wendileen

My daughter, who is almost but not even yet five, has begun focusing on how she looks, and is convinced that she should look different. She does not like the way she looks, and says that when she looks in the mirror sometimes she wishes 'she would die'. I'm incredibly upset about this, naturally, and desperate for any advice on how to help her not fall into a dangerous path of low self-esteem. It's not particularly relevant, because nobody would want their child to feel this way no matter what they look like, but this happens to be a girl who is regularly stopped in the street by strangers who want to tell me how beautiful she is. So...it's all the more confusing to me how convinced she is that she is not pretty and feels so strongly about it as to say 'she wishes she was dead'. She's not even five! I'm panicking because I do not want her to suffer all the horrible things that such low-self esteem can bring. Anyone? Help?

I find that many religious people seem unable to detatch the idea of morality from the teachings/rules of their religious faith.

Why is it so hard to believe that some people can be decent and in fact very moral without the bribery of 'heaven' or salvation or something like that. My question is - is there something in the bible that distinctly tells them that you can't be moral if you don't believe in god?

Just wondering because I often see a knee-jerk reaction from very religious people that automatically equates atheism with immorality. It stinks! Many non-believers are just as giving, kind, decent and "christian-acting" as those who hypocritically go to church but never do a good deed in their lives.

Anyone want to share thoughts on the matter?