Tuesday 19 April 2011

Are children growing up too quickly?

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I was just thinking the other day that perhaps I have got really old before my time; I might have turned into an old fart! I walk down the street and I see a young attractive woman and she has on such a low cut top that I can see the curve of her breast. I am not just talking cleavage, I mean the full inside curve of each boob and I just wonder why, why would you do that? There really is no mystery to her; any man that fancies her has already had the full show. All that is left is a nipple and really they are not that interesting!

I amaze myself sometimes with how much I have changed. I recall being 21 and being on holiday and wearing a top that was so low cut you could see the middle of my bra and that was the look! The idea was that I gave a glimpse of what my lucky boyfriend was privy to. I very often had my boobs on show during my University years (always in a bra mind) as I was conscious of my very curvaceous lower half and therefore always went for the tactic of drawing attention to my boobs, which before 3 kids were pretty darn good, nowadays think spaniel ears. Life does change, in more way than one!

Last week I went shopping for the girls and I was confronted by wide necked tops, extremely short skirts, tiny shoe string strap dresses which reveal too much chest, halternecks and other pieces of clothing which are just not suitable for a 3 or 4 year old in my opinion. I like my little girls to dress appropriately for their age and to look exactly as they are – young innocent girls. When they are teenagers I am sure we will have arguments about their school uniform and the length of their skirt hems, for now that is not a nightmare I need. What has gone wrong that many of the big stores want to sell things to my girls which are way beyond their age? The clothes we ended up with were from M&S, George and Next and we were able to get appropriate clothing of all sorts but my girls will have to wear T-shirts under the dresses as I really could not find any that covered tender little shoulders in the sun and also gave the modesty that I desire for my little beauties.

I was gobsmacked a couple of weeks back when I went to a Mother’s day tea party at JJ’s school. All the children had made a hat and took turns to model their hat on a cat walk, this was in the main hilarious, we watched all these little 6 and 7 year old pretending to be Naomi Campbell (am I really showing my age here, I have no idea who the latest super model is?) doing twirls and curtsey's for our joy. Then on walks a little girl of just 6 years with the most beautiful and trendy short asymmetric haircut. Wow, that is very grown up for her age I thought and then I looked down and yet again was astounded. She had on a short mini skirt, like numerous inches above her knees and with it she had black over the knee socks. So just a couple of inches of thigh showing between the two. It was an outfit that would not have been out of place in a porn film. I hate to say it, but she looked sexy. Sexy and provocative looking at age 6, that is wrong, right?

I started to hear mutterings all around me and it seemed that many of the other mothers also felt the same way. The excuse that I heard time and time again was that the little girl ‘has older sisters’. What, this makes it OK? For her to be dressed in a manner that a) is completely unsuitable for a school setting and b) just looks totally tarty. What had possessed her mother to allow her to grow up before her time?

I am sorry I sound so judgemental but I really do worry what will happen to our children if we allow them or encourage them to grow up too quickly. My girls are at that age when they ask me for nail polish and I am loath to do it. On the one hand I think what is the harm and on the other I just think that they will lose the thrill of growing up and discovering all things girlie if it happens too quickly. I have friends who straighten their 3 and 4 year olds hair, or crimp their hair or let them wear make-up for parties and I just do not want to do this. What is the need yet? They look absolutely stunning as nature intended them to.

So now you need to be honest with me? Have I gone a bit crazy and I ought to loosen up? What age is it OK for your little girl to start wearing a bit of make, have her nails painted or crimp her hair for a party? My thoughts at the moment feel it would be at least 6 or 7 years.
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