“Childhood is over for many children by the age of 12” say members of the parenting website, Netmums. This is a worrying and saddening statement and although an issue for both genders, the problem is much more prominent for girls. They are becoming more aware of the ‘role of their appearance’ at a much younger age than they have done in the past decade. Childhood truly is a precious time in a person’s life (the biggest fear-being sent to the “naughty step”); adulthood is equally exciting (finding your feet in the world, having big responsibilities). Life should not be rushed however and therefore we – as a society – should explore and question why this, the most natural of progressions, is rapidly speeding up.
Where is the evidence for this statement?
Evidently, some may say that this statement is false; however there are a number of examples of evidence which bond together to form a worrying picture of how quickly girls are growing up. For starters, the sexual activity of under aged girls provides a significant marker for this argument. The Telegraph provides statistics which state that, in 2008, “4 out of 10 girls in England had underage sex.” This is an extremely worrying statistic which highlights how serious this problem is; a statistic which is only emphasised by another contributing factor.
The regulations on the popular social networking site “Facebook” firmly state that a registering member must certify that they are 13 years old or over, however it is commonplace that many children under this age enter a false birth date as a way of getting around the restriction. Contrary to belief, this restriction is used for a specific reason and by entering the social networking world, young girls specifically are exposed to content which helps them to grow up at a faster rate; constant pressure to “beautify” themselves for “likes” on photos for example.
Is it the fault of high street retailers?
Over the past few years many high street retailers have been accused of “sexualising” young girls via the sale and promotion of distasteful clothing and accessories for their child markets. In 2011, Matalan were under fire for selling padded bras on the section of their website labelled “girls clothing 3-13yrs.” This is one example of a whole ocean of sickening examples which have occurred over recent years. Is it this exposure to clothing and items – which are, frankly, not even worth defending or discussing further – that is the root cause for girls growing up quicker? More likely this is a contributing factor, amongst many other important arguments which must be considered. Let’s remember – girls between the ages of 3 and 12 rarely buy their own clothes. Are parents to blame for this significant issue?
Is it the fault of parents?
In relation to high street retailers, it’s important to consider the role of parents in this argument. Often these young girls are simply too young to physically buy their own products and it begs the question, are the parents of these girls the key ingredient for the acceleration of the natural process of growing up. Some would argue, however, that they are just “meeting the needs of their child.”
It’s worth mentioning the example of Noah Cyrus – the 9 year old sister of Miley, who set up her own “child’s lingerie brand” in 2011. She must have had some aid from her family; media and high street advertisement may have influenced her interest and decision to want to create the brand; but where does the funding come from?
In summary, it is evident that the parents of young girls and high street retailers, when combined together, create a formidable argument for why girls are growing up too quickly, but it would be naïve to simply attribute the whole issue with these two main points.
We must not forget about: media pressure (which forms some part of the retailer argument), peer pressure, and a general increase in adherence to celebrity culture.
This is an extremely difficult problem to tackle, yet we must strive to help improve the situation and give back young girls their childhood!
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