children grow up too fast!

I am worried about the effect that magazines and the internet have on my daughter. She is 10 and is obssessed with reading gossip mags. She loves victoria beckham and everytime she is in the magazines she rips out the article and saves it. She has got lots of articles on diets which she saves, but as of yet I have not found her trying to carry out any of these. I am looking out for the warning signs of eating disorders, drug addiction etc. but I am worried that she may be able to hide it from me, afterall she is 10, not stupid!

Has anybody else experienced this? Should I be worried? Do you think that the media has a negative effect on children and is encouraging them to grow up too quickly? i know i do!

Any replies would be very much appriciated.
Thanks

Worried Parent

hi emma, i think its always sensible to keep a close eye without making it known too much to her that your worried. its pointless saying dont worry, because we're mums! we are designed to worry! i've got a 2 year old and a 3 year old boy so i'll probably have a different set of worries to come. i would say few months down the line she'll probably develop new interests. if it were me i'd like to think i would not say too much on it, maybe show a casual interest on what shes interested in and it might lead onto a good conversation where you can discuss issues and get a good insight on her take on it all. i used to work in day nurserys and there were 4 year old little girls refusing pudding and custard in fear they would get fat! also, yes, i do think media and toy designers ( i.e. Bratz dolls) have a lot to answer for. Even though i do think its a shocking lack of intelligence on their part i would like to think its not enough to sway children with loving caring and informed parents off the rails.
hope this becomes less of a worry, good luck, becky x 😘

10 years old is the time where kids wanna be "adults", "freedom" and "take control"...

If you put it across to her as..."I think you should stop surfing these sites...or ...reduce your frequency..." it may backfire, she may starts to hide things from you... 😛

If you put it across to her that it worries you and explain why it does...at the same time tell her that you trust her...you believe that she is a smart girl who is old enough to think what is right for herself...

in this way, you show that you give her the "authority" to rule her life....at the same time you are telling her that whatever she does with her life, she must always consider your feelings, 'cos you love her very much and won't want anything to happen to her... 😘

If you don't feel like telling her anything, consider tracking back all the sites that she visited through the browser history...who knows...it may not turn out to be as bad as you have imagined...

'cos mothers often tend to be too protective over their children....its mother nature... 😀