Girls, Clothes, Make-Up, Growing Up

I have a daughter.  She is now almost 19 years old and now has her own ever-growing family (one child, and one on the way at the last count).  She has been fascinated by make-up and hairstyles since she was little.  She used to steal the dregs of my eye shadow and lipstick and attempt to copy me when I put on my make-up - mimicking the funny faces I pulled when putting on my mascara.  She was took such care when applying 'her make-up' but always looked like a clown.  I'm sure she'll experience the same when her daughters get to a certain age.


Dressing-up like mummy and copying mummy putting make-up on is all part of the process of a little girl growing up.  The recent report and subsequent picture of Princess Tiaamii Andre show her caked in make-up and adorned with false eyelashes.  Peter Andre, her father, is "absolutely disgusted" and the world is outraged!!  In my opinion, the only mistake here is that Princess' aunt uploaded the photograph to Facebook.  Katie Price (a.k.a. Jordan) needs to have a quick chat to her sister, Sophie, about her Facebook privacy settings or who she allows to be on her friends list because posting this type of picture ( especially of the daughter of a media-hungry adult) on a global social networking website was bound to appear in a national newspaper, somewhere, with a very negative response.


Another 'celebrity child' that is constantly hounded by the press is three-year old Suri Cruise - the daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.  She has been constantly written about and berated for being allowed to wearing "high heels" and now this picture has been released of her also wearing make-up.  Mums, tell me - how many times have you agreed to let your little darling out wearing one Wellington boot, one trainer, an Adam Ant-esque stripe of cream and an array of clothes that wouldn't look amiss on Lady Gaga, all because you have precisely two minutes and 18 seconds until you have to be at the school gate to pick up your eldest, because I know I'm not the only one?  And sometimes, the bizarre fashion ideas of a three year old is much preferable to the tantrums that you know will ensue.


At the other end of the scale we have Miley Cyrus' younger sister, Noah.  This ten year old is the 'face' of a new clothing line (along with best friend, Emily Grace Reaves, aged eight) by Ooh! La! La!  Are your alarm bells ringing in tune with mine yet?  This "fashion range" aims to create versatile styles that can be worn with ballet-style pumps or trainers or teamed with lace stockings (?) and boots for a more rock and roll style.  You only have to look at the pictures here to know that this concept is wrong, wrong, wrong!!!


This isn't a blog post about children's beauty pageants or paedophiles browsing the internet looking to sate their sexual desire.  This is about allowing children be children but letting them do so in the privacy of their own family unit.  Children are forced to grow up far too quickly in this day and age - let them discover who they are in their own way and encourage them to blossom - after all, they are led by example.








Picture credit: http://i28.tinypic.com/28hzl9x.jpg