in my opinion... nothing different than adults if you truly think about it. WE ahve people on here around that age. but to answer your questions
1)more than people know, state and fear to acknowledge
2) family/home environment, and additional "adult' ed attributes (abuse, low self esteem, typically brought on by others, peer pressure or acceptance, sports)
3) mine was a little bit older and I know it started w/ the simple fact that I thought I was fat

1 - they are common, just parents may think 'oh theyll grow out of it' or 'its just a phase' sorta thing and dont take any notice.

2 - the people around them/environment. (family divorce, arguments e.t.c perhaps) friends, and what they see on tv as kids are young and impressionable.

3 - ever since i can remember i was a 'fake' happy child for my parents. getting divorced/arguments e.t.c happened quite young. i was never the same after it all happened. from the ages of about 6 - 12 i got compared to my best friend who in my eyes was skinny and pretty and i wasnt. then from 12ish - 15 i was picky with food found excuses not to eat, had bulimic tendencies e.t.c all cuz i wanted to be like my friend who i was always compared to. then 16, things got out of hand, i got full blown anorexia/bulimia. if someone sat me down and spoke to me about what i was doing and intervened at such a young age, i think i would be okay now. but parents tend to dismiss little things like that im guessing idk. i was always a secretive child though.

dont mean it to sound so morbid/depressing. and im not blaming my parents/upbringing. but i think its what contributed to it somewhat.

i can only speak for myself though. but im pretty sure eds are common in children.

1. I think they are somewhat common actually..
2.Wanting to fit in, Family relationships, home environment etc.
3. I was 11 when I developed my eating disorder, and I actually remember watching an episode of "Boston Public" where a girl was anorexic.. I have no clue what the hell I was thinking and I sure as hell didn't know I would be almost 21 and still dealing with this horrible disease. I struggled with poor body image most of my life because my mother would always compare me to her and state that I was destined to be fat because I took after my dad, yet there she was at 98lbs.. and I later found out that that was all thanks to her regular cocaine use... go figure.

1) I think that childhood ED are more than most people think. I started my ED behaviors when I was around 11, I just didnt eat.
2) Contributors to ED in kids are media, peer pressure to look good, possible family influence, PTSD from past trama like rape and childhood abuse
3) I developed body image issues young. My dad always called my mom a fat cow and told me that I was the only thin one in the family and needed to stay that way. When I stared hs, I gained a little and went bathing suit shopping for my first bikini, my mom told me that I looked too fat to ware one :o( Also I started using an ED as a control thing and coping mechanism. ED come from many things, its hard to pin point

I think they are very common in kids and you read the book 'women, god and love' so you know that our ed's and how we value ourselves get started in the infant toddler age group or maybe older childhood but have mostly to do with the way our parents value us and who they want us to be instead of letting us come into our own. That being said there are all kinds of other trauma out there to cause ed which the other ladies already mentioned.

1. i found this thanks to google.

Children who reach puberty early are at risk to develop eating disorders

With children reaching puberty at increasingly younger ages these days, it has become normal for girls who notice maturing bodily changes to begin feeling concern over what they see as "fat." (In one study, 80 percent of girls in grades 3 to 6 expressed unhappiness with their physical appearance.) This is a case of nature conflicting with nurture; just when girls are growing older and larger, society tells them that they should become smaller. Dieting and other forms of food restriction are the result; disordered eating and eating disorders follow, in too many cases.

This predicament puts girls from the ages of 9 to 12 at particular risk for the onset of eating disorders and dysfunction. It is critical for parents to be aware of this problem so that they can learn how to protect their child from these dangerous societal influences.

2. i'm not sure if it's neccessarily JUST enviorment. even before life hit me like a mac truck, i didn't feel pretty. i felt ugly, as if there was something "wrong" with me. i felt awkward because i was the only kid at my school with a disability. yet, i had a doting family, a newly discovered singing talent, and was a good student.

3. i also developed the binge portion of my ED at 11. by this point, my parents had amicably seperated, and mom began abusing me. i don't think the abuse "caused" the ED. i had the feelings of "not being good enough" WAY before then, despite what friends/family told me. i ate to deal with the abuse. no one noticed that i was eating all the time. no one saw the food in my purse, desk, and dresser. no one said anything either, so i actually thought it was normal.

thamks for replying girls!