The Sexualization of Early Childhood

When I am faced with the topic of sexualization of early childhood, honestly it makes me uncomfortable however I realize too that it is common and unfortunate in some cases in our culture today. I also often wonder how, when and where did the two words, sexualization and early childhood end up in the same sentence. When did parents/families/media; the world decide it was developmentally appropriate to begin to introduce and continue to support these types of beliefs, behaviors, products; this industry, the sexualization industry so to speak.

Thinking of personal/professional experiences that illustrate the exposure of young children to a highly sexualized environment I first think of my two younger cousins. Both girls ages 8 and 12 are sisters, the younger sister is rather tall, thin and slim while the older sister has a full figure. I often have heard the younger sister calling the older sister fat and ugly because she isn’t skinny nor does she have hair that hangs down.

In my center recently we had an incident in our preschool room that involved two 4-year-old children. According to the staff in the room, the boy cornered the girl by the cubbies and demanded that she let him see her butt. When we questioned the little boy, he explained that his “Daddy says stuff like that to my Mommy.”

Recently I watched a broadcast on MSNBC that focused on a baby bikini onesie and the thoughts of adults regarding the appropriateness of this onesie for infants/toddlers. This onesie comes in sizes starting at newborn (0-3). I personally believe this onesie is hideous.

The implications these incidents may have on children’s healthy development as Levin & Kilbourne explain, “The sexualization of childhood is having a profoundly disturbing impact on children’s understanding of gender, sexuality, and relationships” (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009 pg.3). And I agree that these incidents may seem small and trivial, but the play a part of the bigger picture and the bigger picture is disturbing. As an early childhood professional, to best respond to these concerns and to reduce the negative impact on children, communication is the best approach in my opinion! Open, honest communication between the families and with the children to help them understand the impact of taking away the innocence of their children so young can have on their lively hood. Communication to also help children understand the true importance and essence of self respect, respect for others, beauty, positive self-esteem and body image.

The ways in which your awareness of the sexualization of early childhood has been influenced and/or modified by studying the topic this week is that once again, I have been naïve to believe that the problem wasn’t as crucial as the article explains. I find that it is easy to just ignore things and act as if they do not exists rather than tackle the problem head on. I am guilty of not being 100% focused on the impact that sexualization has, is and will continue to have on our children, I vow that I will work harder to remain cognitively aware of the impact of sexualization in the early childhood field and with young children in general.

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.