Why is your girl dieting?

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Yesterday we touched on the topic of our children, food and dieting. Many of you have shared with me that this is really a scary topic to brooch; many even taboo to some degree.
I truly believe God when He tells us in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” He can give us the wisdom we need to speak truth and life into our children!

Data show that about 80 percent of 10-year-olds have dieted at one point in their lives.

The question is why?  
What causes a child, when they are still a child, to be so consumed with their appearance at such a young age?
The factors could be many, but here are just a few I’ve seen:
1) As moms, we teach our kids to be concerned with their looks and their weight in particular.
I can’t tell you how many times I have said, “I need to get rid of these extra pounds” or patted my belly, drawing attention to  my own self-consciousness. Our kids need to see us being confident with the way we were created. Not that we should not care about our bodies; of course we should. And yes, we can definitely struggle with being content with our own shapes and sizes,   but our bodies should not be a point where wecriticize ourselves. As it says in Isaiah 45:9, “What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?'” 
Let’s be wise and cautious about how we speak about our own bodies. Our kids are listening…and so is our Creator!

2) Society tells them they are not enough.
As we said yesterday, our culture is obsessed with outward beauty and often rejects those who don’t measure up according to it’s standards. I don’t think as a parent we can go overboard when it comes to pouring in God’s truth about where God tells us to invest in becoming beautiful. He calls beautiful love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. Again, we can be aware of how much effort and words we use when it comes to our appearance. Go ahead; get the wrinkle creams. But let’s be cognizant of the hidden messages we might be sending. Aging is ugly. Only the skinny are beautiful. I hate my _______. Go ahead and fill in the blank. Bottom line, it all comes back to the belief that who I am is not enough.
Jesus says we are more than enough! Song of Solomon 4:7 is a great one to up right up on your mirror today: “You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.” Go ahead – put it on your child’s mirror too!

3) She wants to be accepted.
Me too! Just like that sweet girl working struggling over her hair and make-up each morning, I also want to be accepted. I am pretty sure that is why I wrote “His Revolutionary Love; Jesus’ Radical Pursuit of You”. I know, it appears I wrote it for young women, but I needed to write that book for me. I needed and need to know each and every day, Jesus accepts me and is crazy about me just. like. I. am.
Period.
Isaiah 43 reminds me: Jesus does more than accept me. He comes after me.
I’m probably the weird, insecure one here, but I need to this know every day. I am desperate to know that no matter what the number on the scale, if my hair is as big as Rosanna Rosanna Danna (anybody remember her?) or my eyeliner is crooked, Jesus is absolutely crazy about me.
Your child needs to know this too, Mom! Be the one to remind her and guess what? In the process, you’ll be filling up your own heart to! :)

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