I am a firm believer that the buck stops with the parents.
Despite the outside influences of television and magazines, we are the ultimate deciders in what our children eat, watch, and what they wear… or don’t wear for that matter. But while shopping for my nine-year-old daughter, Kali, over the past few weeks, I’ve witnessed a disturbing trend: inappropriate, sometimes sexually-tinged clothing and other items aimed at little girls.
It's "Oldest Profession In The World" Barbie!
I was even more disturbed to find that there’s a name for little girls who wear such things.
Prostitots.
A few weeks ago, I noticed an item in Sam’s Club that I considered buying for Kali. It was a pink container filled with beauty items. The box looked cheap and all the products inside were inappropriate: eye shadow, bright lipsticks and loud nail polish. According to the label, it was supposedly for girls my daughter’s age.
Again… Kali is nine!
I thought I could do better than the tacky-ho box, so I purchased a white box with polka dots and filled it with stuff I thought Kali would like, but more importantly, things that were more age-appropriate: fruit flavored lip balms, nail polishes in pinks and purples with sparkles, and bright-colored hair accessories, among other things. Not only was it cheaper to do it my way (Sam’s wanted $45 for their “beauty box”), but I controlled what Kali would be using to make herself pretty.
For instance, Walmart sells these lip glosses, lip balms, and nail polishes for little girls that cost 88 cents per item. Some of the lip glosses come on a little chain of beads that spell out words. I bypassed one that read, “Juicy” in favor of ones that said “cool”, “fun”, and “awesome.”
Why does a little girl need to have anything that says juicy? What’s that about?
This spring, the look is "predator-friendly!"
I am by no means an expert. Kali’s my first child and I’m learning as I go, but I’ve already decided on some things I can do to avoid turning Kali into a prostitot.
- Girls under 18 have no business wearing underwear with writing on them unless they’re under 7 and the words are the days of the week. (The latter is acceptable not because we expect anyone to see them, but because it helps in promoting good personal hygiene and learning the days of the week. Those of you without kids, I tell you this so you won’t be surprised when you realize that your own young children think that bathing and wiping are optional.)
- Speaking of underwear, girls under 16 don’t need thongs.
Pooh thongs? It was only a few years ago the pooh was in her diapers, not on her thong!
- Girls should not wear pants, shorts, or skirts with anything affixed to the ass. 12-year-olds don’t need hearts on their butt cheeks. And definitely no words. I saw a pair of jeans for young girls with the words “You wish” on the ass. Why? Good rule of thumb, Moms: Don’t draw attention to your daughters’ asses.
- If your daughter is under 16, stay away from clothes with the words SEXY, DIVA and/or HOT on them.
- No heels before middle school dances and even then they should be those low, boxy, Grandma heels.
- Under 16? No eye shadow, no blush, no eyeliner, no red nail polish, and this is just my own personal peeve: no perfume! Fruit scented lotions, however, are okay.
- A 5-year-old has no business in leopard print or fishnet.
- No one needs to see a 12-year-old’s belly button.
- Stay out of Limited Too.
- Do you really need to put your little girl in t-shirts with arrows pointing to their nether region?
I see a bright, shiny pole in her future.
- Body glitter is for strippers.
They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, the rest of the folks can dress their kids any way they want, but one thing’s for sure: My daughter won’t be the town hooker. Not if I can help it!
Today’s guest author, Nina, is a 34-year-old mother, wife and writer who spends her days blogging, studying, changing diapers and watching ridiculous amounts of TV. She currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, two children and three TiVos. She regularly writes about parenthood, entertainment and life on her site, Blog It Out, Bitch, which can be found here. If you’d like to submit a piece for consideration, drop us a line at howruderyou@hotmail.com , noting the odd spelling of the E-mail address to avoid confusion.
