Saturday, December 7, 2013
The Sexualization of Early Childhood
The sexualization of young children has been something that I have seen evolve over many years. Today things are different from when I was growing up and one thing that has extremely changed is how we show our little girls to be. I personally do not like the images and stereotypes that are stressed for the younger children. I do not believe that little girls should be worried about hair, clothes and make-up before teenage years.
Television and the shows that are geared for younger children are not giving children positive, healthy role models. Children are seeing more that you need to have a specific "glamorous" look to be popular and have friends. Advertising is another area where children are being targeted. Children are being shown that they can be pretty, funny, popular if they have these brand shoes or clothes. Many times the effects that this type of marketing has on the children and their families can be extremely harmful. Children may become depressed because they do not have what society is saying they should. Music today is an area where children are hearing things that they should not be listening to. There are now CDs made of young children singing, but the songs that they are singing are adult songs. I do not believe that just because it is a child’s voice it makes it appropriate for children to sing. The lyrics are basically the same, they may take out the “bad” words but you cannot change to meaning of the song. I do not believe it is suitable for children to sing about shaking any part of their body.
Children’s self-image/self-esteem can be destroyed if they set themselves up for failure at a young age. Children need to be praised for the good works that they do, not for how they look and the clothes they wear and the music they listen to. More and more children are dealing with depression and anxiety when they should just be enjoying being a child.
Because of the discussion this week about sexualization of young children, I have become aware of how much influence society has on our young children. To me, television, advertising and music are more concerned about how much more money they can make then whether or not children should be viewing and listening, and that is very sad.
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Hi Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteYou are so right that the sexualization of young children has evolved over the years. Now there are so many programs and images of young girls being in beauty pageants. The makeup they wear, the hairstyles and the clothing; it's just too much!! Music and television also contribute to the sexualization of young children, Families really need to be more aware of what children listen to and the programs they watch because they are receiving the wrong messages from some of the music and programs. They are receiving messages that can have a negative impact on their ability to develop positive and successful relationships when they get older.
That should be a period after the word..children...not a comma.
DeleteHi Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your insightful thoughts. I agree with you that television, music, along with video games, magazines are influential and are having negative impacts on our children. They are seeing and learning way too much - far too early. I am always shocked when my students tell me about an inappropriate movie they have just seen or a song they have heard. Society is a driving force; however, parents & educators must teach our children what is acceptable or not. Our little ones are not typical children as we were growing up. They are exposed to so much more! Thanks! Cindy Rube