Any advice with 12 year old girls?

My daughter is 12 (soon to be 13) and in the past few months she has determined that she is fat. She is not fat, she is what I would consider a normal weight. She wears a size 6 and is on the cheerleading squad. I took her shopping Saturday and we came home with nothing because she didn't like how anything looked. She also complained that she was not a size 0. I know she is bombarded with images on TV, videos, etc., and I'm not sure how to help her.

I don't think she has an eating disorder because she has no trouble eating, but I don't want it to get more serious. We have recently starting eating healthier, more baked meat, veggies, salads, etc.

Is this normal? Does anyone have advice? If preteen is like this, how is teen going to be??? My son is almost 16 and so far smooth sailing with him.

I have two girls, 24 an 14. Body image is HUGE and teenage years are tough. My oldest daughter dealt with this much more than herlittle sister ever will. My advice would be to continue talking about healthy food choices and a healthy excersize program. We went with healthy food with one 'cheater' meal a week. My daughter eventually lost interest in the super healthy foods. My friends daughter needed a little more help and went to a counsler for a while. Good luck!!

First off momma...YOU ARE DOING NOTHING WRONG! SHE IS IN A CHEERLEADING SQUAD, TAKES A LOT OF
EXCERSIZE (SP) she is building muscle, not fat...AS SHE GROWS...THIS MUSCLE WILL TURN LEAN AND THE
NATURAL CURVES WILL DEVELOP. MY DOT THOUGHT SHE WAS FAT AT 13, BECAUSE SHE WOUND UP IN A SIZE
3...AFTER BEING A SIZE ZERO THE YEAR BEFORE...SHE SAID SHE WAS GOING STRICTLY VEGAN...SO I FIRED
UP THE GRILL AND MADE EVERYTHING FROM BBQ RIBS, CHICKEN, BURGERS, AND EVEN A GRILLED ASSORTMENT
OF VEGGIES. AFTER A WEEK OF LIVING VEGAN...SHE BROKE DOWN AND ATE A LIL' OF EVERYTHING. SHE NOTICED
SHE COULD EAT HEALTHY AND SATISFIED AS SHE GREW, AND THE PROTEINS ARE ESSENCIAL AS WELL AS CALCIUM
FOR BONES...YA ALSO NEED A LIL' FAT IN YOUR DIET..I GO FOR 2% MILK WITH CARNATION INSTANT BREAKFAST,
A PIECE OF FRUIT IN SEASON, A PIECE OF TOAST W/ MARGARINE...JUST IN CASE SHE'S A BREAKFAST SKIPPER.

I SEE NO NEED FOR THERAPY RIGHT NOW, SHE MIGHT JUST THINK SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH HER!

REMEMBER SHE IS BUILDING MUSCLE SO THAT SHE CAN GROW. IT WILL ALL PROPORTION IN THE RIGHT WAY.
KEEP DOING WHAT YOUR DOING, AND TAKE HER TO THE MALL, BUT TELL HER SHE HAS ONLY $25 TO SPEND
AT ONE OF THOSE "FASHIONABLE" STORES.

SMILES.
CARROLIN

Peer pressure is horrible at that age. Thankfully I had boys so weight was never a problem. I wish you a ton of luck.

Carrolin...girl where do you shop that you can get anything for $25???

It sounds like you are doing the right things, keeping an eye on it and eating healthy. Just watch to make sure she doesn't go into the bathroom after she eats to make sure she isn't throwing her food back up. All the healthy food in the world wont do any good if it isn't staying in her stomach. That is the age all of the body image things start. She is a cheerleader and a size 6 so you would think she has it all. You don't have to be a size 0 to be happy. I feel for the kids growing up now days, We didn't have all of the peer pressure and problems like they do now. Good luck!