This week we read, "So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids." I was pretty speechless when I was done reading this article. I was aware that young girls are having self esteem issues today, but I did not realize how big sexualization of early childhood is. Levin & Kilbourne (2009) shared that young kids are talking about “blow jobs” and girl’s Halloween costumes now look like they came from a Victoria Secret show. I am just amazed how true everything is. They really shed some light on a topic in our field that needs to be addressed by professionals like ourselves.
I can recall a few examples of how prevalent sexualization is in early childhood. First, my best friend’s daughter is currently being mocked at school because of her large chest. This started when she was in second grade, and it is to the point she just does not want to go to school. Second, there are quite a few tv shows that are glamorizing little beauty queens. It is so sad because we get to see little girls hearts being broken on national television because they are not pretty enough. Third, I have witnessed little four and five year old boys kissing girls on their cheeks. I am sure they learned this while watching television.
Sexualization in early childhood is a big problem because children are still developing themselves (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009). Children are growing up too fast and missing out on their childhood because they are worrying about adult issues. As an early childhood professional, my suggestion is sit down with children and talk about. Children need to know what is age appropriate compared to what they have seen or heard. My team could go a step further and do an assembly on this topic. At the moment, I will intervene immediately and respond when I hear children talking about sexualization.
This topic of sexualization in early childhood has really opened my eyes. I think children today have it a lot harder than when we grew up. They have to worry about so many things. This discussion this week has made me aware that children are growing up to fast because of the bias environment they live in. I also feel that I need to become more of an advocate because families especially need to be aware of this new trend. I may only be one person, but I realize that I can make a difference.
Reference:
Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1–8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf
Hello Stacey,
ReplyDeleteIt is scary to read things like this, and it is more scary when you have children of your own that are being influenced by all these sex imiges. As a parent you are in a constant battle with the media, and public image in regards to sex and sexiness. It is becoming harder and harder to encourage values and self value when everything they see and hear is linked to sex and violence.
It is a horrible thing to see happening to our children. With 2 little girls of my own and a third on the way, I have witnessed this so often already and it shocks me when my little babies come home askin gif they are not prettyot skinny enough. A 4 year old should never have these types of burdens on them. All I can do is constantly tell them how perfect they are and try to explain that insecirities make people compete and try to be what they are not. I realize that this is only going to be more difficult as they get older and expereince more peer and social media pressue.
ReplyDeleteStacey,
ReplyDeleteI felt lost when I read this article. Being an early childhood professional it made me think about the girls in my class and in my school. There has to be more doen, to help the young generation.
Just like you said, "We are all one person, but we can put our voices together, to save our children."
Stacey, I was shocked when I read the article. It goes on to talk about sexual abuse because adults think that the little girl wants it. I was heartbroken. As a parent, I try so hard to protect my child from anything that would hurt her. Unfortunately, everything she sees and hears can impact her. We do need to do a better job with our young girls and boys. As teachers we need to take our role seriously because we impact our students on so many levels.
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