On the way home, she told me again that she loved her shirts, especially the ones that fit "kind of tight, you know, not too tight, but that show off my shape." After I resumed breathing, I asked her what she meant. She informed me that she liked clothes that made her look skinny, and that she is skinny on her stomach, so sort of tight shirts were her favorite. Now hear me out: the child did not buy anything tight, tummy baring, or that I would deem inappropriate. I'm not one of the moms that thinks it's cute if her daughter wears adult fashions that you might see in a bar on Saturday night.
HELP ME OUT HERE!! How old were you when you noticed that a certain pair of pants made your booty look better, or a particular shirt made your waist look smaller? I don't remember much about my wardrobe when I was eight, but I'm pretty sure that I wasn't focusing on "my shape", but rather that my pants were zipped....
7 comments:
I don't remember worrying about how clothes looked when I was young either. Kids these days are so much more aware of all things than I was. It scares me that girls get sooooo concerned with being skinny at such young ages. Even my 4 year old has made comments because she has heard them from her older cousins. I just always stay away from comments about being fat or skinny and try to teach her to be healthy. Now if I can just follow my own advice maybe I wouldn't have to struggle. I pray these young girls don't either.
I know that I'm guilty in this, if I had a dollar for everytime she must have heard me say, "momma's gotta do something about her butt" I am going to try and just focus on health, too...eating good foods and getting exercise in.
Umm, when I was 8? I was still wearing terrycloth shorts with a matching terrycloth tank top...AND YOU WERE TOO! (I was there.)
Girls these days grow up fast and it scares me. When they appear older, they get treated like they're older, and it just perpetuates the problem. I'm glad you don't buy into the sleazewear for the under 10 set. (By the way, last year I was looking for a Halloween costume for Sass at a local big box store. I came across these costumes like sexy-nurse, she-devil, etc, low cut, fish net type stuff. I think the word sex was in the brand name somewhere. And the size? GIRL'S 6X-12. True story.)
Go buy that girl some terrycloth and tell her she's not even a tween for 2 more years!
Thank you--I'm pretty sure that my favorite shorts involved a stretchy material...I don't know how to deal with how quickly they grow, but I am going to remain firm in my stance of kid clothes--if I can find them anywhere!!
Oh, the sexualization of children bothers the hell out of me, and I'm nobody's Dad. But it's inescapable. If your kid watches TV, or goes to the movies, or reads magazines, or goes to school, or goes to the mall, or interacts with any of her peers... she's being taught to value herself as a physical object, on a rating system designed around lust. When you're an adult it's cool to feel desired once in awhile, but when you're a kid it's just creepy.
I DON'T KNOW YOU GUYS. YES, IT'S DISTURBING, BUT HOW MANY TIMES HAVE THEY HEARD COMMENTS FROM US "THEIR MOTHERS" THE PEOPLE THEY LOOK UP TO THE MOST AND SPEND THE MOST TIME WITH. I ADORE MY GIRLS AND JENN KNOWS THE STRUGGLE I HAVE WITH MY OLDEST AND HER WEIGHT (SHE'S ONLY 12), BUT CHILDREN DO GROW UP FASTER. I DON'T EVER REMEMBER AT 12 HAVING TO MAKE SURE I KNEW WHERE MY LITTLE SISTER WAS, DID I FEED THE DOG, ARE THE DISHES DONE BEFORE MOM GETS HOME?!, SHOULD I HELP MOM WITH LAUNDRY TODAY?!, DO I HAVE TO GO WITH MY DAD!?... WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF CHILDREN WITH BROKEN HOMES. I'LL TAKE SOME OF THE BLAME FOR TODAY'S SOCIETY GUYS AND GALS. IT STINKS!
I remember liking certain clothes, but not because they made some part of me look better, but my 8 year old does it to. The almost 13 year old, yes she's done it for years. Their father and I strongly believe that children should dress as children until they are no longer children, and so we fight the good fight.
r - I do remember worrying about seeing my dad, getting the dishes done, etc, and I think that I am a better person for it. I grew up to understand that I have responsibilities and if I don't handle them, no one else is going to do it for me. Doesn't mean that I don't feel guilty as heck when I ask my kids to stop playing for 15 minutes to help me unload the dishwasher, but I try to look at the big picture of time instead.
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