15 December 2008
According to new evidence published today by Girlguiding UK and the Mental Health Foundation, pressures such as academic testing and lack of family time are changing the face of girlhood in Britain.
The new findings emerged from a consultation among a panel of leading children’s experts and young people that considered the outcomes detailed in the recent research report, A Generation Under Stress?
The panel has called on adults to play a bigger role in supporting girls to deal with modern day pressures in order to protect their emotional well-being and enable them to lead healthy and happy lives.
The findings show that girls feel under pressure to do well academically due to regular testing in schools. One girl said: “You can’t relax – there’s always another set of exams around the corner.” And adult expectations are adding to the anxiety felt by some girls about their performance at school, as one expert explained: “Some parents only value academic achievement.”
The panel highlights that busy, modern lifestyles are cutting short the amount of quality time that girls are able to spend with their families – yet girls place great value on this time and see it as crucially important to their happiness. One girl said: “When we stay in and have a hot chocolate together watching ‘Charmed!’ that’s great. Or plaiting hair, just me and my Mum.”
They also emphasise that girls are choosing to use the internet’s networking sites and discussion forums, shunning traditional media which they feel largely demonises them and ignores the positive things they do, leaving them feeling rejected and angry. The appearance of girls and young women in the media – seen as immoral and out of control – is damaging. One expert commented: “If the media is negative about girls, how can they thrive?”
However, whilst there are some concerns that the internet is being substituted for real life, the report asserts that the internet can actually help girls growing up. “It enables girls to share their problems anonymously and offers a confidential, anonymous space for those seeking help”, said one speaker.
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Girls need support to be healthy and happy
The panel makes a number of recommendations about how girls can be supported to overcome the challenges of the 21st century:
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Girls should be taught how to be resilient – at home and at school – to help them deal with problems as they arise.
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Adults must accept their responsibilities as role models for young women – and should try to be inspiring.
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Older children should be encouraged to act as mentors for younger ones.
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Formal education should give a more rounded perspective on life; teaching young people how to deal with feelings and develop emotional resilience, and not just focus on academia. As one girl said: “PHSE is badly taught in my school. It doesn’t teach girls what they want to know. Girls need to be educated for the world in which they live.”
Their recommendations reinforce those obtained through in-depth research with Girlguiding UK’s own members, which included: ensuring girls have things to do, creating safe places where girls can have freedom without their parents worrying and boost girls’ confidence by providing them with opportunities to succeed outside school
Andrew McCulloch, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said: “Modern life is changing the face of girlhood as we know it. We cannot turn the tide on developments and so adults need to understand the pressures that girls today are experiencing in order to best support them.”
Denise King, Chief Executive of Girlguiding UK said: “Young girls today face a new generation of pressures that leave too many suffering stress, anxiety and unhappiness. All of us who care about young women have part to play in helping them find a way through these conflicting demands to build the confidence they need to be themselves. That is why Girlguiding UK continues to provide a safe space for girls – where no-one is trying to sell them anything or pressurise them to be someone they are not – and where they can form the friendships that we know are so important to their happiness.”
Girls shout out!
A call to action on emotional well-being
1. Give girls things to do: from adventure playgrounds to kung fu or street dancing.
2. Create safe places where girls can have freedom without parents worrying.
3. Boost confidence by giving girls opportunities to succeed outside school.
4. Encourage girls to try something new.
5. Make girls feel normal and accepted – whatever problems they might have.
6. Don’t overwhelm them with advice – give them space.
7. Help them understand that they can’t always help the way they feel.
8. Initiate a young mayor scheme – gibing girls a say in important decisions.
9. Make available information about where to turn for help easily available.
10. Use the Girlguiding UK website to offer advice and support.
Ends
For more information please contact the Mental Health Foundation’s press office team on 020 7803 1130 / 1128 (out of hours 07967 586489).
The report summarises proceedings at a round table event where opinion-formers and girls aged between ten and sixteen answered the question: ‘Is Girlhood Dead?’. The event, hosted by Girlguiding UK and the Mental Health Foundation on Wednesday 22 October 2008, was held under Chatham House rules.
It follows the publication in July 2008 of the research report Teenage Mental Health: Girls Shout Out! A Generation Under Stress by Girlguiding UK, in partnership with the Mental Health Foundation. The report investigated girls’ experience of well-being as they grow up in today’s challenging world, examining a new generation of potential triggers for mental health problems - premature sexualisation, commercialisation and alcohol misuse - as well as some of the more long-standing issues like bullying and family breakdown.
Mental Health Foundation
The Mental Health Foundation uses research and practical projects to help people survive, recover from and prevent mental health problems. We work to influence policy, including government at the highest levels. And we use our knowledge to raise awareness and to help tackle the stigma attached to mental illness. We reach millions of people every year through our media work, information booklets and online services. Registered Charity No: 801130, www.mentalhealth.org.uk
Girlguiding UK
Girlguiding UK is the UK’s largest voluntary organisation for girls and young women, with around 575,000 members and recognised volunteers. One in four eight-year-old girls is a Brownie and almost half of all the women in the UK have been involved in guiding at some stage in their lives. We run Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Senior Section, enabling girls and young women to develop their potential whatever their ability or background. We are striving to offer new opportunities to a broad diversity of communities through our expanding network of 60,000 trained volunteer Leaders.
At Girlguiding UK we seek to give girls a voice and provide a unique, girl-only space where members feel comfortable just being themselves. Our members, challenged by a girl-led programme that extends beyond badges, enjoy a spectrum of activities from outdoor adventure to pop-concerts to community action.
Girlguiding UK, part of a worldwide Movement of approximately 10 million girls and young women in 145 countries, launches its Centenary celebrations in September 2009. Registered Charity No: 306016, www.girlguiding.org.uk
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