think of very young children as safe from peer group pressure and the worries of the world at large but it turns out we're wrong. Here are just a couple of examples to show what I mean.

First, one that's been bothering me for a few months. We went around to visit Miss Now Three and a Half on her birthday and she was pulling out and displaying the goodies she had received. Out came the books, the toys and some clothes - and then her mother said, 'What about your new shoes?' A little reluctantly she took a pair of blue climbing shoes out of the box - this family is into indoor climbing and Miss Three and a Half, who is totally fearless, has been climbing under supervision since she was first able to work out how to use hand and footholds. When I admired her shoes she hung her head a little and said, 'But they're boys' shoes.' Apparently blue is for boys even at three and this from a child who lives in shorts and t-shirts and whose parents try to avoid gender specific items as far as possible. We had a bit of a discussion about how shoes can be any colour and besides there was a bit of pink around the eyelets and the moment passed but it made me realise how cultural ideas seep through even to the youngest children from their peers, adults from outside the family and books or magazines to mention only a few sources and these pressures and beliefs will only grow even more once social media gets involved.

The second one came up when I was watching a documentary which cited a recent study showing that girls as young as eight or nine are putting themselves on weight loss diets due to perceptions they are overweight whether or not they are. The study suggested that the pervasive coverage of weight and weight loss diets along with the doctored photos of women in women's magazines to make them appear unnaturally skinny create a false body image where young girls of healthy body weight perceive themselves as overweight. These magazines don't even have to be purchased and come into the home to affect perceptions. Because they are prominently displayed at supermarket checkouts their influence is ubiquitous and they are seen every time someone - young or old - queues to pay for their shopping. Young girls aren't the only ones falling into this trap, either. Apparently there is an increasing number of young boys deciding they need to diet. I'm not suggesting that childhood obesity doesn't exist or need to be addressed but these children don't have the health issues they think they have. They are being manipulated by what they see around them.

I find this disturbing. How about you?