Those of you who have read my blog over the past few years know that I am a Vintage Mama. Not quite antique yet, but totally vintage! Some of our daughters' friends have parents that are actually younger than our oldest kids ;o) but that's not hard to accomplish, I guess, since I was a "child bride" and was a first time mama at the age of 19. So for you younger moms, the song reference in my title will not connect with you like it does with this Vintage Mama who was a young teen during the waning days of the Viet Nam War. During that time, lots of the music we heard back then was about the horror and tragedy of war, in every generation and through all time. The song started out by asking "Where have all the young men gone?" and concluded that many of them had "Gone to graveyards, every one." And then the eternal question: "When will we ever learn? When will we ever learn?"
In reality, wars have been waged throughout history, and you and I will probably never sort out all of the political and historical implications of that reality. But as a Vintage Mama, I am suddenly confronted with my own reality of how different it is raising young girls in 2011 than it was back at the end of the last century. Now that our daughters are ages 8 and 10, I'm looking around at the way some of the girls in this age group are dressing, talking, and acting, and it is apparent in so many ways that I am from a different century! As I observe what's going on in the world around us, I was struck by the words of that old hippie song that asks not only "where have all the flowers gone?," and "where have all the young men gone?," but now I want to know, "Where have all the young girls gone?"
It appears that our "little girls" emerge one day into the harsh daylight of edgy womanhood, with no transition time in between. So what's a mother to do, if she is convinced that it is not particularly healthy for a ten year old to dress, act, and talk like a 19-year-old (and a rather rowdy one at that!)? Is there a way to find / create cute, stylish, feminine clothing for tween girls that allows them to transition gracefully into womanhood? All of the images I have reposted here are from websites that are geared specifically to girls designated as "tweens," which I believe is the technical term for girls ages 9 - 12 or 13. Even early teens should have some options!
I know I'm an "old fashioned" mom, and not just and "old mom," but I also have talked to many younger moms who are very uncomfortable with this level of indiscriminate flaunting of a young lady's sexuality. Let's teach our young ladies to be modest, and help them develop a healthy sense of self-worth and self-respect that honors not only their own heart, body, and soul, but also honors the God Who made them. They are "little treasures," and I am determined to figure out how to keep them that way while teaching them how to grow up to be women of God. What do you think?
~~ Nina
It's so important that the young "tweens" today learn to respect their own bodies, when it comes to how they dress as they are taught to respect others. This applies to both the girls and the boys.
Great Post, Nina.....I'm your newest follower -- Nancy
Posted by: Nancy Dempsey | March 22, 2011 at 09:19 PM
It is very sad that society has brought our children into a world of thinking your body is just a body and sex is just something to do. It is very hard to teach our children morals and standards when the world around us is full of, well none of them. I once heard someone say that marriage is no big deal and that she can trade him in for a newer model if she gets tired of him....WHAT???? Treating marriage like a car dealership? You pick out a nice new husband, then take him to the used lot when he gets old and worn out??? HA It is sad that Satan has gotten a hold of so many people. In my family it is very important to sit down for every meal together, to talk to one another, and teach Bible standards. I want my children to be clay that is molded by my husband and I not what society wants them to be. I am thankful that someday we will not have to worry about a world full of hate, we can look forward to a perfect paradise.
As for the clothes, we do a lot of good will shopping. There are a lot of modest clothes there. After all, modest clothing is not cool, so you get a lot of "gently used" or not used at all clothing that is actually appropriate for children to wear!! :)
Posted by: Katie | March 23, 2011 at 08:26 AM
Hi Katie - I love that advice! I've always shopped at Goodwill and find GREAT stuff ;o) And that's my favorite place to shop for all the things I find that I can then play around with and embellish, refashion, upcycle, and generally recreate "old" stuff into "new" designs. Looking forward to hearing more of your "mama wisdom" in the future ;o) Hugs, Nina
Posted by: Nina Newton | March 23, 2011 at 10:15 AM
Hi Nancy - great to hear from you. Thanks for stopping by and offering words of encouragement. Sometimes I wonder if I'm missing something around here, mostly because I'm a vintage mama ;o) But I have talked to young mamas, and many of them feel the same way that I do, so that's encouraging. Thanks for following, hope you will stop back again. BTW I would love to share your link and logo here with my other readers if that would be OK with you. Let me know! N
Posted by: Nina Newton | March 23, 2011 at 10:16 AM
post sounds nice. I'm your's and http://www.sophiasstyle.com 's new follower.
Posted by: Account Deleted | August 04, 2011 at 02:00 AM