Younger and Younger Children Are Suffering From Eating Disorders

A disturbing research has shown that peer pressure, media intervention and negative messages from parents are contributing to children as young as five from suffering from poor self esteem. The effect of this is an increase in easting disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating.

According to the Eating Disorder Resource Centre of Ireland some seven and eight year olds have developed fully realised eating disorders. This affects both girls and boys.

With the TV and Press’s obsession with the body beautiful, whatever that is, more and more children are endeavouring to comply and this is having some adverse affects.

With the time spent watching TV, reading magazines and interacting via social media increasing more and more children are becoming paranoid on they way they look.

Parents should be very aware if children are irritable have stressful reaction to meal times and increased discussions about weight. It seems strange that this is the case when obesity rates in children are on the increase.

Unfortunately the age has seen the decline in parents sitting down to eat with their children at meal times and the plate in front of the never turned of TV or computer is increasing. On recent conversations with parents it is not uncommon for them to have to produce a different meal for each child something 20 or so years ago would have been unheard of.

What happened to the days when children were allowed to be children!

It seems the common issue is that the communication between parents and children seems to be a major issue.

Refreshingly in the US a mother recently found that the family were not communicating so she took the bold step and confiscated every piece of technology in the home for a period of six months. Initially the children found it very hard but the outcome of the exercise was the fact that the family started talking and discussing topics and actually enjoyed the whole experience.