Disappointing

We're going to California tomorrow. We wont be there long. I have to take Karina back home to her mother, and I'm leaving Reagan for a couple of weeks with his grandparents. Reagan's birthday is Monday. So, instead of getting him presents, I took the two of them to the Mall of America this afternoon. They went on rides at Camp Snoopy and had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe (a place Reagan has been asking to go since we moved here). It was great fun, and since she had money, Karina asked if we could look in a couple of shops. No problem!

First we went to American Eagle. Some of the skirts were way too short, and the tee-shirts had a few racy slogans. Not something I'd want my kids wearing, but of course these clothes aren't marketed to little girls. So, while I'd love to see girls making better choices, I can let it go.

Next we went to the Limited Too. The first shirt I picked up was for a 5 year old girl. It said "If it wasn't for boys, I'd drop out of school." Huh? What was that? The kid's in kindergarden or first grade and she's that focused on boys? I don't think so. A girl that age ISN'T focused on boys. Unless we tell her she's supposed to be. The more I looked around at the low cut tops, short short skirts, off the shoulder tops, and tee-shirts like that one, I really had to wonder why? Why would I put my child in any of these clothes?

The same clothes marketed to adults would not have bothered me. But this was a store specifically for little girls. I'm dissapointed with the message that they're sending. They're marketing to the lowest common denominator. I told Karina that we were leaving the store. I didn't want them to get any money from us. I'm planning to write a letter expressing my distaste for the tee-shirt and others like it. That's simply not the message we should be sending our little girls. Boys are not that important, and education is too important. And as long as clothing like that is sold in their store, they will not have our business. Is it too much to ask that they sell clothes that make my little girls look like little girls?