Growing Up Too Fast

Many believe that kids today, especially young girls are growing up too fast. It has always been normal for girls and even boys to play dress up and try on their parents’ clothes. It seems that it might be a little harder for girls today to actually realize that experience is “play time” though. They want to bring that idea and possibly their mother’s style into their own life and wardrobe. They don’t always realize that their mother’s dresses and heels are meant for a woman her age, not a young girl. Today, however, we’re seeing more and more young girls dressing as adults, or even a 17-year-old.

I’ve read that many people argue that the Bratz dolls are a bad example for young girls. They wear sexy clothing such as, miniskirts, fishnets, and belly shirts, and have very long hair and heavy makeup. Not that this style is any different that what you see on television and in other media, but the fact is that these dolls are specifically made for young girls. Young girls see the dolls as pretty and “hip”, and in turn want to be like them. I wrote a paper on this topic a few years ago, and came across a few disturbing examples of how young girls are growing up too fast: shirts with “jailbait” stamped across the front, thongs and push-up bras for 7-year-olds from Abercrombie & Fitch, and even a stripper pole! Yes, a stripper pole! The “Peek-a-Boo” Stripper Pole urged buyers to “unleash the sex kitten inside” was (and still may be) sold in a store called Tesco in Great Britain. The product was found in the toy section, but since has been moved to the exercise department. Some may argue that the product was intended for exercise, but they may have failed to notice that a garter and play money was included with the package.

Check out more disturbingly weird products that were made for kids.

There are many factors that come into play when trying to understand why young girls are growing up too fast, or rather why they dress as if they’re already grown up. Today we have the Internet and hundreds of television channels that offer easy access to images and videos. Kids are exposed to quite a bit and are very impressionable. Young kids want to be treated as adults, and many of them are focused on style, sex, and image – things that no young girl or boy should be worried or even thinking about.