Surpisingly enough, the morning DJs on my local top forties station spend a great deal of their air time scoping out moral dilemmas. Even more surprising, they are often quite conservative in the stances they take. This morning, a listener emailed the station regarding her twelve year-old niece who had a mother that not only allowed her daughter to wear thong underwear but also purchased those underwear for the child.
Now, I'm not going to take a harsh stance against this mother. I realize that I have no parenting experience. I further realize that parents of adolescents need to choose their battles wisely. But I do want to offer encouragement to parents. Protecting your child's innocence is a worthy endeavor. Many things were kept from me when I was a pre-teen simply because those things were a part of the adult world. Earrings, make-up -- seemingly innocent things like this. Like most kids, I hated the concept that there was "plenty of time for being an adult." But, you know, it really is true. And, I am very grateful that I was allowed to remain a child for as long as I was. I'm twenty-five now, and I've still got a whole life full of mascara ahead of me.
And as far as the thong goes .... There is only one reason that a child of twelve would want to wear that type of underwear. It's so she can play at having the sexuality of a pop star -- or her older sister. Most likely, she doesn't fully understand any of it. But, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. And so is a little imagination. What is not dangerous is remaining a little girl for as long as possible.
