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On the subject of Pro-Anorexic Web Sites
Pro-Anorexic web sites put our young people
at risk for serious health disorders. "Just as they would
protect their children from pornography and violence on the
Internet, parents MUST protect vulnerable children from wrong
and unsafe information about eating disorders and ideal weight.
The best protection is in showing and doing, in modeling healthy
attitudes and practicing healthy lifestyle behaviors," says
Ms. Natenshon.
Children seek answers to pressing personal questions
about body image concerns, weight management and healthy eating.
"Children and teens that visit and chat on Pro-Ana sites seek
education, respect and understanding," she says. "Many who
are influenced by these sites are young children in search
of insight and support who have simply found themselves in
the wrong place at the wrong time. They need a safe place
to find the acceptance and sympathetic connection with others
that they hunger for." A wholesome alternative to the dangerous
pro-anorexic web sites, www.empoweredkidZ.com invites kids
to confront themselves, their issues, concerns, and changing
pre-adolescent bodies through its many articles, quizzes and
activities.
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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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