Childline: Support is on hand for young people struggling with body image or eating disorders

Last year, our Childline counsellors delivered more than 4,000 counselling sessions to young people across the country who were worried about body image or eating disorders.

Most counselling sessions about these problems were given to girls, and where the child’s age was known, 61 percent were aged 12-15, 32 percent were aged 16-18.

Our counsellors hear from children who say they feel under pressure to look a certain way, lose weight or wear more revealing clothing. Other common themes include young people comparing themselves to their friends, siblings and people on social media, and feeling guilty about eating ‘bad’ foods or eating at all.

Some said they did not know how to manage weight or fitness without going to extremes, some children told us they wanted to make cosmetic and surgical changes to their body, while others said they had cancelled plans or avoided social situations due to their body image issues.

If a child in your life is struggling with their body image or an eating disorder, there are ways you can support them.

Remind them that how they look is only part of who they are and that their personality, achievements and the way they behave are what is really important.

Help them understand that the pictures they see on TV, in magazines, on social media or online are often altered and airbrushed to offer flawless or near-perfect images, so what they are seeing isn’t always real.

It’s also important to remind them that everyone is different. It isn’t helpful to compare themselves to anyone else. Instead, try noticing things they are happy and unhappy about and accept that these are the things that help make them unique.

If they don’t feel ready to speak to you about how they are feeling, any child can speak to one of our trained counsellors over the phone on 0800 1111, via email or on a one-to-one chat on the Childline website.