I agree that it's not the parents necessarily driving the change - I blame the fact we live in a media obsessed world, where we offer...and, indeed, are told me must...buy this, that and the other if we want to look like the much lauded celebrity du jour. Role models in this day and age are Cheryl Cole and the like, whose job is to look sexy. Sex sells. Young girls magazines then say what you can do to make yourself look like Cheryl...and so the cycle perpetuates.
Parents facilitate by buying their children the stuff to make them a 'tween' when they really are still a child.
I hope that my girls will have different role models and values. I grew up playing with dolls, using my imagination (another, separate, gripe...so much technology now robs imagination) My parents were strict with certain things...films we watched, tv shows etc. Nothing that cheapened women, objectified them etc.
It's a hard balance to strike, because you want your children to 'conform' enough not to be alienated and picked on...but you also want them to be strong, to have childhood, to be unafraid to be themselves in any way they wish.
I totally agree with that part. I know I can't protect my child against everything, but if I were to facilitate him/her, then I can't go blame society for everything.
My daughter is 9, and she plays dolls all day long. She has no idea who Hannah Montana is, what highschool musical is, what an "actor" is. Talking about boys makes her giggle, and she has never had a boyfriend or been kissed. She has CD's with Christian music and kiddies songs on, for her CD player. She does not own a cellphone, or an iPod. She has no idea how to get on the internet. She doesn't know what FB is, or twitter or any social media. I buy her clothes extremely selectively. No slewd slogans or adult female faces on t-shirts, not strappy tops or padded shirts or shoo shorts or anything that I wouldn't have worn myself at that age. I buy her innocent, long, flowing, fairy-kind of dresses. She looks very pretty and are happy and confident in her look. I also don't buy her high-heels. I don't allow her to put make up on to go out in public (she can play with my cutex or make up at home - usually she'll try and paint herself like a butterfly or kitten
). We don't take her to movies with an age restriction on, we don't allow her to watch just any show on tv (usually she only watches Disney Junior!).
I can go on and on. My point is, my daughter (and boys) are innocent beings even amongst world-wisely classmates and schoolfriends. Because that's how
we raise them. We're their primary influence and we only provide them with the things we approve of. We surround ourselves with likeminded friends, whose children are as innocent as ours. So that they can have social contact with likeminded kids, and not just those in school who's not raised the same.
That said though. I also agree that pressure is awfully bad on kids these days. I constantly complain about the workload especially. It's too much, too soon, too early.
. Hot pants where your but cheeks are on show! Hideous!
