How to Help Your Teenage Daughter Stay Healthy and Confident

[MachineGhost]

[quote=http://eepurl.com/bIeUur]Mary Pipher's Reviving Ophelia, published twenty years ago, described teen culture in the U.S. as "girl destroying."  She documented how happy, confident pre-teen girls often became diffident, depressed, and prey to self-harm, eating disorders, low academic performance, and suicidal thoughts.  It is one of the most depressing books a parent of a girl can read. 

Yet, sadly, if anything conditions for adolescent girls have gotten worse.  For instance, a 2012 study found that the incidence of eating disorders among 15-19 year old girls had gotten worse.  Teen depression has increased five-fold since the early 20th century.  Between 1990 and 2010 depression replaced asthma as the leading cause of disability among teens.  By numerous metrics, we are seeing a public health crisis in adolescents, with adolescent girls being hit especially badly.

What can you do to protect your daughter?
[/quote]

[Libertarian666]

What you can do is take her away from the dominant insane culture.
How you do that is another matter, of course.
I recommend moving to another country that doesn't have the same culture.

[jafs]

Well, that's only feasible for a small minority of the population.

One can live in this country and question the cultural biases/pressures.  It takes being mindful and aware of them and how they affect us, and talking about it with children.

Analyzing and understanding how advertising works and why it's powerful are a big help.