Introduction Media is known to have a lasting impact on children's cognitive, social and emotional development. The media takes society's situations and distorts them. Children then see these distortions and accept them as the truth, changing how they see and act within society. The enormous impact of media on children can be seen through the beauty industry. The media constantly tries to define the term “beauty” using extremely thin and attractive models, claiming that it is the norm within society. Children who see the appeal of these models embrace this definition of beauty because they believe it is the truth. A children's book author named Robert Munsch attempts to show the impact media has on children through his book Makeup Mess (2001). The book centers on a pre-teen girl named Julie who saves up all her money to go to the store and buy some makeup. Once she gets home, she runs upstairs and covers her face with makeup. She looks in the mirror and believes she is beautiful. However, every time someone looks at her, they faint from the shock of her appearance. She keeps trying to make herself "pretty" by wearing all kinds of makeup, but no matter how hard she tries, no one thinks she's pretty, or so she thinks. Feeling defeated, she goes to visit her parents, all made up, and they come up to her and tell her she looks beautiful without makeup. Julie is entering the phase of her life, described by Eric Erikson, as identity vs. identity. identity confusion. Here he is trying to figure out where he fits into society. The media plays a significant role in helping children discover who they are, especially girls. As children grow, they embrace ... middle of paper ... a healthy self-concept because they refuse to listen to what the media says about the acceptable ideal of beauty. Works CitedKail, R.V., Barnfield, A. (2012). Understanding yourself and others. In K. Pruesse (Ed.), Children and their development (pp. 362-394). Toronto, ON: Pearson Canada. Martin, M. C., & Gentry, J. W. (1997). Stuck in the model trap: The effects of beautiful models in advertisements on preadolescents and adolescents. Journal of Advertising, 26(2), 19-33. doi:10.1080/00913367.1997.10673520 Munsch, R. (2001). Makeup mess. Markham, ON: Scholastic Canada Ltd. Murnen, S. K., Smolak, L., Mills, J. A., & Good, L. (2003). Thin, sexy women and strong, muscular men: Elementary school children's responses to objectified images of women and men. Sex Roles, 49(9-10), 427-437. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/64604109?accountid=11233