Miniature Barbie Dolls *GAG!*

*Warning: This post is a bit of venting.

Once you become a parent, I think it is natural to pay more attention to other children that are in the same general age group as your child. At least, that's the way it is for me. When I go out now, I can't help but notice all of the babies that are also out and about; it feels like there are way more babies now than there were before I had Audia, but I know that it's just that I notice them more. It's like I have baby radar.

Noticing all these babies, I have also noticed the vast majority of baby girls dressed like barbie dolls. Now, I would like to give other moms the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe this is the day that they decided to dress their child in the one outfit they own that makes said child look like a doll. Unfortunately, though, I don't think this is realistically the case. I cannot help but feel extremely sad for these children! These moms who dress their little girls up to be the girliest girly girls, complete with low cut, halter style tops that say "treat me like the princess I am", hot pink mini skirts and infant high heels DISGUSTS ME! Either these kids are going to rebel 100% hard core and become goth teenagers or they are going to become strippers. Why can't a baby just be a BABY?! Why do these parents feel that girls have to wear pink and boys have to wear blue? Are these the same parents who will refuse to buy their son a my little pony, should he want one, or their daughter a transformer? It drives me nuts. I can't help but feel like these kids are being set up to have low self-esteem issues later in life. I suppose, however, that these parents probaby feel bad for my child, who is frequently dressed in blue, will not own a lace headband until she herself asks for one, and, in their opinion, will be "confused" about her gender as a result. Or maybe they just don't think that much about it. Maybe that's the problem? I don't know. Don't get me wrong; I dress Audia in "girly" clothes, but there is a threshhold of pink, bows, and fluffy flowers that I refuse to pass. I make an effort to switch things up, I want her to know, once she's old enough to understand, that it's ok for her to be whoever she wants to be. I just feel like the parents who only dress their child in "gender appropriate" (whatever the hell that means) colors and styles are also potentially instilling, at a very young age, self-image issues that are rampant thanks to the media. "Every girl should have a pair of overalls and a blue hat" my surrogate mom once said. Amen to that.