BEAUMONT, Texas — The Medical Center of Southeast Texas is hosting a "Tween Esteem" camp to help give pre-teen girls a boost in confidence.
The event will take place next Saturday, July 29, 2022, and there's still time to sign up.
It's not easy being a teenager. With the constant pressure from social media, body image expectations, and self-esteem struggles, organizers of an all-girls camp stepped in to help.
"Young girls are facing so many changes, not just with their bodies but with their social skills,” said Co-founder of the Tweens Esteem camp Mistie Layne. There's so much texting and sexting going on, and they're introduced most of the time to cigarettes, drugs, vaping, all kinds of things.”
Layne said the camp will help young girls overcome life's challenges through a life-changing experience.
The teenagers will learn skills to help build self-confidence, and self-esteem, how to express themselves in writing, public speaking, and how to approach social media dependency.
"I want to teach the girls that there's a balance,” Layne said. “They need to learn that they need to balance their screen time with actual social interaction, eye contact, learn how to read people because we miss that with media, especially with the pandemic."
This session will take place at the Medical Center of Southeast Texas.
Pulmonologist Dr. Roozbeh Sharif with the Medical Center Of Southeast Texas will also educate attendees and their parents on the dangers of vaping and smoking.
"Vaping is very common in middle school and high school and that's a time our children basically get dependent on that and unfortunately this translates into a lot of medical problems for them especially when it comes to medical conditions," Sharif said.
The camp is free of charge, thanks to support and donations from the community.
This session will last from 9:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. for girls ages nine to 12.
The camp will take place next Saturday, July 29, 2022, at the Medical Center of Southeast Texas. To register, you can call (409) 466-4309.