- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- iparenting canada articles
- iparenting canada q&a
- community & groups
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
From Our Sponsors
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Uniquely Herself
How Dominique Dawes Is Helping Preteen Girls By Teri Brown
In the uniquely ME! Program, Dawes strives to be an example and role model for young girls. Not only does she travel around the country giving talks and making appearances, she periodically checks in with Girl Scout troops to see how they are progressing with the program and participates in live Web chats with girls.
For Dawes, the importance of self-esteem for preteens can't be overstated. She cites research conducted by the Girl Scout Research Institute and other organizations that link low self-esteem with risky behaviors like smoking, suicidal thoughts, unsafe sexual behavior and many other negative tendencies.
"Numerous studies have revealed that low self-esteem leaves tweens vulnerable to self-destructive behaviors such as drinking, using drugs and eating disorders," says Dawes. "As I've traveled around this past year talking to girls, I've learned that it's hard for so many of them to find a strong quality they like about themselves. They'll talk about their clothes or they'll talk about their friends, but it's really hard for them to identify a positive quality about themselves, like their honesty or caring nature or compassion."
Dawes points out that today's preteens are facing many issues. "From negative body image and peer pressure to high academic standards and learning to balance it all, it's so important that they learn to combat these issues with positive self-esteem," she says.
Besides participating in the uniquely ME! program, Dawes has many other projects she is working on. "I'm no longer competing, but haven't exactly hung up my leotard," she says. "I have started coaching young gymnasts at my own coach's gym in Maryland and also travel around the country hosting gymnastics clinics for kids of all ages."
Her busy, community-minded life is proof positive of what self-esteem can do for a person dedicated to giving the same gift to others. But one wouldn't expect any less from a young woman who her teammates once called the "Awesome Dawesome."
You can find out more information on the uniquely ME! program at www.girlscouts.org.