While scrolling down my Facebook timeline I see nothing but little girls with high buns, the pouty lips, the mini Gucci bags, and matching Chanel flats to match with their moms. The first thing I think to myself is, "Why are we rushing these little girls to grow up? They're only kids, they don't need to be exact carbon copies of their moms."
As I clicked on the post and I saw the comments, I couldn't help but be disgusted by what I saw. One comment was so repulsive, that it went along the lines of "If she looks anything like her mama, I'll be seeing her when she's 18." This completely creeped me out considering that this is coming from a grown man that is literally old enough to be this little girls grandfather.
Then I thought to myself, this is completely the fault of the parent. You can't be outraged by what you see if you contribute to the problem. We need to quit rushing our little girls to grow up. It's outrageous that we already have to deal with the 14 year old girls that are rushing to have the contour kits, and push up bras in order to fit in with their friends...or even worse, to keep up with the instagram likes.
Kids are meant to be kids. They have a childhood for a reason. We're supposed to look at children like innocent little people who run around on the playground, who swings on swings, the kids who skin their knees and seek the solace and comfort of Mommy and Daddy to make everything better.
Why are we forcing these kids to be such forces of us? Dressing them in literally everything designer, making them look way older than what they should be and then getting offended and upset when some strange older man creeps on them like a predator?
Our world is a scary place, but what makes it scarier is the people that inhabit it. We can't control the thoughts of the men that are out there in the world. We can't control who look at our children when they're outside with their guardians/family, but what we can control is how they're portrayed when they're outside.
Kids should be in overalls, sneakers that light up when they walk, sweaters with childish cartoons characters on them. They shouldn't be wearing Chanel sneakers, or mink jackets with Burberry skirts. Parents please, let your children be children. Don't rush them to grow up and do things that they aren't used to doing. It's one thing for them to be fashionistas, but it's another thing to make them look like they're 25 at age 6.
