By Michelle Joseph

A few months ago I went shopping with a friend excited about buying an outfit for her niece’s 8th birthday.

Upon entering the girls’ section of the department store, we saw clothing on display that wasn’t exactly what we expected.  We witnessed a sea of really short shorts, miniskirts, and mini dresses.  Not only were we appalled by the selection of clothing for young girls, we were disgusted and confused as to why a major retailer would market adult-type” fashions to young children.  After wondering what was going on in the Juniors department, my friend and I realized that unfortunately young girls today are wearing fashions that are not age appropriate. I am not a parent, but I am a little perplexed by this.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen preteen girls wearing skin tight jeans, barely-there shorts and tons of makeup.  I’ve even seen girls as young as 5 years old with a head full of weave.  Certainly I can’t be the only one disturbed by this.

In my opinion, girls dressing provocatively at such a young age will inevitably have adverse effects on how they view themselves and how others view them.  Not only will they be judged solely on what they wear, they might equate their self worth and self esteem with how others perceive them.

It’s sad to say, but children no longer look like children anymore.  They are in a rush to grow up and their choice of clothing definitely reflects that.   Some blame this trend on the media and the fact that some little girls want to dress like their idols—Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Rihanna etc.  No offense to these ladies, but if I had a little girl, I wouldn’t want her dressing like them!

I sadly realize that this trend for girls is not going away.  It’s funny when I think back to when I was a kid, and how happy I was when my mother allowed me to wear nail polish at age 13.  Times have changed, eh!