seven going on seventeen

with g-d as my witness, seven just asked me the following question: "hey dad. do i look like one of those hotties on tv with their hair in their eyes?" not quite sure how to respond, i replied with a cursory, "uh... no. you don't."

but that got me thinking more generally about all of the forces in modern society that encourage young girls like my daughter to reach maturity at ever-quickening speeds. forces like youth-oriented television, online dress-up games, pre-teen clothing designers, fan and fashion magazines, peer pressure and parents. yes, even parents are part of the problem as they push their youngsters into yoga classes at two, modelling classes at four and advanced pilates classes at seven. and yes, i have readily admitted in the pages on this very forum that i, too, am guilty of pressuring my own daughter to "compete" with girls her age in terms of athletic activities and dance showcases. maybe that explains why seven literally chases the boys around the playground at school during recess. maybe she feels that she has to contend with the other girls in her class for the attention of this boy or that boy. for so much of the self-image of young girls today seems tied to issues of boys and clothing and weight and popularity and the beauty myth. indeed, seven has already asked me on several occasions if i thought she looked fat. keep in mind that seven is one of the tallest kids, boy or girl, in her class and yet she barely weighs 50 pounds.

that said, i wonder if my seven-year-old truly perceives the pressures i have heretofore described or instead has remained blissfully oblivious to those societal influences thus far. for her sake, i hope the latter is the case but my instincts tell me that the former is probably closer to the truth. it's almost as though growing up today has become a vortex that reshapes everything and everyone into a homogeneous lump before sucking those formerly diverse entities into its core.

and finally, i suppose the real question should be: why can't we just let the kids remain kids until they actually mature?

but oh how she loves to dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFrGuyw1V8s