Experts Say Case May Help Parents Talk To Teens

Kalista

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BOSTON -- They are perhaps the most famous twins in the world. Now, half of the Olsen pair is reportedly battling an eating disorder. Mary-Kate has checked herself into a treatment facility, reportedly for anorexia treatment.

NewsCenter 5's Heather Unruh reported that the intense publicity surrounding her case may help others by opening the dialogue between parents and teens.

The Olsens have grown up before our eyes, and so has their media empire, which is expected to pull in a hefty $1.2 billion this year.

"There's enough pressure being a normal teenage girl and these girls must cope with so much," In Touch Weekly spokesman Dan Wakeford said.

About one in every 250 young girls has an eating disorder. The early signs include refusal to maintain a healthy weight, avoiding settings where food will be served, like parties, loss of menstrual periods, over-exercising and an intense fear of being fat.

"The girl that weighs herself and breaks into tears after she weighs herself would be of great concern," University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center Dr. Dianne Elfenbein said.

But experts say the publicity surrounding the Olsen case may actually do some good. It gives parents an "in" to talk to their kids about any eating issues and a reason for them not to feel so alone.

"It becomes less of a stigma. It isn't such a horrible thing you have to face by yourself," Elfenbein said.

Facing it early is key -- eating disorders that are not treated can lead to bone weakness, heart trouble and life-threatening consequences.

"The earlier you catch it, the easier it is, usually, to make some dent or some changes in it," Elfenbein said.
 
Thirteen year old girls are todays most sought-after demographic. With pictures of "beautiful people" being thrown at them through magazines, television, the internet and so on, you can't be amazed how insecure they are. Pre-teens and teens are just discovering themselves. Believe it or not, most kids want to talk to their parents, but don't because they feel like they will get punished for their actions or ever ridiculed by siblings. Whether it be about cutting, eating disorders, or the cute boy in English class, we do want to talk.. You just have to listen.
 
AzerPhyre said:
Thirteen year old girls are todays most sought-after demographic. With pictures of "beautiful people" being thrown at them through magazines, television, the internet and so on, you can't be amazed how insecure they are. Pre-teens and teens are just discovering themselves. Believe it or not, most kids want to talk to their parents, but don't because they feel like they will get punished for their actions or ever ridiculed by siblings. Whether it be about cutting, eating disorders, or the cute boy in English class, we do want to talk.. You just have to listen.

You are absolutely correct AzerPhyre, I went to parents class during my divorce progress and they teach us parents about listening to your children when they may have problems such as eating disorders, having sex, being pregnant, using drugs, smoking and so much more.....

I see more and more parents out there even in the class that I attend to, were saying " I won't allowed my child, blah blah blah " and they're not thinking of helping their children by sitting down and listen....Like I see a few that say If my child has tattoo, they will get punished by me, is that suppose to help your child to come up to you for anything? instead of jumping the gun and say I'm going to punish you?.....

That why alot of children out there are alone, they don't know who to look up to, they have friends, teachers, or something that truly understand them instead of worry about getting punished by their parents....I learn a great deal from parents class, if I haven't attend I would have lost my child or maybe my child would end up dead one day so I couldn't bear to have that happen....and I won't punish them or get angry for whatever reason it may be, I will work with my child and see if there's a better solution to help with his problem he may be having....

I personally think that some parents out there need to know the risk and they can lose their child if you push it too far by punishing them or yelling at them just cause they did something behind your back....
 
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