Stepping Outside the “Girl Box”: National program helps promote strong, confident girls
Around fifth grade, there is a place that many girls go - a place where they stop being the unique and confident individuals that they are.
Instead they become replicas of the latest fads in fashion, speech, and music. This is a place where simply being yourself is not enough. Girls begin to feel that they are never pretty enough, thin enough, smart enough, popular enough. To make up for the feelings of insecurity that come with never being “enough” many girls turn to alcohol, sex, eating disorders and other unhealthy behaviors. This place is the “Girl Box,” according to Molly Barker, founder of Girls on the Run.
“In the ‘Girl Box’ girls begin to feel more valued for their appearance as opposed to who they really are,” Barker wrote on her web site.
The “Girl Box” is why Barker, a four-time Hawaii Ironman Triathlete, established Girls on the Run. It was in August of 1996 that Girls on the Run was born out of her desire to help girls find strength – strength not just of body but more importantly of mind and spirit.
The mission, according to the organization’s web site, is simple: “To educate and prepare girls for a life time of self-respect and healthy living.”
The need is obvious: negative media bombards girls today. Television tells girls that the “dumb blond” is popular; magazines tell girls that tall and skinny is in; music tells girls that sex, drugs, and alcohol are cool. Now, more than ever before, girls have to fight to stay out of the “Girl Box.”
Through Girls on the Run the “Girl Box” is beginning to shatter.
Each week, twice a week, girls in third through fifth grade in more than 140 locations meet to discuss who they are, the importance of cooperation, and the affects of community on girls. And of course they run.
Raytown Girls on the Run coaches Sabrena Lea, Allison Bruflat and Carla Jenkins are there to encourage and spur the girls on with their enthusiasm and desire to help these young girls.
“I wanted to offer girls options that I never had. I wanted to give girls a voice and to help them make wise choices based on who they are, not on who society says they should be. This program offered that,” Lea said.
Learning about who they are versus who society wants them to be is the message that Girls on the Run is teaching young girls.
“I like that we are learning about ourselves, and to not care about what others think,” Savannah Markaham a
Experts say learning this lesson at a young age is key. Studies show that girls ages eight to 12, while starting to become influenced by peer pressure, are still receptive to adult influence. This stage is referred to as the latency period of development. This is where Girls on the Run steps in.
Formed as a preventative program to help girls make healthy decisions, Girls on the Run builds character and self-confidence while encouraging physical fitness.
Allison Bruflat’s desire to team up with Girls on the Run came out of her desire to give girls something that she did not discover until she began running at age 32.
“When I began running it gave me a new respect for my body. I had read about Girls on the Run years ago and thought it was such a great idea to be able to help girls understand their strength and their power,” Bruflat said.
The benefits of a program like Girls on the Run can last a lifetime. Studies suggest that those who develop exercise habits in their youth will be more likely to maintain those habits throughout their lives. In addition to higher self-esteem, young women who are physically active reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, osteoporosis, obesity, and diabetes.
“I’m a runner and a Type II Diabetic. I felt that Girls on the Run was a wonderful way to get girls moving,” said Carla Jenkins, Raytown Girls on the Run coach. “You hear of so many children that are developing Type II Diabetes, getting them moving is one way to help them avoid diabetes.”
Cami Oster, a fourth grade home school student said the program helped her change her perspective. “The most important thing that I have learned is to be happy about who I am,”
That is what Girls on Run is all about. Helping young girls break free of the “Girl Box,” and teaching them that who they are outside of that box is pretty special.
Girls on the Run meets twice a week for twelve weeks in the fall and in the spring. This fall,
Did you know...
• More than 3 million young Americans considered suicide in 2000 – 1 million actually attempted it – girls were twice as likely as boys to consider suicide.
• 1.6 million girls reported at least one major depressive episode in 2004. That’s more than twice as many as boys.
• Girls as young as five form negative self-images based on their weight.
• In 2004, more girls than boys started using alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana
• 1.5 million girls started using alcohol
• 730,000 girls started smoking
• 675,000 started using marijuana
However…
• Girls who participate in physical activities are 40 percent less likely to smoke, have higher levels of self-esteem, better body
images, and lower levels of depression.
• Girls who participate in physical activities are less likely to
engage in risky sexual behavior during adolescence.
• Girls who participate in physical exercise have better
relationships with parents, get better grades, are less likely to use drugs and are less depressed than girls who don’t.
posted by Victoria at
6:40 PM
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