The World Of Teenage Girls: How to listen, understand, and help.

The young women of our generation grow up in a world that is fraught with danger not only of physical violence, abuse, rape, eating disorders, suicide, depression and more but also with the dangers of taking on the images portrayed to them by the media, transforming themselves into a picture perfect doll, and losing themselves in the process. Because of the challenges that face young girls it’s important that we recognize the conflicts that they are dealing with and support them to the very best of our abilities through an openness and an understanding that allows them to express their individuality and navigate the murky waters of being a young teenager.

The first thing that’s important to remember with young teenage girls is that they are being presented with an enormous amount of influence from every direction possible during every minute of every day. From when they wake up in the morning to how they dress, how they do their hair or makeup, where they go to school, who their friends are, what they’re taught, and activities they participate in, what they do after school, the music they listen to, the books they read, the websites they visit and so on. All of these different outlets form the sources through which many influences and opinions are delivered and not all of them are necessarily in the best interest of your teenage girl.

We all know the media to be a dangerous tool for the persuasion of young minds to do, buy, behave and otherwise engage in certain ways but its particularly effective with young girls that are susceptible to the influence of others who can promise them results they’ve been conditioned to find appealing. It’s no wonder that young women are the highest consumers of beauty products and fitness materials. Children as young as twelve and thirteen are concerning themselves with dieting, weight loss, and even plastic surgery and all the while degrading their body image and self confidence as they grow older. This rapidly translates into greater issues like eating disorders, depression, negative self talk, and many more problems that can effect the way a girl views herself and her body for the rest of her life. This also usually leads to a lot of comparison to other friends as well as with models and celebrities and the placing of unreasonable high standards on young girls to be ulra-thin and have “perfect” skin and hair.

In the midst of all the negative images young women are shown about their bodies they also receive unrealistic expectations as to how they are meant to behave and act as members of society. In a culture that prides itself on gender equality we spend more time and money than ever before trying to succeed in forcing adolescent girls to take on the roles they were presumably born to fill. Every year ridiculous amounts of money are spent on advertising and marketing all with the aim of selling more products to young women and teenagers most of which do little more than raise the already impossible standards to which they are expected to conform. Young teenagers watch and see how women behave on tv and in books and movies and believe that these are the ideals to which they must compare themselves. These women are portrayed as being rich, carefree, spontaneous, uninhibited, and naturally beautiful and thin. The messages sent to young girls are confusing and conflicting. They’re told to be beautiful but not to spend any time on it, to be smart but not enough to stand out, to be carefree but responsible, to sexy but not sexual. All of these messages make it so confusing for so many girls that they end up forgetting who they were originally in the chaos of trying to figure out who they’re supposed to be.

The most devastating effects of these messages that young girls are given can range from mild body issues and insecurities to eating disorders, depression, and even suicide. It’s a serious cause for concern and parents need to step in and do everything they can to prevent a young girl from growing up with these kinds of influences and frustrations in their life. One of the best ways to begin doing this is to reinforce young teenage girls with messages of positive, strong, healthy women. Give them role models to look up to - especially ones that go outside of their family and friends and have special meaning to them. Think of women like Amelia Earheart, Susan B. Anthony, Marie Curie, Maya Angelou, Eleanor Roosevelt, and so on. Encourage your teenage girls to study these types of people and the courses of their lives as well as any steps they took along the way to achieve success.

You can also involve your teenager in healthy activities that will foster good social relationships. Having them participate in various sports or clubs that can be a good activity and help prevent them from suffering from lowered self esteem. Being involved in organizations like the YWCA can also have a very positive impact on a young teenager. Support your young teen in ways like this and they’ll do much better in their adolescent years as well as later in life.