How can ads that focus on looks affect my daughter's self-esteem?

Authentic self-esteem is a fine balance between a "feeling of worthiness" and a "feeling of capableness." Developing both of those essential feelings is what helps our daughters handle stress, cope with life, and bounce back when the going gets tough. And those crucial school years are when our daughters are doing serious work in shaping their self-concepts and forming their "Who I am?" opinions about themselves.

Messages over-loaded with looks, appearance, weight, dress size, and toned legs (all addressing the "Am I worthy?" side of the self-esteem quotient) don't allow girls to develop positive images for their "feeling capable sides." Too much emphasis on looks can also cause girls to miss out on those crucial opportunities that help them figure out their strengths, interests, likes, hobbies, values, etc. A flimsier self-esteem is also likely to mean a girl has a weaker "Resilience Quotient" (that crucial commodity she'll need to handle life) due to an unbalanced acquisition of self-esteem.