Too much, too soon

I often hear mothers of boys lament the lack of adorable little boy clothes and the frillylessness of their infant wardrobe. And it's true, as the mother of a little girl, that Abby's wardrobe options, even at the tender age of 10 months, are significantly greater than those of the little boys she knows.

But today, to those mothers of boys--and to my mother-in-law, who raised three of the best ones I know--I say congratulations. For it is you, oh mother of males, who will never have to deal with pants that say "hottie" on her little toddler rear end, you who will not fight the string bikini battle with a 6 year old, and you who will not have to tell a preteen why she cannot wear a mini skirt to middle school.

And as if there weren't enough forces out there trying to market early sexuality to my young girl in an effort to make a lifelong Victoria's Secret shopper out of her, we now add "her first high heels" to the list of inappropriate shopping choices for young girls. The company behind them calls them "heelarious" and sizes them to fit 0-6 month old babies. The babies, I'll point out, are too young to appreciate the humor. This is all about moms and older women who think it's funny to dress little girls like little women.

"But," you say, "it's just a shoe...it's a joke!" No, it's not, I'll reply. It's just one small part of a greater marketing campaign that tells girls that what most matters is their outward appearance, and that in order for that appearance to be appealing, it must be sexier, older, more mature, and more worldly. This is part of the same campaign that prompts Teen Magazine (with a target audience of girls ages 10-15) to publish articles like last year's "What Guys Really Want" and "How to Have Super Soft Kissable Lips." (I'll ask you dads out there...which of you really wants your little girl to know how to have what 15-year-old guys really want?)

Long before there was Abby, I spoke with a young mom who explained to me why her 2-year-old little girl would continue to dress in age appropriate clothes, and not clothes modeled after outfits you'll find in the juniors department of Target. She pointed out that it's easy to not allow your toddler to wear a miniskirt, but it would be much more difficult to suddenly tell her when she turns 12 or 13 that a miniskirt is inappropriate now, when it was okay earlier. If it's going to be inappropriate when she's older, Joy asked me, then why should it be okay now?

She's right. No, you will not catch my daughter in a pair of baby high heels, a baby string bikini, or size 2T jogging shorts with "hottie" emblazoned on the rear. Because modesty may be the farthest thing from the mind of a one-year-old, but one of these days it will be of utmost importance. Because she is not an object, but a person, and one of great value. Because she was made in the image of a loving Father, one who would not want His daughter to go out of the house looking like that. And I cannot teach her that if I dress her to please the world.