Here’s an interesting fact: 91 percent of girls ages 8 to 12 turn to their moms when they’re feeling badly about themselves, but only 67 percent of girls ages 13 to 17 do. More interesting stuff: 54 percent of girls ages 8 to 12 turn to their dads, while 27 percent of girls ages 13 to 17 do. That’s what the experts at the Dove Self-Esteem Fund say, and they should know. They’ve compiled a national report on the state of self-esteem in girls, and they aim to change troubling statistics like these.

You can help change them too. If you’re a mom or dad of girls, make sure you keep your lines of communication open, work on establishing trust with your daughters and let them know they can talk to you about anything. You also might want to take advantage of these free Dove self-esteem tools.

Got girls? Tell us how you’re raising them to love themselves?

Photo by: Axel Bührmann on flickr