Kids are exposed to wayyy too many "sexy" images, airbrushed photographs, and Bratz dolls. It's not good enough if parents to ban this stuff in their homes. In fact, nothing parents do is gonna be good enough.
A columnist informs us that a couple of nine-year-olds were showing off their hot bootays in tight clothes and makeup at the local mall recently near Washington DC. It follows that as a nation, we all need to be really concerned for every young girl. The schools should teach these kids better because their parents obviously aren't gonna. Somehow it's our business as a society that hot young things get something called "corrective education," starting in kindergarten.
Is it just me, or does "corrective education" sound spank-y and jumped-up sick? Am I the only one who gets creeped out that people like to talk about sex with children who aren't theirs, and/or are "concerned" about the healthy sexual development of children? As in, whyyy are you so interested in my kids' sexuality? Are you a pervert or something that you wanna know all about it? Because it grosses me out that some old man might even speak words like "ejaculation" near my kids. It gets me heebie-jeebie grossed out.
It's no-one's business anyway what I teach my kids about sex, or even IF I do anyway. Or what I let my kids wear. So what if I ever choose to let my FOUR-year-old out wearing lipstick and a miniskirt? If she's not turning tricks on the corner it is none of your flipping business. It seems someone is always hating on parents for letting their girls dress too strumpety or constraining them to wearing prairie dresses.
Have you noticed the objectionable clothing is always on a GIRL? Never a boy. I never hear people complaining about boys being too sexy or having their personal identities crushed because their parents made them dress too modestly.
I don't know what point I was making with that last bit, but that's all I had to say. I would like to hear what you think.
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Well... I think it's horrible that parents let little girls dress that way. I think it's horrible that it's hard to find modest clothing for my 14-year-old even. We had to shop for an entire day - morning to evening - to find her a decent skirt on our trip back to the US recently. And, here in Japan some young parents recently like to dress their little boys, even babies, like little gangstas. I dislike that , too. It irritates me to look at it, to be honest.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I fail to see how having "sex education" in the first grade is going to help any of that at all. How is telling kids more about sex before they are ready for it going to help them to stop wanting to dress and look like the people they see on TV? I don't see anyone deciding to take all the trash off of TV to preserve the innocence of children, since parents are just too lazy, or too wrapped up in other things to say, "turn that thing off right now." I don't see anyone, but a few concerned mothers, trying to get the trashy magazines out of the checkout lines at the store, for one more example.
And, I am totally with you on the creepiness factor of some guy (or, gal, for that matter)telling my children about sex in the first grade - or, second, third, etc. No thanks!
Ohhh, ok ok ok. Here you go getting all reasonable on me and such. Yeah, it's not too cool to dress your little girl like a tramp. But still. It doesn't follow that we need sex ed, yk??? :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I think parents should be given the benefit of the doubt always. I mean, 9 or 10 years old? Plenty of girls are developing at that stage and lamenting that they are dressing like little ladies is a little laughable.
Well, I tend to think that the schools are to BLAME for some of this stuff, if not most; so the idea that they can FIX it makes me want to vomit and maybe smack an administrator in the face a little bit.
ReplyDeleteIf a stranger on the subway talked about sex to a child, they would be called a pervert, but if a teacher wants to do it, it's helpful? Or educational? Or something? Uh-huh. Sure.
It is HARD to find clothes for my daughter that don't make her look like a hoochie, that's why she wears her brother's hand-me-downs. I suppose parents are to blame....supply and demand and all that. I can only vote with my dollars, so that's what I do.
But school isn't the solution. To very much at all in my view.
Issues like this make me once again grateful for homeschooling and the freedom to do it.
In this day and age, the last place I would want anything 'corrective' taking place with my kids is in the school system.
ReplyDeleteGreat argument for homeschooling.... my kid dresses kinda crazy, but modest. And it is HARD to find modest clothes for a 15 year old. They just don't exist. We have to do a lot of layering and sewing.
ReplyDeleteAh, Deb, so glad I am not dealing with these problems yet with my 4-year-old. Though she did want painted nails today and her dad told her no way, ever. I thought it would be ok but I guess not...
ReplyDeleteI agree, Blondee!
Ahermitt, isn't it really too hot to do too much "layering" where you live? I think I would die of heat exhaustion depending on how that is done.
From what I understood of the article you linked it's not necessarily sex education but an open discussion about what they see on television. Now that doesn't mean that at 6 and 7 children should be having these talks at school with their teachers I personally think they should be having them with their parents whenever their parent feels that their child is ready for that discussion whether it be about what their doll looks like and why or about sex. I personally hope to be able to have a continual discussion with my children(when I have them) about not only what they see and what that means but also about sex from an early age. But that is because I want them to be safe and know the real information, plus I never felt comfortable talking about this kind of stuff with my own parents and got lucky to not have ended up a teen parent, I don't want my children to be scared or uncomfortable talking about that subject with me.
ReplyDeleteCherryblossom, you're right. I just think anytime we have "open discussions" about stuff like that, pretty soon the conversations will get inappropriate. I absolutely think parents should have talks with their children so that they have accurate and age-appropriate information. I've been reading some news articles lately that have really reinforced the point that this is not an area teachers should be dealing with if you know what I mean. Lots of great teachers, but there are sickos out there, too, and leaving the door open to chatting could lead to all kinds of trouble. Best just not to give the pervs a loophole of any kind, and/or to allow children to expect to discuss sex in school. It doesn't lead anywhere good... :(
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, though, it bothers me when people are "concerned" about what someone might be teaching their children about sex, or whether they are passing their hangups down to their kids through their attitudes or whatever. I wonder why they "care" so much and if it isn't just some sort of sick voyeurism. I have heard one friend tell me her next door neighbour tried to have a sex talk with her girls so that they would "be prepared" later on. It makes me want to puke.
ReplyDeleteIt really isn't so hard to find age appropriate clothing for kids. Places such as K-Mart and Target have decent kids clothes, also department stores in the kids sections. It's up to the parents to make sure their kids aren't wearing "junior hooker" clothes. I also think makeup on girls under high school age is wrong. Let them be kids, I say. For very young children, sex-ed should be in the hands of the parents. If your child is asking the questions, then he or she deserves the correct answers, no matter what their age. Simplify it for the youngest ones, but don't tell fairytales like being found in the cabbage patch.
ReplyDelete...here's a penny of my thoughts: My assumption as to why society doesn't bother with boys being too sexy is perfectly illustrated by LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know" music video. If you are not familiar, consider yourself warned. WARNING: That video will likely disturb you for the rest of your natural life... or make you giggle... or, possibly, both. [shudder]
ReplyDelete~Luke
River, I'm not sure that I would give all the information to a five-year-old though, even the tamer version. But then again, it would depend on what the question is and how it's asked.
ReplyDeleteLuke... both! Disturbing AND funny. Oh mannn... how did this guy get a whole group of people to participate in this video?? Just have to wonder how that discussion went... :)