Do pre-teen girls lack self-esteem? For years we’ve been hearing how young kids struggle with a poor self-image. A new survey of more than 1,500 pre-teen girls shows that most of them feel pretty good about themselves. More than three out of four girls from the age of seven to 14 say they like themselves just the way they are. And nearly nine out of 10 think other people like them as well. A large percentage of the girls said they dressed the way they wanted, in spite of what others might think. And doing well in school was one of the most important issues they faced. In fact, nearly eight in 10 said it was more important to be smart than popular. Why did these girls feel so good about themselves? More than 90 per cent of the girls said that their mum was their closest friend and confidant. Proof again that building strong teens starts at home. This article was featured in Today, 4 November 2009. http://imcms2.mediacorp.sg/CMSFileserver/documents/006/pdf/20091104/0411VOL04...