Lessons for life

Primary school age children will from today receive lessons in how to spot air-brushed images in magazines and will be encouraged to think about the way the advertising industry manipulates images. Lynne Featherstone MP has put together an education pack for teachers, with am introduction from one of my psychotherapy heroines (well-known for her work on eating disorders), Susie Orbach.

This education pack is a superb idea, particularly as hopefully it will stimulate debate (among peers outside the school gate as well as in the classroom) about body issues and self-esteem.

At the same time, we must remember that the aetiology of poor self-esteem, and eating disorders or body dysmorphic disorders is extremely complex. Families must show children that love and approval isn’t simply linked to what you look like. And this means Mums not fretting about their own weight in front of the children, or studying the gossip magazines with their unhealthy obsession with celebrity weight loss or weight gain. Have debates in schools, by all means, but recognise that the seeds for poor self worth are often sown early in life.