Shapewear for Teens: Are There Health Risks?

A growing number of teens, mostly girls, are wearing very tight shapewear all the time to smooth out their bodies.  Teens refer to this shapewear as "Shapies", but Spanx all dressed up is still Spanx.  Is this safe or does it pose a health risk to these teens?  Shapies squeeze the internal organs and can cause ions, and gastrointestinal problems.  Numbness, pain and nerve damage has been reported by teens who wear these shapies all the time.

Psychologists report that these garments may add to the number of teens with eating disorders or poor body image.  I have but one question for these Psychologist, what came first the chicken or the egg.  Could it be that teens with eating disorders and poor body image are more likely to wear shapewear?

Several of the manufacturers of these garments claim that if they are not to tight, there is no problem.  Doesn't wearing loose shapewear kind of defeat the purpose of wearing them at all?

Safety 101: Teens and Twenty Somethings Love of Risk Taking

As children reach their teens or twenties, they may begin to think of themselves as indestructible and are prone to engage in risky behaviors that they would not even consider doing at other stages in their life.  You need to look no further than youtube to know what I am saying is true.  It is becoming more common for children in this age group to post videos of themselves engaging in risky behaviors like planking, choking, unprotected sex, or binge drinking.  Hard to fight against fifteen minutes of fame or 100,000 hits for their posted video.  Additional reasons for children in this age range may be their lack of impulse control due to hormone fluxuations or the important role peer pressure plays in their life. 

Understanding where these behaviors are coming from is a start, but you are going to need to do more to keep your child save.  Talk to them about what could happen to them if they participate in these behaviors, and show them pictures of the misfortune of others who have engaged in these behaviors.  Research suggests that just talking to them may not be enough because they listen more to their friends then their parents.  You may need to monitor their behavior closely and set down consequences for them if they are caught engaging in these dangerous behaviors.  Following through with the consequence will be key to keeping them safe.

If you get them to think twice before doing something crazy, you just may save their life.

Bullying (an Introduction)

Today, bullying seems to be a very hot topic, even though it has probably been around since the time of the cavemen. Many states are passing laws to protect the victims and many news programs and newspapers are talking about bullying statistics. I believe the focus on this topic needs to change to one that is more proactive. Since many of the school shootings and violent acts are being committed by the victims, and not the bully, we need to take a different approach when talking to our children about being bullied. I believe the way to stopping this increase in violence is by educating our children on a better way to handle bullying. I will be addressing what you can teach your children to do differently as the bully, the bystander and the victim in separate postings. First, I think it is important to give our children a clear understanding of what bullying is and what it isn’t. Below is the widely accepted definition of bullying. I believe that many of these terms need to be defined for our children. I will define several of the terms in this definition and I suggest that you sit down with your children and do the same.


Bullying involves repeated acts of direct or indirect physical, verbal, or nonverbal behaviors that may include intentional hurting and an imbalance of power

Repeated acts mean that in order for there to be bullying, the behavior needs to be done over and over again

Direct bullying occurs when the bullying of the victim is done by the bullies themselves.

Indirect bullying occurs when the bully talks someone else into doing the bullying for them.

Physical bullying is the type of bullying we are most familiar with. This includes: hitting, kicking, shoving, spitting, and tripping.

Verbal bullying behaviors include: taunting, teasing, name calling, spreading rumors and threatening.

Non-verbal behaviors include – threatening or obscene gestures, deliberate exclusion from a group or activity, isolating, shunning, and cyberbullying.

Intentional hurting means that the bully intended the behavior to hurt the victim either physically or emotionally.

Imbalance of Power indicates that the bully is more “powerful” than the victim. This does not always mean bigger in stature, although that is the picture that comes to many of our minds when we think of a bully. This imbalance can also occur if the bully is perceived to be smarter than the victim, more athletic, or more popular.

In addition to giving your child a clear understanding of what constitutes bullying and what is just “messing around”, it is also important that your child understand the roles that each participant in a bullying situation plays in order for them to better handle these situations when they occur. There are three types of participants in the bullying situation: the bully, the victim and the bystander. Although it is the bully’s behavior that needs to be changed, the best way of effecting that change is by changing the behavior of the victim and the bystanders. This may seem strange to say, but as long as the bully is getting what they want from the situation, attention or control, they will continue to bully. If the victim and/or the bystanders do not have the desired response, the bully will stop bullying.

Future postings will specifically address what you can teach your children to do when they find themselves playing the role of the bully, the victim, or the bystander. Although, it is important to understand what is bullying and what is not bullying, it is a hundred times more important to help your child understand what to do in these situations that they will find themselves in.

How Peers Influence our Children

There comes a time in every parent's life that they are no longer the center of their child's world.  Chiildren begin listening to what their peers are telling them and not what you are saying.  Being involved early on in helping your children with picking out friends can save you a lot of headaches when this time arrives.  In addition, I suggest that you meet your children's friends and if possible their parents.  This may give you some presence in your child's life at a time when they are doing everything they can to rebel against your beliefs and rules. 

Hope this gives you some peace of mind, the teen years will end and it does get a little better as they approach the driving years and you have control over the keys to the car.