The Sexualization of Early Childhood


     My reaction to the ideas shared in the reading" So sexy so soon" comes as no surprise to me concerning some of things children are learning and saying thses days. The reasons being, they are viewing too much television, playing too many video games, hanging out with people who are too old for them to hang out with, and trying to hard to fit in. Girls who are having self esteem issues because they are considered not to be as pretty or thin is affected the most. In the article, Levin, and Kibourne (2009). talks about the things they say, such as the girl in dramatic play area singing and dancing, she has seen it on television, and probably is listening to the wrong source of music. The six year old, asking "what is a blow job", he has heard it before, and is just curious about what it means. There is no need to be surprised about what children are asking, saying, or viewing, it's out there for them to see. They are being exposed to much to soon. 

     I can recall several examples of how prevalent sexualization is in early childhood. When I was working with 4 year olds in a preschool classroom, some of them acted well over the age of five. They loved to go to housekeeping and pretend to be the grown up. They could make a custom based on their imiginations to become what they wanted it to look like. During group dance time, some of them would dance like what they brought from home, not according to the music we had at school. Was I surprised, the answer is NO, I was not. I am working in a elementary school environment with grades first through fifth, some of the clothes the girls wear at an early age here is sad. The first graders are wearing heels, and short skirts, it's not their faults, parents are buying them for them to wear.

    The messages these children are recieving today is that it is okay to dress the way you want, and that everyone needs to be thin. This is the only way they will be excepted. It is ruining our children. It is causing them to become depressed because they can not look like what they see on television, or they are different from their friends. As an early childhood professional, it is my job in helping children at an early age to realized that all people are different, no two people are alike, and they all have something unique to offer, it does not matter what you look like, the color of your skin, your race, we are all special.

   The role of parents for the education of their children is to promote values, those that are meaningful, to instruct their children to do the right things in life, and not be influenced by others. These includethe way we talk around children, gestures and actions, they are watching us, we must make positive influences in their lives not negative ones. I always try to correct children when I feel they are going in the wrong directions, but in a good way, to let them know I care and love them, and they are important to me.

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/intriduction.pdf