I remember one of the first times I took my older host kid to school, I was surprised when I saw very young girls wearing make up, mostly lipstick, eye liners and mascara. When the summer came, I was again surprised to see all kind of young girls, wearing outfits that clearly didn't match their ages. They looked older and some of them even got an attitude towards their peers that were not wearing makeup or same type of outfits.
I come from a rather "small" city in Colombia and by the time I left, those "trends" were not here yet. At least not in my city. I mean, I am sure there were girls doing it, but they were just few.
Here, students wear uniforms to school and makeup is not allowed at school. Again, there are of course students who like to go against the rules, but there were more the students not wearing makeup and stuff like that.
I came back to Colombia in the spring of '10 and moved to Spain in the early autumn of the same year. There, I was not dealing with children, but the ones I saw, were looking more like the ones back home, in the aspect I mentioned above. Ok, I saw other things which surprised me, like parents bringing their young kids(babies and toddlers) into restaurants where smoking was allowed and then smoking in front of them and their kids inhaling their/strangers smoke. Also children using adults language and expressions....
But in regards of make up and outfits that didn't match their ages, not so much. It happened the same while in Germany, at least the places I went to.
Anyways, I moved back to Colombia in the late summer of '12 and oh surprise, things have changed!!
I go to the only big shopping mall in the city and I see little girls wearing outfits that match their moms, outfits targeted for teenagers but look more for adults, teenagers wearing lots of make up, getting waxed at the SPA where I get my facials, getting perms on their hair because they don't like it wavy, a friend proudly posted on Instagram a picture of her 2 years old getting a pedicure/playing with their iPad, young kids with the latest smartphones, my 11 years old godson on Facebook and other little cousins posting stuff that from my point of view they shouldn't even be accessing, and not to talk about the provocative way some of them and their friends are posing?!? on their pictures. The list goes on and on and on.
I'm in shock and worried. I am worried because I dream of having my own kids (2) and I of course, want the best for them. I don't want them to be teased or bullied at school just because they don't match their peers lifestyles, I don't want them to become perfect targets for predators/robbers, I don't want their childhood to be shortened by "trends". But at the same time, I do want them to socialize, be with kids their ages, I don't want for us to isolate from the world... But then, it's like everything is out there! This scares me to death. I know already I will be a little protective of them, I just don't want to become an overprotective, not cool mom.
My boyfriend and I have talked about it couple of times, and I am happy we agree on so many things regarding this topic. I am sure we would make great parents and when I think about it, I feel very blessed to have him as my boyfriend.
...But then again, I tend to worry too much sometimes. I admit it! The kids are not even here yet, and I am already worrying about them.
It was actually this, that got me thinking about the topic today. But it has been in my mind for a looong time now.
http://www.chicagonow.com/portrait-o...on-the-crotch/
If you are still reading this, what are your thoughts about it? More specifically about inappropriate imposition of sexuality in children. If you are a parent, how have you been dealing with it?. If you are a a first time parent or are expecting a child, how do you plan to deal with it?
In fairness, kids are living with technology around them now. I'm not even that old but when I grew up, mobile phones weren't 'cool' until I was 12 or so in Australia.
I was bullied heavily in school, but there was one thing that protected me a little and that was the uniform. Mum barely had the money to feed us sometimes, but uniforms could be provided from the school on scholarships or handed down from other kids. My uniform was often the nicest/newest thing I owned. Mufti day was always stressful for the poor kids. I remember very clearly one year listening to my friends bag-out another kid because he wore the exact same thing to mufti day every time it happened... but it was simply the only other thing he owned that wasn't falling apart. (for non-Aussies, mufti day is a day you can go to school in street clothes, and you pay a gold coin for the privilege - usually as fundraising for school dances etc)
It's likely to be a lot harder to get your little girl to understand that dressing like trash from a 50cent video is not alright if she's surrounded by other young ladies all day that are looking like that too.