Issues like drug abuse, violence, teen pregnancy and the decline in educational standards are well discussed and many solutions to these problems are being attempted. It is now believed that a person's basic body image is determined by age six. All of these sources offer basically the same image of acceptable female appearance and a narrowing view of male physical acceptability as well. But by far the strongest influence on a child's body image is parental body image. It is more likely that a child who grows up with a parent who increasingly disparages and seeks to alter his or her own body, will grow up to feel the same despair and practice the same destructive behaviors.
Body image has a dramatic effect on behavior.
How many of us as adults have or have had a list of things we would do if only we could lose weight, be prettier, etc. Children begin to think in this pattern as well at a very young age. This startling figure is a good indicator of how well children pay attention to social messages of who is acceptable and who is not. In a study done with six year old children they were shown silhouettes of different people, then asked to talk about them. Beyond fatphobia, body image issues for children touch on as many aspects of life as they do for adults.