Body image is something that in this day and time is on every young girls mind. From the time you are a young child you are subjected to things that I believe subconsciously scream at you to be skinny. For example, one of the first toys you probably received when you were 3 or so was probably BARBIE. Hello unrealistic body image!

Now, I am not saying not to let your daughters play with Barbies or pretend makeup sets. I am just saying that maybe you should give your child some encouragement and tell them that they are pretty the way they are. That no one is perfect. Some parents don’t do this, and that is where I think there is a problem.

My parent’s next door neighbors have a little girl named Amanda. She is about 10 years old, and she honestly probably weighs more than I do, which for a girl of her age might not be healthy. I think it is all genetic for the most part, and that she just has big bones so to speak.

My mom & I have taken turns babysitting her over the last couple years in the summer. I honestly believe that her parents think it is her fault she is like this, or that she eats too much. I know that when I would be at her house watching her, they would hardly leave her anything to eat. They maybe would leave her a small bag of popcorn or an egg for the whole day. They even told my mom & I not to feed her! It wasn’t like we were going to hold dinner or eat in front of her!

I don’t think it is right to have a kid on a diet, unless they are morbidly overweight and only then if it is doctor recommended, and I am positive that is not the case with her. It really makes me sad to think that they are trying to starve her because they think she is that overweight! I think this could turn into a serious problem for her when she hits her teenage years.

When you get older you have all these fashion magazines & what not that show you SKINNY models. The same goes for most of the younger girls & even older woman on TV. shows. Even more so, these girls that you see have little or no flaws. They have perfect hair, skin, and teeth and the like.

As a young teenage girl you most likely don’t realize that these pics are doctored within inches of their lives or that these girls probably starve themselves and/or have had multiple procedures to look this way. I think parents should be open with their young teenage girls and tell them these things as early as possible.

As a young child, I was skinny. It wasn’t that I chose to be that way, because genetics pretty much determined that for me. I couldn’t gain weight for ANYTHING. I was one of these people who did want to gain weight, because I was always told I was a twig and this and that. I know you generally think that people get picked on for being overweight, and I believe that they probably get picked on more, but it honestly goes both ways. I can’t tell you how many times I was told that I needed to be “fattened up”.

I had other issues besides being skinny as a young girl could get. I had icky looking teeth (overbite, discolored and what not). I actually wore braces for years, but was an idiot as a teenager and quit wearing my retainer too soon. That wasn’t smart because now they are back the way they were. They aren’t that bad but in a society where people think you should be straight /white and such, I can’t help but to be self-conscious of them. Most people don’t even notice them unless I mention them!

I also have naturally curly hair from the devil. I mean it literally has a mind of its own! It is as big as can be for the most part. Of course now I keep it straightened out, but back then it was just a big blah mess. I always envied the girls with stick straight hair and were able to wear their hair in all the popular ways.

My mom was a hairstylist but she never tried to make my hair straight, or if she did she would do it with a blow dryer and hairbrush and it would just get bigger. In later years of high school we did find the world of a flat iron, and highlights. I never looked back. I feel if my hair is curly I look like a troll!

I had small boobs that were barely an A cup. I couldn’t ever fill out a bra, let alone a tank top or anything like that. Of course, that was always a big thing at school. I was called KFC (Karen Flat Chested..I used to go by my actual first name when I was younger).

I never really had a problem with my skin, thankfully! I never had a lot of acne, and never cared much for makeup. I am, however obsessed with having a healthy glow or at least being tan. I can’t stand to look washed out and pasty white. I think that also stems from the way that most of the people that you see in magazines and such are. I have to defend this by saying, when you have some color you look healthier. Then again if a girl is pasty white that should be her choice and no one should care!

Right now as it stands I am NOT happy with my looks on a whole level. I can deal with my hair, that doesn’t bother me anymore. I finally grew some boobs and got to a B cup. What bothers me is I finally gained weight, and I gained it all right in my stomach. I went from weighing 105 on a “fat day” to being about 130. Nothing fits me anymore, and all I have is stomach flopped over any pair of jeans/capris that I own because of everything being hip hugging and such. It is so annoying. I am currently awaiting the fall and winter with baited breath so I can wear sweats all the time!

Shirts now days seem to be made in the skinny style as well, so it is hard to even find a shirt that is long enough, that isn’t too tight! I practically live in stretchy stuff! I can’t even stand to see myself in something that doesn’t cover up the top of my stomach (which isn’t much) I can’t even figure out what size I really am anymore!

The worst thing is I know that I just need to tone up my stomach. People still like to talk though. I can’t tell you how hard it has been to find clothes to wear to the family gatherings we have had in the past year or so. I finally find something nice and then I still get the snide little “Putting on a little weight are we? “ type comments.

These were the same people who used to tell me to put on a little weight! Seriously make up your minds! Sometimes it isn’t what they say it is how they say it ! I do have a few people who tell me I look healthier now, which I fully believe.

I have seen life as a skinny twig, and now a girl who isn’t fat, but just needs to shape up. I just wish that others could see this. I believe that girls need to be able to find comfort that no matter what they look like they are beautiful, and one day I hope to again be happy with my body as a whole again!