Teens working in the fashion industry need to eat a healthy, nutritious diet. There are many rumours that suggest adolescents are put under huge amount of pressure to weigh and look a certain way. Trying to meet unrealistic measurements by eating very little and exercising excessively.

It is important for parents to monitor your son or daughters eating habits to ensure that they are consuming enough food and drinking enough fluids. It is no easy feat as some teens can be sneaky going to extremes to hide their issues.

Lets face it. You can’t be with them 24 hours a day yet instilling a positive attitude to a healthy weight and food is certainly helpful and a step in the right direction.

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The Fashion Industry

Teenage Boys are Affected Too

Promote a Healthy Attitude to Weight and Food

Signs to Look Out For

What to Do if Your Teen is Showing Signs

The Fashion Industry

The fashion world attracts young teens with their waiflike figures living in an adults world with long hours, constant rejection and criticism. Their focus will turn to their insecurities with some being asked to lose weight reaching a statistic that is most likely unachievable.

Those under the age of 18 need a parents approval and for them to be present at all modelling jobs. Therefore, you can ensure that they eat a healthy diet by bringing your own food to photoshoots and fashion shows. Relying solely on the canteen, the vendor machine or fast food chains will cause bad habits. Being a role model by regularly eating healthily yourself will have a positive impact on your teen’s wellbeing.

Also, try to protect them from the unhealthy talk of body weight in the industry. Boost their self esteem by showing them examples of models who are proud of their physiques and promote body positivity.

Teenage Boys are Affected Too

It is a common misconception that it is just girls that are affected by how the fashion industry works. However, teenage boys are just as pressured as young female models to look a certain way. Many go under the radar due to the focus on young women yet there are many male teens with body weight issues.

Make sure that you create a good relationship with your son. One that is open to discuss all topics with healthy eating, mental health and physical health being major areas to communicate about.

By having someone close to talk to will help them process their feelings and attitude to weight. Listen to their concerns and support them in choosing a healthy lifestyle and a physical activity that they will enjoy.

If you feel out of your depth or are worried about your son or daughter’s attitude to weight and their body, speak to your doctor and find out where you can get help before it escalates.

Promote a Healthy Attitude to Weight and Food

It is important that as the parents you promote a healthy attitude to weight in the home. From a young age, children can pick up low self-esteem issues from programmes they watch, video games they play, magazines they read and conversations they overhear.

As kids grow into teens they are influenced by social media and friends. Therefore, you need to be strict and provide a place of comfort that they feel relaxed in.

Cook Healthy Food

Life can get in the way sometimes and cooking from scratch can be the last thing on your list. At weekends try to plan ahead and get your teen involved. Showing them how to cook a healthy yet very tasty meal will encourage them to enjoy it rather than always wanting junk food. We hope. Reducing the amount of fast food they eat will dramatically improve your kids’ health

Also, stock the kitchen cupboards with healthy snacks to promote a nutritious diet. It’s all about balance. Eating a chocolate bar is fine but only in moderation.

Ban Phones at Meal Times

A great way of communicating with your teen is for the family to sit together and eat dinner together in a mobile phone free zone. They will resist at first yet the daily tradition will be a great way to create good relationships and healthy habits for all the family so it is worth sticking with it. As let’s face it, us adults can get lost in the world of social media sometimes too.

Encourage Group Physical Activity

At the weekends, plan a fun bike ride or walk on the beach. Not only will it encourage healthy living yet will bring the family closer together. Physical activity is a great way of bringing happiness to your teen’s life and will stop them from constantly scrolling through their phone all day.

Monitor their Influences

It can be difficult as older teens can be left to their own devices more often. Yet, when sitting in the living room together, consider the types of programmes you are watching, the comments that you make about how a celeb looks and the magazines that you buy. To a young mind these can have negative affects on how they think about others and themselves.

Signs to Look Out For

As mentioned earlier, young minds are easily influenced by magazines, social media and industry experts, which all could affect the way they feel about themselves and their weight. There are signs that as parents you could look out for if your child works in the fashion world.

• Skipping meals claiming they will eat at school or out with friends. If you suspect that they are not being truthful and not eating at meal times insist that they eat at home.
• Going to the toilet straight after meals. Realistically, they could be making themselves throw up as a result of mental health problems.
• Sudden dramatic weight loss. If you notice that they are wearing very baggy clothes to hide their weight or their clothing is falling off them, it’s time to have a chat.
• Making negative comments about their weight. It might be time to have a conversation.
• Irritable behaviour may be a sign that they are unhappy with their body image.

What to Do if Your Teen is Showing Worrying Signs

It may not be as easy as ‘getting a good meal down them’ or monitoring their daily food intake. The source of the problem could be more serious and need medical advice and help to get them back on the right track.

If you suspect an issue with their weight the first thing to do is to speak to your son and daughter. Be open minded and caring with your approach so they feel as though they can be honest with you. Shouting or getting cross will certainly not help the situation.

Many teens find it difficult to confide in their parents. Creating an open dialogue and a safe environment to express their feelings will allow for them to open up.

Try to remember how it felt to be their age where their problems feel very dramatic and deep. After the initial chat, if you feel as though their relationship with food is very worrying it may be time to make a doctors appointment to see what medical advice you can get.