What's the world going to do with all these little divas?

This Slate.com story pretty much sums up what I've been living through lately as we prepare two girls for going back to school.

My wife and I tend to think we're a bit more on the progressive side as it comes to most things, parenting included. However, in recent shopping excursions to clothe the girls this fall, I've come to realize that maybe we're not so forward thinking. Or, perhaps society has become too forward in the way it views "little girls" and what's appropriate.

Nary an item has been selected, begged for or purchased that isn't somehow bedazzled with glitter, rhinstones, gems, shine or some other form of sparkle. And that's fine. They're girly girls. But some of the stuff that is being offered for little girls who are size 4 and up are just simply unacceptable.

We've seen slutty tops with halter necks and strappy things all over. Shirts with plunging necklines and gathering at the cleavage that you would expect to find for women, yet made for little girls. Fishnet stockings for a 5 year old. Shoes with massive platform heels and strappy buckles that go around the ankle for a 7 year old. Ripped jeans. Low rider pants...for a little girl.
I think I most object to the message tees. What parent in their right mind allows their child to choose and wear a shirt that says "Spoiled and Proud of it?" or any iteration of a message that otherwise indicates that the child is a brat, sarcastic or at all in touch with themselves as sex objects. We opted for a few at Gap Kids that say nice things like "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Smart Girls Rule." I was especially drawn to one at Children's Place that said "Be Different." These are the messages I want my girls to understand and to send to everyone around them.

What is society doing to children? We wonder why girls are getting pregnant at younger and younger ages, snatched or abused by predators in plain daylight, facing crises in body image and confidence as they grow up. Turning them from little girls into mini 20-somethings through fashion isn't doing anything to help the cause. Having a five year-old walk around with a shirt that communicates she's something other than a sweet little girl spreads the message that it's okay.

My wife and I like to think we're not doing anything to contribuute to that with our own kids, but there are times when we're reminded we can only do so much and that we don't control everything. My almost 5 year old daughter recently announced what she wants to be for Halloween: "a diva" and she said it with diva 'tude. We're dumbfounded. How does she even know what a diva is? Or that a diva has attitude? And she pointed to the costume in all of its diva form.

Am I overreacting?

Trick or Treat, I Love You

Ummm...when did Valentine's Day become mini Halloween? I have been away all week on business, and I came home to find a candy explosion -- as if a pinata had been whacked and cracked all over our kitchen.

Apparently, kids today not only exchange Valentine's cards, but attach everything from candy bars to pencils to stickers to lollipops and everything in between. What gives?

Whatever happened to the days of pasting heart shaped doilies to construction paper cut-ups of hearts? In my day, nothing said "Be mine" like a big hunk of dried gluestick seeping out from the edge of a doubled-up heart that we squeezed into the top slot of a foil wrapped carboard box at the front of the classroom.

In the case of both of my girls, many kids didn't even write their own love notes -- the tos: and froms: neatly handwritten by Mom with L-O-V-E. I was astonished to find even one parent had typed labels to put onto the little plastic baggie full of Valentine's favors and treats -- perhaps so all the rest of us parents would see who it was from and feel one-upped.

Come on. Seriously. I must have missed it when Martha Stewart moved in and taught everyone in our town to micromanage a simple classroom Valentine exchange. One could say it's a sweet gesture, but one could also argue we're teaching our kids that a simple "I HEART U" isn't enough -- layer on the sweets and treats and gifts and goodies if you really want to say "LUV U LOTS." If it weren't for school vacation week, we might see some small trinkets coming home for President's Day on Monday, or maybe gold coins and baggies of Lucky Charms to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

What has happened to old fashioned creativity? When the time and elbow grease invested in making or writing out Valentines was the best way to show a little LUV? Fortunately, our countertop was laden with homemade love letters and Valentine pictures, and our girls wrote their own Valentines out for their friends, but apparently that makes us out of the loop.