Teenage Girls’ Self Esteem Issues And How To Help Them

by Inspiration4Living.com

The self esteem of teenage girls is an important factor in their lives. Their bodies are changing and their emotions are challenged, almost on a daily basis. Peer pressure is sometimes overwhelming, leading them into doing things that go totally against the standards they have been raised with.

Here are some insights into a teenage girl’s self esteem issues, and what you can do to help improve her self acceptance and self confidence.

Firstly, try to impress upon your teenager that none of this will matter in ten years’ time – her braces will be gone, as will her baby fat, and she’ll be at a totally different stage of her life.

A young girl’s self esteem seems to peak at around age nine, when they are confident and happy with themselves and the image they present to the world. This is partly due to the fact that they emotionally mature earlier than boys.

In later years, however, that self esteem nosedives and they worry about their hair, skin, weight and clothes, and form opinions of themselves based on someone else’s standards. Most of their concerns are about their physical appearance, by which, sadly, they feel they are constantly judged.

Are they pretty enough? Thin enough? Are they wearing the correct clothes and shoes? They even worry about which kind of school bag they should be carrying! Secondary to these concerns is their school work. Are they smart enough to get into college? Which college? Ivy League or local community college?

Add to all that insecurity the fact that their bodies are going through so many physical and emotional changes, and it isn’t surprising that teenage girls’ self esteem is often low and many of them are suffering from depression and eating disorders.

Teenage girls’ self esteem is not only affected by peer pressure, but also by the media, who have a lot to answer for when it comes to portraying women as objects of sexual desire. If a girl doesn’t feel she’s sexy enough, then the boys won’t like her. (It’s no good telling her that the boy she’s mooning over will probably be fat, bald and broke in ten years’ time – she’s in love and won’t hear anything said against him.) It’s difficult for her self esteem if she can’t have the “in” clothes with the designer labels that her friends wear – it really shouldn’t matter, but it does.

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