Girl Scouts Gather at Children’s to Learn About Body Image

from School Health Reporter, Spring 2003

Television, magazines and the movies often portray the “perfect” body in an unnatural and sometimes unhealthy manner.  Many young children feel pressure from these images to have the “perfect” body.  In an effort to counter this pressure and teach young girls about healthy body images and positive attitudes regarding exercise, nutrition and self-esteem, The Children’s Hospital organized the first ever Body Image Badge Day on Saturday, Feb. 22 in the TCH Conference Center.

A desire to reach out to the community, especially kids, sparked the idea of organizing an event for Girl Scouts, and the Body Image Badge Day became an ideal way to reach these young girls. More than 100 Junior Girl Scouts from the Denver area spent the morning learning about positive body images on their way to earning a Body Image Badge.  According to Jennifer Hagman, MD, medical director of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and also a Girl Scout troop leader, there are hopes of expanding this program to include more girls.

“We are hoping to enlarge the program to include older Girl Scouts in the future and there are plans to hold a second badge day in the spring from the amount of interest already expressed,” Dr. Hagman said.

Interactive activities were set up for the girls with a variety of exciting and informative stations. The girls were encouraged to meet other Girl Scouts while rotating through a body tracing station to encourage positive self-esteem, a physical activity and nutrition station, and a “me” mirror station where the girls decorated a picture frame representing themselves.

The goal of the day, according to Dr. Hagman, was to “provide activities that will support the development of healthy body image and self-esteem that will benefit young girls.” The completion of all three stations earned each Girl Scout a commemorative Children’s Hospital Body Image Badge. The theme of the day was “EveryBody is Different, InsideOut.”

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