Kids These Days: See Too Much, Hear Too Much, and Wear Too Little

Kids just don't get to be kids anymore. They see too much, they hear too much, and they wear too little.

I have come to dread clothes shopping with my two daughters. Actually, I have not enjoyed it since they were pre-school age. They are not 16 and 14. They are not even 12 and 10. They are 7 and 9.When I was 9, my favorite article of clothing was my yellow raincoat with ducks on them. My nine year old would not be caught dead in something with ducks on them. She wants belly shirts and jeans with chain belts on them. She wants tee shirts with snotty sayings on them and shoes with big chunky heels. I say, "You can't run around the playground with those things.You'll break your neck." She says, "Mom,(insert eye roll here), everyone wears these." The first time we had this argument, we left the shoe store with no shoes and more than a few tears.

The little one has followed suit. She recently informed me that she would no longer wear anything with flowers. Flowers were "babyish". Try explaining to a stubborn seven year old that females of all ages wear things with flowers on them and that the 97 items of clothing in her closet and dresser would not be banned from the house because some of them may have some sort of flower on them. Insert another eye roll here.

That's just clothes. I recently went to a function at my daughter's school and at least half of the third graders at the table had cell phones. Third Graders! I understand that there are circumstances that may make it necessary for a 9 year old to carry a cell phone. I think those Firefly ones with the the buttons for "Mom" and "Dad" are a great idea, but generally speaking if you need a cell phone to keep track of your nine year old, there's something wrong. I told the kids that I made it all through grammar, middle and high school without a cellphone and I survived. By the way they looked at me, you would have thought I had three heads. I think I saw another eye roll too!

Clothes and cell phones are on the mild end of the spectrum. I've had discussions with other mothers who believe that the "real world" should not be kept from their children and therefore expose their children to images and conversations that they do not have the emotional maturity to handle. And they shouldn't! Yes, I want my daughters to know that life can be difficult and sad, and they do. But I also want them, if only for a few more years, to believe in Santa Claus, that they are perfect just way they are and that their lives will turn out exactly how they want them to. You can insert an eye roll here if you want to!