Where Have All the Young Girls Gone?

 

I know that posts similar to this one have appeared on "Mommy Blogs" everywhere.  I've pinned several favorites to Pinterest boards myself.  I realize that I'm not saying anything that many parents haven't been saying for years, but I still feel I must say it...Why are we as parents allowing our culture to force our children, but especially our little girls, to grow up before they should? 

To start with, what is up with girls' clothing?  The every day clothing like jeans and dresses are bad enough, but around Halloween it always seems worse because I am always appalled by the costumes I see available, not just for teens and adults (which I think are ridiculous in their own right), I'm talking about the ones for GIRLS!.  Think twelve and under.  Are you all aware of what's out there?  I just did a google search for "tween costumes".  Now for those of you who may not be familiar with the term "tween" here's the Wikipedia definition:

 Tween is a word that typically refers to a person who is between the ages of 9 to 12 years old (although some say the range is 8 to 12, 9 to 14, or 9 to 13, or 11 and 12), in grades 5-7 or 4-8.^[1] The term is often described in popular media as referring to a pre-adolescent (usually female) who is at the "in-between" stage in their development when they are considered "too old for toys, too young for boys".^[2][3][4] The "tween" stage usually ends with the onset of puberty, though this may vary.

Now, that being said, check out the images below.  These are just a sampling of what I have to look forward to in the next couple of years for my girls...

I hesitated as to whether or not I even wanted these images posted on my blog.  There were some that came up in my search that I would NOT post here.  Yes, you did read that correctly.  There are costumes worse than these available for shipment straight to my front door in sizes that would only be slightly too big for my KINDERGARTENER!!!!! 

This makes me SO ANGRY!!!!!!  Not just as the mother of two girls, but as the mother of a boy as well.  If our culture is brainwashing our girls to think that their value is defined by how "sexy" they can make themselves appear to be, even at a young age, what does that do to our boys?  If we are teaching our girls that they should want to BE sexy, we are also teaching our boys that they should WANT sexy.  I for one don't want that to be on my kids minds while they're on the playground.  The clothing available in stores, the models we see in magazines, the recording artists we see in videos, actors in movies...we live in a culture where all of these things are influencing how our girls see themselves.  They are also influencing how our boys see the females in their lives.  Our children's ideas of marriage, relationships, life, and all things relating to the opposite sex are being shaped every day by these images we are putting in front of them. 

So, maybe you're thinking, "Well, I agree.  I would never let my girls dress like this."  Good for you.  But do you let your daughters (or your sons!) watch television programs with girls (of any age) dressed like this?  Or girls behaving provocatively.  Or boys going after the girl who dresses or behaves in this manner.  You're thinking, "Oh, it's harmless.  It's a kids show for crying out loud!"  Okay.  Fine, but...

If it's behavior you wouldn't want your children to display at this point in their lives, at this age, why in the world would you allow them to watch it on television?   

  We are all responsible as parents for making decisions when it comes to raising our children.  So, the next time your television set is on and your kids are in the room ask yourself this question, "If tomorrow I walked in on my child doing what the person on my tv screen is doing at this exact moment, would I be okay with it?"  We need to ask ourselves these questions because the reality is if we allow stuff like this to be viewed by our children we have no one to blame but ourselves when we see the same behavior show up in our homes.  
 

 I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.

Psalm 101:3

It's time to stop and examine not just what is appropriate, but what is AGE appropriate.  If you happen to think that fifteen year olds making out on their parents couch is harmless and don't mind your child seeing it on television that is your business.  But would you think your eleven year old making out on your couch is okay?  If not then why is your eleven year old allowed to watch that behavior.  We've got to start getting real and taking our jobs as parents seriously.  By giving them so much FREEDOM to grow up so fast, we are taking away their FREEDOM to be innocent.

Above all else, guard your heart, 

for everything you do flows from it.  

Proverbs 4:23

If you think our girls are growing up too fast, click on the image below for the link to another post you should read: