12-24-12
By: Felecia
Williams
Title: What’s the big deal? Everyone else is wearing it!
Self- esteem is a process not a birthmark and just as it is built
up, it can wither away. Embracing our sisters and daughters and telling them
that things will get better is good reassurance, but we must first understand
what issues affect our teen girls and how we can help guide them in a better
direction.
Building good self-esteem is an important process that we must go through in life and maintaining it takes just as much effort. Having strong morals, believing in yourself, taking pride in your appearance and working hard towards your goals are things we work on instilling in our children. These things promote mental and physical well- being. This helps to reduce stress and depression which can cause major health issues.
Adolescent girls struggle with all kinds of issues that can cause insecurities. They are motivated or discouraged by their peers, surroundings and the media. Triggers such as abuse (verbal, mental or physical) and being in and out of foster homes and divorce, can cause a decrease in a child’s esteem. Problems in school such as low grades, the inability to concentrate, bullies, social groups and clicks can alter a teen’s direction. TV and the internet also play a major part in what teen girls consider acceptable. These things could either have a negative or positive influence in their
actions.
Many teen girls are insecure about themselves. For example a 12 year old girl who just moved to a new area and entering the 6thgrade will face many challenges. Being in a new area and trying to make friends at a new school can be a task in itself. But what if within the first week things were not turning out as great as her mom assured her? What if she was constantly being picked on and had yet to make any new friends or her grades started to drop? This may trigger changes in her actions. She may start complaining about going to school and eventually start skipping classes or maybe even school altogether. It might even cause her to act out at home or start socializing with other delinquent teens to fit in. Eventually this could lead her down a path of substance abuse among other things.
Another example starts with teen dating. At a young age girls are naive to the things that boys and even men will provoke them to doing, i.e. premarital sex. Often times you will hear of boys telling young girls that no one will ever want them or that they are not pretty enough, and you are lucky that at least I want you. Mental abuse is a major problem destroying a teen’s self-esteem. In many cases they don’t come directly and tell anyone. There are teens that need someone to step in, help, reassure and comfort. Each one of us needs to act as mentors, role models or maybe even just a reminder that young girls can continue on the right track. Our community needs to educate, relate to, and elevate our teens. They are the next mothers and fathers so let’s help them start off on the right track by letting them know that just because it’s on television or that everyone else is doing it or even that things are not going right does not mean they have to change. Encourage them to set standards and stick by them, to be their own person and instead of following the crowd, set a good example for others to follow their
lead.
By: Felecia
Williams
Title: What’s the big deal? Everyone else is wearing it!
Self- esteem is a process not a birthmark and just as it is built
up, it can wither away. Embracing our sisters and daughters and telling them
that things will get better is good reassurance, but we must first understand
what issues affect our teen girls and how we can help guide them in a better
direction.
Building good self-esteem is an important process that we must go through in life and maintaining it takes just as much effort. Having strong morals, believing in yourself, taking pride in your appearance and working hard towards your goals are things we work on instilling in our children. These things promote mental and physical well- being. This helps to reduce stress and depression which can cause major health issues.
Adolescent girls struggle with all kinds of issues that can cause insecurities. They are motivated or discouraged by their peers, surroundings and the media. Triggers such as abuse (verbal, mental or physical) and being in and out of foster homes and divorce, can cause a decrease in a child’s esteem. Problems in school such as low grades, the inability to concentrate, bullies, social groups and clicks can alter a teen’s direction. TV and the internet also play a major part in what teen girls consider acceptable. These things could either have a negative or positive influence in their
actions.
Many teen girls are insecure about themselves. For example a 12 year old girl who just moved to a new area and entering the 6thgrade will face many challenges. Being in a new area and trying to make friends at a new school can be a task in itself. But what if within the first week things were not turning out as great as her mom assured her? What if she was constantly being picked on and had yet to make any new friends or her grades started to drop? This may trigger changes in her actions. She may start complaining about going to school and eventually start skipping classes or maybe even school altogether. It might even cause her to act out at home or start socializing with other delinquent teens to fit in. Eventually this could lead her down a path of substance abuse among other things.
Another example starts with teen dating. At a young age girls are naive to the things that boys and even men will provoke them to doing, i.e. premarital sex. Often times you will hear of boys telling young girls that no one will ever want them or that they are not pretty enough, and you are lucky that at least I want you. Mental abuse is a major problem destroying a teen’s self-esteem. In many cases they don’t come directly and tell anyone. There are teens that need someone to step in, help, reassure and comfort. Each one of us needs to act as mentors, role models or maybe even just a reminder that young girls can continue on the right track. Our community needs to educate, relate to, and elevate our teens. They are the next mothers and fathers so let’s help them start off on the right track by letting them know that just because it’s on television or that everyone else is doing it or even that things are not going right does not mean they have to change. Encourage them to set standards and stick by them, to be their own person and instead of following the crowd, set a good example for others to follow their
lead.
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