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Child Chats on the Internet Focus on Food and Weight
Certainly the most controversial and timely
chat places for kids these days are the pro-anorexic web sites,
which speak to kids who are hungry for information, identity,
and a sense of belonging to a community of like-minded others.
Initially, there was a public outcry about the more than 400
Pro-Ana sites on the web. Yahoo and other large search engines
responded by taking these sites off the Internet. Undaunted,
the hosts of these sites have persisted and the sites continue
to prosper, in number and visitors. Pro-anorexic discussions
are alive and well, even if their viewers are not. As kids
return to school and seek popularity and acceptance amongst
their peers through appearance and weight loss, the issue
is most timely.
The dangers of such places are apparent. Eating
disorders are the most lethal of all the mental health disorders,
killing and maiming from 6 to 13 percent of their victims.
Can parents protect kids from these sites, immunize them from
having interest in going to these places in the first place?
Certainly. Eating disorders are a misuse of food to resolve
problems. Teaching kids to become healthy problem-solvers
takes away interest, purpose and cause for seeking out these
influences. Moreover, creating a healthy lifestyle and positive
self-image is the best form of home-based, parent-based, value-based
prevention.... surpassing even the best cure.
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About the Author:
Abigail H. Natenshon, MA LCSW has been a psychotherapist in
private practice specializing in the treatment of eating disordered
individuals and their families for the past 28 years. She
is co-founder and director of Eating Disorder Specialists
of Illinois; A Clinic without Walls, and the author of "When
Your Child Has an Eating Disorder: A Step-by-Step Workbook
for Parents and Other Caregivers" (Jossey Bass, San
Francisco, October, 1999). Visit her web sites at www.empoweredparents.com
/ www.empoweredkidZ.com
and www.treatingeatingdisorders.com
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