Seriously, what sort of an eight year old needs a padded bra? Or a lace teddy? Or a g-string with "Naughty" on the front?
The sexualisation of kids has definitely gotten worse over the last few years. Kids are encouraged to want to wear these things that no one would have dreamed of dressing a child in when I was little. It's really no wonder we're all erring a little on the conservative side when it comes to children's clothing.
But I have to say, I think the school officials who called this six year old girl's parents to complain about her clothing being too "revealing" might have gone a tad overboard.
Apparently the school thought that her Hello Kitty outfit was too revealing, claiming that the length of the shorts were in breach of the school's dress code. Her parents were, understandable I think, confused. The girl was wearing leggings underneath them, and had actually worn the same outfit to school before without any complaint.
If their problem was with the length of the shorts, well I can say that I wore them just as short when I was her age, but I would never have said there was anything questionable about the clothes my mother dressed me in.
Take, for example, this picture of me when I was about five (with my brother). That skirt is just as short as the little girl's in the article. Would you consider what I'm wearing to be inappropriate? Is there really that much of a difference between her outfit and mine?There's a big difference between kids clothes that are short and kids clothes that are inappropriate. There wasn't anything provocative or sexual about that little girl's outfit. Nothing that screamed 6 going on 30.
So go take a look for yourselves. Do you think her outfit is too risque for a six year old? Do you think the school was overreacting? Do you think Hello Kitty shorts will soon be joining Big Mouth Billy Bass as an inappropriate and tasteless thing to display in public?
But most importantly ... didn't I look awesome in that little blue dress? Damn, I was a cute kid!
Now that's just crazy! I don't see anything wrong with the little girls outfit. I think there are plenty of things out there that comes across as sexy for little girls...the padded bras for an example. (I didn't realize there were G-strings available....UGH!) But the little girl in the Hello Kitty outfit..I don't see anything inappropriate.
ReplyDeleteYou do look darling in the picture. Very sweet picture.
Thank you, I was pretty adorable :P
DeleteYou were absolutely adorable! But....where can I find a pair of those awesome overalls, your brother has on?!?! :)
ReplyDeleteI think you'll have to go to Germany sometime in the late 70's. I'm pretty sure they came over in a care package from our German relatives.
DeleteThe trouble with school and dress codes today is idiot parents. They set a code and someone wears something that in appropriate but violates the strict letter of the code. Look the other way and parents allow less appropriate outfits and use the "look the other way" as an example. Then law susts ensue. It's law suits and idiot parents that have schools giving up on common sense, hence a picture of a gun becomes an offense, six year olds stealing a kiss on the cheek becomes sexual harassment, bringing an asprin is drug abuse...etc. How can schools have common sense when parents send 12 year olds to school with tight pants which say "Juicy" accross the butt?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, but the fault is with idiot parents who have to push the envelope and law suits...me, I would vote for school uniforms.
Everyone wears school uniforms in Australia so we don't have these problems.
DeleteOh, and yes you were very cute, but those shorts are an inch too high...go home and change them young lady!!
ReplyDeleteBut what if I have a note from my mum?
DeleteFirst off, you look adorable in that blue dress. :) Secondly, I didn't hear about the little girl and the Hello Kitty outfit. I googled it and found a story about a little girl who threatened to shoot herself and her classmates with a Hello Kitty BUBBLE GUN and then got suspended for a "terrorist act". Seriously? This world is getting crazy. I agree with you on some of the fashions they are showing for little kids. I say, let them be kids for as long as they can! My daughter is a firm believer and this, and even goes so far as to refuse to put a two piece bathing suit on my 4 year old granddaughter. I don't mind a two piece suit for her, but she certainly doesn't need a bikini!
ReplyDeleteLOL! I actually have a picture of myself as a six month old in one of those little baby bikinis. But to be fair to my Mum, it was the mid 70's.
DeleteThat's insane! I've seen kids going to school dressed inappropriately, and that wasn't it. I thought she looked nice.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with everyone else that you looked adorable as a kid.
Thank you :D
DeleteI think all kids should wear overalls, because it provides them with a convenient "handle."
ReplyDeleteLOL! A very good point.
DeleteI am still agog at the clothes you mentioned for an eight year old. What parent would think this was appropriate? Responsible parent that is.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea, but they must be out there if the shops are selling them.
DeleteGah! Kiddie porn! How DARE you unwittingly draw us into your web of sexual corruption, flashing NSFW images if a prepubescent you in provocative poses! Coed no less! Mine eyes! Burn mine eyes!
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, of course they overreacted, but probably because they felt they had to. If they under react they face perhaps worse consequences.
LOL! I'm sorry I offended your delicate sensibilities.
DeleteWhat shorts are you talking about in your pic? All I see are some rocking knee socks! ;)
ReplyDeleteI did wear the crap out of those knee socks, didn't I.
DeleteYour outfit is awesome! And the little girl in the article is adorable, and her shorts aren't that short.She wore them with leggings, too, so I don't see what the fuss is about. Back in my day (in the 1960s) girls did not wear pants to school at all. So we were wearing dresses and knee socks on the playground, doing skin-the-cat on the monkey bars with our undies showing. I suppose after about age 10 we were more self-conscious about that, or wore tights, but at 6 I really don't think other kids notice.
ReplyDeleteAt six I quite regularly ran around the yard half dressed because it was too hot. I guess it was a more innocent time.
DeleteThat was pretty bizarre. She looks like a cute little 6 year old. I don't know that I, as a mom, would have gone to the news about it, though. Kind of overreacting on both sides, I think.
ReplyDeleteBut you were a complete doll :)
I suppose she thought it was the only way to get anyone to listen to her. If she'd just argued with the school privately they probably would have just told her to bugger off.
DeleteI am completely with you on the kids dressing inappropriately bit. It is darn near impossible to find appropriate clothing for my 13 year old daughter, which makes our shopping trips together just peachy. (Sense the sarcasm there?)
ReplyDeleteAs for the school, I mostly agree with Joeh. Unfortunately, we can't use the logic of when we were kids and wore much shorter dresses and shorts. (I started kindergarten in the 70s, when women and girls wore their skirts up to their hoohas. My underwear was well-known.) The times are different. Parents are different. There are dress codes for a reason. Parents need to help the schools enforce them by knowing the dress code and not allowing their children to break it, whether the parent agrees with the code or not. The girl may have worn the shorts the prior week. She got lucky that no one noticed. It doesn't mean they can't call her mom on it the next week.
I'm glad we all had to wear uniforms when I was going to school.
DeleteWhy can't we just let kids be kids? This whole society has gone kerazy.
ReplyDeleteYep, it's a slow but steady decline I'm afraid.
DeleteI'm pretty sure I wore some skimpier clothes than that when I was a kid. Remember those stretchy "tube" tops? And halter tops? Oh and what about those tights we used to put on babies with the ruffles on the bum?
ReplyDeleteSo sad that kids grow up so quickly but I think that sometimes the schools take these cases abit overboard.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt you were very very cute and a snappy dresser to boot.
Came by from
http://talesofthereborncrafter.blogspot.com/
Yes, you were an exceptionally cute little girl.
ReplyDeleteAww, shucks (she says, as if she hadn't been shamelessly fishing for compliments)
DeleteGood God, it comes to something when you look at a child of 6 and think that their clothes are distracting. Distracting from what? And who was distracted?? Teamed with a pair of tights, there is nothing inappropriate or distracting about the child's attire. If she wore those jeans that said 'JUICY' across the buttocks, or those children's thongs,(WHY!?)then I'd understand the fuss.
ReplyDeleteAnd dammit, you were cute. And you are rocking that blue dress. :)
Ugh, NO ONE should wear pants with JUICY written across the back! It should be a law or something.
DeleteThat photo of you and your brother is adorable! You're both so cute.
ReplyDeleteI went to take a look at that little girl's outfit and I honestly don't see anything wrong with it.
G-strings for kids? I shudder at the thought!
It's terrifying what they come up with for kids these days, isn't it.
DeleteYou look adorable! You mentioned a lot of things that are much more alarming than a short skirt with leggings under it. I always wonder what the parents say to such strange reactions. I don't know what I would say.
ReplyDeleteI have to imagine it came as a surprise to them. It would never have occurred to me that there was anything wrong with her outfit.
DeleteVery cute outfit!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, it is hard to find clothes appropriate for girls. It's ridiculous what they market. My daughter is 12 and tall - almost 5'7". If you can find a pair of shorts that aren't too short for her I'll pay you big bucks for them. She's also very conservative (Thank God!) so at least she does her best to cover everything that should be covered.
That tall at twelve! I wonder how tall she'll be by the time she's grown up.
DeleteTerrifies me to see 'sexy' clothes in the children's section.
ReplyDeleteBuying appropriately is getting harder but the buck has to stop with the parents.
Why do they want their kids to look sexy ?
Its insane and only getting worse.
The shorts worn by that little girl were fine (unless she was wearing fishnet stockings under them ) and you and little bro were two cute kids !
Thanks, I think we were pretty adorable :D
DeletePerhaps the school is anti Hello Kitty?
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, you were adorable!
LOL! I hadn't considered that possibility. But who could possibly be anti Hello Kitty?
DeleteHere in New Zealand kids wear uniforms to school, so we have no issues. Although my daughter did get in trouble because her little stud ball earrings weren't either gold or silver. My girls hate their new winter uniform with midcalf skirt and shirt buttoned to the neck.
ReplyDeleteRhonda @Laugh-Quotes.com
Kids here wear uniforms too. Good thing too, I think.
Deleteher outfit seems fine, she even wore tights. Hell back in the days sometimes we would only go in tights in t-shirt. Or we had tiny shorts as kids...or you know no clothes in summer..just undies.
ReplyDeleteBut I agree with you that clothes for girls are way too mature now.
Some of them are terrifyingly so.
DeleteThat. Was. Ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteYes, there are some disgusting little girl outfits and underwear out there...but Hello Kitty and a skort with tights are not on that list.
Maybe I shouldn't go here, but I unfortunately think that it was a racist decision. Good for that mom - getting this on the news.
Also, you've inspired my post for tomorrow. Thanks for that. :)
Happy to be of service ;P
DeleteLast summer I saw an eight-ish girl with a t-shirt that said "You know you want this".... That was inappropriate. This little girl was dressed like a little girl. Cute, innocent, and totally appropriately. But to bring it on the news? Really mom? Why does everything have to be a law suit? A little sanity needed on both sides of the issue.
ReplyDeleteBTW, you were very cute:)
I think a reality check was needed all round, to be honest.
DeleteI was shocked also to know that here is a show called "Todlers in Tiaras"
ReplyDeleteLOL! That show is a train wreck! Horrifying, but I can't stop once I start watching.
DeleteI cant believe some of the things Ive seen kids in but you are right about the hello kitty kid. And you are cute but your brother's little lesiure suit look...
ReplyDeleteLOL! I'm sure he was stuffed into that suit kicking and screaming.
DeleteThere was nothing wrong with her outfit and when the mother reminded them that she had worn that skort (a stupid piece of clothing in itself) last week, no one seemed to have an answer. And they certainly couldn't say WHY it was inappropriate.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was quite cute.
DeleteIt's absolutely gross what kinds of clothes are available for kids now a days. My oldest is turning 11. It's hard as hell finding a pair of shorts that are the appropriate length for a girl her age. Makes me so mad
ReplyDeleteAnd don't even get me started on Halloween costumes for kids.
Hugs!
Valerie
Ooh, there's a whole can of worms I'm not brave enough to open.
DeleteI agree that some fashions for kids are rather sick, but that Hello Kitty outfit is perfectly reasonable and cute. Now, when I was in middle school in Maryland, we had a clearly defined dress code (skirts and shorts had to reach the knees). If they have that dress code and make it clear, then sure, the outfit violated the dress code. However, they never stated that, and their responses showed they had no idea what to say other than to spout a bunch of b.s. I would have been angry if I were her, too.
ReplyDeleteShannon at The Warrior Muse
The mother seemed pretty upset about it all.
DeleteCan't say I'm much into children's fashions. Most of the grandkids stuff is second-hand — plain and warm.
ReplyDeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
LOL! Ah, good old hand me downs.
DeleteThe sexualization of kids is gross. I don't ever want to hear the argument about "it's art" or "it's artsy" -- no, go make art with someone older. But, if the girl was wearing leggings... not that sexualization. She just wanted to wear a character-themed outfit, and appropriately put some leggings on to not show too much skin. That seems like a weird call to make.
ReplyDeleteNow, about you as a six-year-old harlot: AWESOME OUTFIT! You should get a similar one for your adult self, hehe. Be as harlot-y as you like as an adult.
I should! I should get one made and then get a checkered overall for my brother, and recreate the photo.
DeleteNow I just have to work out how to trick my brother into doing it.
Not sure if you recall the post, but I had a pretty good post a while back about my asshole neighbor's 12 year old daughter. They let her wear whatever she wants, so she wears the absolute shortest booty shorts I've ever seen. Like if she bends over, you see her ass. Not an exaggeration. People always think I'm kidding, but last time Brandon was over for a beer and she was walking home from a friend's house (in nothing but a bikini top and booty shorts), he looked at me and said, "Jesus, you weren't kidding. I feel like a creepy old asshole for even looking within 10 feet of her. What's wrong with her parents?"
ReplyDeleteIt makes you wonder about some people, doesn't it. Do they not care, or are they just sick of fighting her on it.
DeleteLOL! I'm so going to tell him that!
ReplyDelete