Family Therapist Tells How To Handle It If Your Young Daughter Wants To Wear Such An Outfit

“(CBS) Halloween may be all about having fun, but some costumes for young girls are trending sexier and sexier. Some of the risqué ones are aimed at girls as young as five.

Examples, in the minds of some observers, include the Bratz Cheerleader costume (for girls five-to-seven), the MJR Flirt (it just says “small” and is an Army skirt with a studded belt), Wonder Woman (for four-to-six-year-olds), the Bratz Bumble Bee (for five-to-seven-year-olds), and the Punky Pirate (for five-to-seven-year-olds).

Why is this happening, and what can parents do to dissuade their daughters from wearing such outfits?

“We used to see this only in the little beauty pageants for little girls, and there, it was the one arena where it was OK,” marriage and family therapist Dr. Jane Greer told co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez on The Early Show Wednesday. “I think, now, that desire to be pretty and attractive has spilled over into being sexy, and so it’s hard to make that distinction; (the trend affects) little girls, starting at 5 years old, even under, and going older.

“They all want to grow up. Remember, when we were younger, we wanted to wear our mother’s clothes, step into her shoes. Now, being grown-up, ala Lindsay Lohan, means being sexy, low-cut jeans, mid-drifts. And, that’s what they want.”

So, Rodriguez asked, does it boil down to changes in role models and movies and TV shows?

“I think, most definitely,” Greer responded…” ~ read the entire news article here.

October 23rd, 2008