"Daddy, are you really going to kill our boyfriends?" "Yep. Probably so." "Well, if you do, I'm going to tell the Principal!" And so it begins. Kelly Ripa reported yesterday that studies have shown that children are reaching puberty in this country earlier than they ever have before. My husband and I are already having conversations with our girls that I thought were years away. Everything from, "why can't I have a cell phone" to "why can't I have a boyfriend?"
My first grader informed me last night that a boy in her kindergarten class last year told all the girls on the playground that they were "hot." I quickly informed her that "hot" was not an appropriate term for a kindergarten age boy or girl to be using. "Well, why not?" Why not, indeed? Between the commercials for underwear and sexual enhancement products my home is bombarded with on a daily basis, I can already see that we are going to be having some adult conversations way too soon for me.
Which brings me to my point: why is everyone in such a hurry for kids to grow up? It's really no wonder that there's a show called "16 and Pregnant" on MTV these days. Have you walked through the juniors department lately? My friends with "tweens" have tried to warn me that fashion above the size 6 girls takes an abrupt turn toward hoochie mama. I can now say that I've seen it for myself. Is it so terrible that I want my little girls to be little girls for awhile longer? I don't want them to look grown up, or hot, or mature. I just want them to look like kids. You know, short people whose job it is to play with their toys and enjoy life? Makeup and nail polish can wait. My girls are 6, not 16. And, by the way, any boy who wants to take one of my girls out is going to have to survive a fully attended family dinner at our home. I got my tenth anniversary present yesterday, an awesome western table with enough chairs for our family and then some! Good luck, teenage boys. You're going to need it.
Could this post be from the same girl who was "embarressed and humiliated" because her Dad refused to let her go out with a young man who would not come to the door and meet said Dad before taking his Daughter on their first date? I believe my response was "Send him home, you're not going!" Hmmmmm-- Things change when seen from a different perspective, don't they? Haha!
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