In Australia, more and more young people are experiencing body dissatisfaction.
Body dissatisfaction occurs when people have negative thoughts and feelings about their body image and it can be detrimental to a person’s mental and physical wellbeing. Children and adolescents who struggle with poor body image are more likely to continue experiencing this in adulthood and are at greater risk of developing more serious body image and eating issues in their life.
Young people are more vulnerable when it comes to body dissatisfaction due to over exposure to dieting practices and products, excessive and rigid exercise regimes, frequently expressed appearance concerns and/or strong biases about being a higher weight. Now more than ever, with increased isolation due to COVID, more exposure to social media than ever before, and increased levels of stress and anxiety, young people are even more at risk.
Now is the time to support our kids’ mental health so they don’t develop problems down the track. Without intervention, we’re heading for a dire future. Help us #ChangeThePicture.
Butterfly can! But we can’t do it without your help. We’re already on the frontline of changing the picture for young people with our support, prevention and treatment services, but we need your help to reach so many more who are at risk. Every child we can’t reach is another child who could succumb to eating issues.
Help Butterfly #ChangeThePicture by donating to our Education and Prevention services. The more funding we have, the more schools, parents, and young people we can reach with free and low-cost sessions and resources across Australia.
Together we can #ChangeThePicture by delivering positive messaging, encouraging strong role modelling, and building body confidence in our young people to prevent body dissatisfaction and ultimately eating disorders from occurring. #DonateNow
Think about what you would say to your younger self. What kind words would have helped you at the time? What do you wish you had known about body image, accepting your body, and dealing with the ‘bigger picture’ pressures that once may have seemed so enormous through a childhood lens? What do you wish an older person had said to you?
Children and teenagers are great imitators, so give them something great to imitate! What we say and do in front of our children and teenagers sends a powerful message. You can be what your child needs to see through positive role modelling.
We know that adults can struggle with their body image too! Asking for help when you need to heal your relationship with your body is also a positive way to role model to your child.
Share a photo of your younger self with a message, kind words or advice about body image that you wish you could have known at that time. Hindsight is a powerful thing, so let’s harness it and ensure our kids aren’t susceptible to the same body dissatisfaction that we once may have had.
DONATE – Help Butterfly #ChangeThePicture by donating to our Education and Prevention services. The more funding we have, the more schools, parents, and young people we can reach with free and low-cost sessions and resources across Australia. How their future looks, is in your hands. Please support Butterfly TODAY by making a DONATION.
How your donations make a difference
FUNDRAISE – Hold a #ChangeThePicture fundraising event at home, at a venue, in a park, at your school or even your workplace to raise awareness and funds to support Butterfly’s important prevention and education services to help combat body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in young people.
SUPPORTER PAGE – A simple way to show your support and get involved in Butterfly’s #ChangeThePicture campaign is to create a JustGiving supporter page to raise funds and awareness for Butterfly. You can set up a profile and include information about Butterfly and the campaign, why you have chosen to support us, photos, videos, event updates and keep a tally of how much you raise. Your supporter page can be easily shared among friends, family and work colleagues via social media for them to make donations to help reach your target.
SHOP MERCHANDISE – Purchase a gift or resources from our SHOP, with the proceeds going towards supporting people with eating disorders and body image concerns.
#CHANGETHEPICTURE PLEDGE – What do you wish you had known about body image, accepting your body, and dealing with the ‘bigger picture’ pressures that once may have seemed so enormous through a childhood lens? What do you wish an older person had said to you? Make a pledge to #ChangeThePicture of body dissatisfaction starting young by submitting a message, words of advice or kind affirmation to your younger self.
If you are interested in finding out more about our #ChangeThePicture campaign or our Education and Prevention Services, please connect with the following people:
Media Enquiries
ebanoub@primary-pr.com
Fundraising and Events
elizabeth.herd@butterfly.org.au
Share Your Story
kate.mulray@butterfly.org.au
Butterfly Foundation National Helpline
1800 33 4673
Helpline email