Are our girls growing up too fast?

no, I dont think so. I think every generation says that about the next one. That Vogue cover, is actually targeting adults. Your average 10- 14 year old is not buying Vogue (amphasis on average). they cant afford it. I know a whole bunch of girls (mine is 13) who are getting into music & while they do mimic the poses & moves from You tube, they know its mimicing - just like my friends & I used to do to Cant Touch this & Madonna. The girls who hang out at home - you dont see them in the mall. This is a full on learning time for them - how to communicate appropriately - with & without technology, how to dress for the weather (let alone occasion), explore their own personal tastes - not to mention school. Oh, and how to clean up their room! yikes! Right from when my girl was little I did notice there were a few who dressed their girls in what my view was inappropriate. I called them "Prosti-tots" lol. I still think they are the minority however.

I am a mum of two boys and my partner has two girls so I experience both sides. He and I both cringe when we try to find new clothes for his oldest girl who is 6. Neither of us want booty shorts and crop tops on a 6 year old yet that is a majority of what is available. I have brought the girls a small amount of make up such as lip-gloss that they are allowed to use on a special occasion or if we are playing dress ups. I will be completely upfront tho and say I have waxed on of my sons dark hairy monobrow ( he is half indian and it joined up with his hair line) I also tint my other sons eyebrows a light brown colour as he had white brows and was being teased at daycare. I am a qualified beauty therapist tho and only did it as my boys were being teased

No matter what age I was no one could stop me from wearing high heels and stealing my mums mascara. I would wear platform boots like 8 times to big for me but they seriously made me feel so happy and beautiful, and they still do! Same with makeup. I just love it an always have. I totally understand why people wouldn't want their children doing or wanting to do things like that though! I can't really have too much of an opinion about the matter, I'm not a parent.

I am a mumma of two beautiful girls, 1 is 11 the other 7. It truely freaks me out how much pressure is on them to dress a certain way and act a certain way. I will not let my girls wear clothing I believe is revealing. Nor are the allowed to wear any more than lipgloss unless its for something dress up! I encourage them to be children for as long as able!

im a mum of 3 boys and one girl, she is nine and thank fully is not worried about silly things like that, in fact shes a girly girl so yes she trys to wear make up but thats as far as it goes, for now lmao, i dont like seeing kids all caked up , eyebrows done etc etc, the unfortunate thing is kids see what they think they should like in magazines , tv, you name it, but lucky my daughter dosent think like that , i would like my daughter to have a proper childhood to enjoy the joys of being a kid as i know it dosent last, when she does get to that point then we will sit down and have atalk, but until now shes a gerogous little girl whom loves to be a kid

Maybe all parents need to stop enabling them to be like this and start acting like parents instead of trying to be their friends. The word No does work (your little darling will probably hate you for 5 mins but you are the adult) and you may feel really aweful inside but stick to it! And for the record, yes I do have a daughter who has had No said to her many times during her 21 years and she thanks me now I might add.

TBH it would depend on the child, I have ages for each new thing for my daughter while shes growing up and also the context of the situation. She does get to play with make up now but in her eyes its only play as she mostly tries to make herself look like one of the my little ponies or a la la loopsy. If the context changed to something more along the lines of a context more tweenish I'd be much more likely to step in and give her the age requirement talk. I certainly believe in age appropriate makeup and dress but I'm not trying to hide it all from her either, I've been taking a very open approach with her as when I'm not around all these outside influences still are, so I make a point of having a lot of discussions with her about how shes feeling so that when the time comes and she wants to try new things when she gets older she can feel comfortable coming to her mum and hopefully I can get to be a good influence on her self confidence as she grows older and starts to become aware of her appearance (and also teach her what not to do!!)

I have just seen a beautiful post on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/littleFairyDoor - to me, this sums up Natalie's blog very aptly.

In a word, YES. Our children are coerced into premature sophistication which has to be a concern for all of us. The tut-tutting about promiscuity, teenage pregnancies, etc., belies the fact that parents need to be more mindful of what their girls (and boys) are doing, with whom they associate, and set the boundaries which are all important. Children prefer mild regimentation. Let none of us forget Jon Benet-Ramsay, her demise was none of her own doing.

I have a 15 month old daughter and being the little mimic that she is, she likes to watch me do my hair and makeup before work in the morning. I've given her a few brushes to play with and she does her "pretties" in the mirror while I do mine, she'll then brush her hair with a little brush when I do mine. It is really scary to think how much I have already influenced my little one and I know as she gets older that I will need to make a conscious effort to make sure she knows she is beautiful and special without the need of multiple products. Reading this makes me feel a bit sad as it seems that I'm setting a bad example. Hmmmm....

I want to try and preserve my little guys childhood innocence for as long as possible. I do think having a boy makes it easier in a sense but I do hope to have a girl one day too! I don't see the harm in a little bit of lipgloss or badly applied eye shadow while playing dress ups but nothing more until they are old enough for it. Mr2 loves my lippy and often asks for some while I'm doing my makeup. I don't think he will still be wanting it when he starts school however lol.

I'm not a mum, nowhere near but I definitely understand this. I'm turning 19 in a month and have only restarted using makeup in the last few months - just a bit of brow pencil, eyeliner and BB cream. However I remember being in year 8 - intermediate school only and most of the girls in my class would come to school with a full face of makeup, they'd even recommend products to me and tell me how much better I'd look. My mum was the only reason why I didn't start wearing makeup at 12. She was very firm and told me there is no reason to wear makeup and that I shouldn't be putting product onto my face at such a young age. There's just such much imagery on social media with beauty and makeup and girls are just growing up too fast - they're not enjoying their youth while they can.

I am a mother of 3 boys and one girl, Im kind of lucky she has a lot of brothers to hang out with but recently she has started digging the odd lip gloss and wanting to wear a skirts and short shorts more often especially now that its coming into summer. I don't mind her wearing them as long as she has a long jersey to go with it and a tshirt past her bum. The world is changing but I don't think that kids need to dress older than their age or grow up before there time. I ensure that my kids still know how to play outside with balls etc and not just use electronics to keep themselves entertained. Its up to us to decide how we raise our children and teaching our girls to create their own identities without following trends.

This is one of those topics that really gets me worked up - I could rant for hours on this subject! In a nutshell I think YES they are. Childhood is such a precious thing that once its gone you NEVER get back. I feel that your childhood is such a small part of your life, so don't make it any shorter than it has to be! Little kids wearing bikini's, heels and lipstick looks so so wrong. As dress-ups I think occasionally it's fine, little girls want to be just like their mama's and when you come home in makeup and heels I think they want to wear them to be 'just like you' but never outside, just in the home and only in 'dress up' time.. I believe 15 is an age where its appropriate to wear a SMALL (powder, mascara) amount of makeup sometimes if the desire is there. I remember being so unconfident and makeup just gave me that little boost I needed at that age.

This is all sounding pretty ranty! Great article, I think you voiced some really valid points here

For the past four years I have taught Year 7 -8 co ed classes with girls ranging between 11-13. As a non uniform school, I had to have many private discussions with specific girls about the suitability of shorts that show butt cheeks, strapless tops and skimpy singlets. These girls are beautiful, intelligent articulate young women who for the most part, were struggling to find clothing that a) fitted and b) met their maturity level. Most of them were past fitting into kids clothing and wanted to shop at places like glassons, dotti, forever new and supre. As a school we went with the angle of thinking about choosing clothes for the occasion- and school is a place for playing, learning and being sun smart and that it needed to be a place where we all felt comfortable. Now as a mother of a baby girl, I am even more aware of what is available for girls. Well meaning friends have gifted our baby with jeggings and baby bikinis which I have quietly exchanged. I want my little girl to be comfortable with being a girl as long as she needs to.