Dear Clothing Designers, I Don't Want My Daughters to Dress like Hookers

I don't want my daughters to look like prepubescent hookers, so why are you offering me so many clothes that make them look that way?

I have two daughters. One is almost 10, the other is 5. They are beautiful girls and they are small enough to wear just about anything. But I get so angry when I try to buy clothes for them, especially in the summer.

In April I had to buy my oldest a swimsuit since we were going on a trip and she planned to swim in the hotel pool. I decided to look around since most stores had swimwear out. I was appalled by some of the choices I encountered. For my daughter, who is still a long ways from being a teen, I found tiny bikinis that would have been at home in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. There were some one piece suits, but even there I found suits that hinted at being sexy. Some suits had large holes, low cut tops, high legs or mesh just about everywhere.

Finding decent shorts is also a major chore. My oldest daughter was in track. I searched high and low for some running shorts that didn't show half her bottom. I finally found some longer running shorts - in the boys section of our local Academy store. When looking for casual shorts I found more shorts with less than one inch in the inseam than you can imagine. I didn't want to buy Daisy Dukes. Many of them also have very baggy legs, so that when my daughter sits Indian style she shows a whole lot more than she should.

Young girls' shirts are also getting lower cut on top and higher cut on bottom. We've had a hard time finding shirts that don't ride up to my daughter's chest when she raises her arms.

A few other mothers and I decided to ask some of our local stores about the choices available. Without fail, they said that they just buy what's offered and that they have been told by the manufacturers that consumers want these kind of clothes. Excuse me??

What kind of mother (or father) wants their young girl to dress "sexy"? Why would you want your young daughter to dress like she's 18 and on the prowl for a sugar daddy?

Another irritant that goes along with this: young girls wearing makeup. I have seen girls younger than my daughter wearing makeup. And I don't mean some lip gloss. I mean eyeshadow, mascara, blush, the whole nine-yards. What are these parents thinking?

Do you think your daughter looks cute in skimpy clothes? Well, she doesn't. She just looks like she has parents who are out to sell her body. Is she just so pretty that "she can wear those kinds of clothes and look good"? Well, if she's that good looking she doesn't need to dress like that. If she's not that good looking then you are doing her no favors by drawing all the wrong kinds of attention.

Wake up, parents. You are supposed to be protecting your children. Your job is to give your children love, care, and values. When you allow or insist on dressing your daughter like a hooker then all you are teaching her is that her looks are paramount. No girl needs that kind of pressure. This kind of thinking is what leads to eating disorders, and teen pregnancy, just to name a few. Your also teaching the boys around them that they can expect your daughter to be "easy."

It's not quite so difficult for my 5 year old. Fortunately, we have plenty of hand-me-downs from my oldest. However, now that my oldest is getting into pre-teen clothes, I'm becoming increasingly worried that by the time my 5 year old reaches 10, she will be expected to wear lingerie all the time.

Take action, parents. Tell your local stores that you want decent clothes for your daughters. Tell them you want them to look their age, not 10 years older. You want them to look like young girls.