images: Vogue and Rex
Article by BR Natalie
As a mama I have to admit to feeling relief more than once that Milky Chops is a boy.
Given my job in a female dominated industry and the fact I'm surrounded by beauty products, makeup and all manner of girly stuff, this might surprise you. Wouldn't it be fun to share this with a daughter?
It turns out I'm a bit of an old soul, and I probably belong in another era. My house is filled with wooden, battery-less toys, books and hideaways, like the teepee in the lounge and the soft toy nook in Milky's bedroom. The garden is probably the second most used area on any given day. Milky plays, he gets dirty, he explores and he discovers. We have a strict no-technology rule, they'll be no kiddy tablets or games consoles for a very long time.
Now you might be thinking 'you can raise girls the same way' and I totally agree. My relief comes from knowing that boys just don't face the same rush and push from society to grow up too soon. Girls are no longer styling their Barbies at age 11, they're styling themselves. There are makeup sets aimed at girls under 10. It just seems when you separate the sexes, boys stay boys for much longer than girls stay girls.
Seriously there are pre-teen makeup gurus on YouTube with skills I can only dream of! And don't even get me started at the clothing selection for girls of all ages now!
Do toddlers need ruffle bikinis? Do 11 year old's need 'juicy' written across the bottom of their trackies? Do 15 year olds need padded bras and thongs?
What's sparked this article you might be wondering? Well I came across an article about Thylane Loubry Blondeau. Thylane began modeling at age four, before modelling for Vogue Paris at the tender age of ten. (image left)
The header image for this article is of Thylane now. She is 13. THIRTEEN! When I was 13 had my hair and makeup done once for my uncle's wedding. I wasn't allowed to colour my hair until I was 16 and even then I was allowed precisesly 6 splices of 2 shades lighter than natural. My wardrobe consisted of jeans that reached my belly button and crew necks that actually reached my neck. And my eyebrows, or should I say eyebrow, definitely weren't rocking the brow game Thylane is.
Ok so maybe times have changed and yes, if I'd have had a daughter I dare say I would have spent many a day playing with glitter nail polishes and tinted lip balms. Would she be sporting designer clothes, heels and lounging on animal print at age 10? Erm, no. Yes our example is a model, yes she's making money, but you can not put a price tag on childhood. Am I right?
What do you think? Are we letting our girls grow up too soon or should we just accept the world is changing and we need to change with them?
Are you a mother of girls and do you feel the pressure to 'let' the grow up too soon? Do mothers of boys have it easy, or are boys losing their childhoods too?
Get chatting below!
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.