Nothing to wear....

From the start little girls want to imitate their mothers.  I remember watching my own Mom putting on make-up, fixing her hair, choosing what she would wear.  I simply could not wait to grow up so I could wear high heels and primp in the bathroom mirror.

This past weekend my husband and I got (what is for us) an early start on our Christmas shopping.  My history as a working woman has been to do the shopping at the last minute; I’ve spent many a Christmas Eve racing through my local Walgreens, frantically searching for something that even remotely resembles a gift.  I confess to standing in the “as seen on TV” aisle trying to come up with an idea….wondering if a years’ supply of fiber wafers might brand me as an uncaring friend. Now that I work a more leisurely schedule I will have gifts on time…..it’s an idea whose time has come.

Our shopping day eventually took us to a popular store for young girls; two of our granddaughters are big fans of this particular shop.  And so it was that Larry and I found ourselves standing in the middle of a store that looked to be a cross between a Las Vegas showgirl’s dressing room and a biker bar.   Denim meets marabou feathers and beyond.

Looking through the racks of “sophisticated” clothes the sizes seem to range from five year old girls to ten years old girls, or thereabouts. A long line of little girls seemed headed to the back of the store to try on sparkling shirts and jeans; one little gal who looked to be about seven or eight stumbled toward a dressing room with an armload of clothes…her three inch sequined heels impeding her progress.

Mesh tops, sequined sweaters, jeans with strategically placed holes?  Where are the patent leather shoes, the little plaid jumpers and the tights with ruffled fannies hiding?  I don’t have the heart to buy my granddaughters an outfit that looks as if RuPaul designed it for the opening scenes of Drag Race!

As a nation our little girls are mimicking Miley Cyrus, in love with Justin Bieber and listening to the lyrics of music that could make a (1960’s) sailor blush.   How do we get off this merry go round? I think one way is to pay more attention to how our kids dress.  You can’t expect a little girl to act like a seven year old if you allow her to dress like a stripper.  TV, music, movies…many parents pay attention to those things; but take a careful look at your daughter and ask yourself if what she’s wearing is really age appropriate. That may sound simplistic, but we have to start somewhere, right?

Technically bowing to the wishes of my young ones I bought the most modest, the least offensive shirts and jeans I could find.  I hope my little dolls are still too young to realize I didn’t buy the feather boa that went with ‘just everything’. 

                                  Let’s not let our little girls grow old before they grow up.

                                                                   Life is Good