The 7 worst sexy toys for children

Shocker: tarted-up toys are slaggy. Apparently a bunch of American scientists –after a lot of study – has determined that dolls that wear fishnet tights and trowels of slap don’t promote healthy childhood innocence. (Read the article)

So if the American Psychological Association can do it, with a stroll round the Internet we can too.

The 7 worst "sexy" toys for children

1. The Peekaboo dance pole – The Daily Mail reports that parents were up in arms at the idea that their little ones would be up in legs using this pole-dancing kit. Apparently gyrating around a phallic symbol to get in shape is the kind of wholesome fun that’s reserved for adults.

2. Sexy thongs for girls – ewww. Just ewww. Or as my daughter says, “My bottom is eating my pants.”

3. Playboy eraser sets
It’s obscene that Playboy markets bright pink eraser sets to the younger set. Girls shouldn’t have school supplies emblazoned with the logo of the OAP in a smoking jacket. They should get kitted out with the latest raunch culture brands. Where are the Nuts lunchboxes? Where are the Stringfellows ring binders?  Read the news story and listen to what some mummies and kids think about it on Radio 4's Women's Hour

4. Bratz funky diamond torso – I used to have a Barbie styling head when I was young: you could brush it, braid it, put it up in rollers. With this one kids paint on glitter gel, gloss her Jolie lips and paint her nails. Jewellery is also included.

5. Polly Pocket So Hip Cruise – Because what could be more fun to a child than playing shuffleboard, taking ballroom dancing classes or enjoying the all-you-can-eat shellfish buffet? In Polly Pocket’s world, the dolls ride down the superslide, relax in the hot tub (Please just 5 more minutes, mum!) and if all else fails, go shopping. Follow that up with the ultra-salubrious Pollywood Limo Scene.

6. Barbie hot tub party bus - Again with the hot tubs. What’s next: the Barbie Keg Party?

7. My scene bling bikini spa
This spa is “totally rockin”. “Just fill it up with water and watch as the included doll, Delancey, hangs out at the coolest spa in town.” Watching a doll hang out – now that’s fun!

Do you know of any? Post them here or email links and pictures to alphamummy@timesonline.co.uk.

Comments

[Catherine]

I actually prefer Bratz to Barbies because they come in far more multi cultural types than Aryan Barbie. Bratz have shown many children that beauty doesn't just come in the blonde and blue eyed form.

Barbies' bodies place unrealistic expectations on children. Bratz bodies' are made in a way that refers to their own 'dollness' - head similar size to the body etc.

The idea of selling poles to children is horrible.

[sid281]

Whats wrong with a Barbie hot tub party bus?

[Stacy*]

Mum showed me this, i was intregued ...

I'm only just what would be deemed a young adult, 16. I had my ears pierced at 11 and then had my first pair of heels brought for me for a work in year 10. In the past ten years girls (esp. 'tomboys')have gone from climbing trees in dungarees and coming home with scuffed knees and a carrier bag full of conkers to worrying about what they should do with that one stray hair and the fact that the pretty girl had her hair dyed last week.

I took textiles and so, at AS level you design a product for a child. I used my friends daughter who has just turned 8. After going to her house for a final fittig her Mum pipes up, 'Bai what bra do you want'. Fair enough it was crop-top style but still in a bra shape ... i was shocked, at eight i was too bothered about the huge scrape on my knee and the fact that i'd fallen off my bike and bust my lip.

Im so grateful that i was brought up by my mum to appreciate the real things a child should do plastic lipstic and blue eyeshadow with the nailvarnish that peeled off. Now you can go into superdrug or boots and find ranges especially for younger kids. I dare say i wear makeup but there a ten year gap between 16 and 6 is there not.

I suppose the long and short of it is dont let your little girl forget how it feels to much about and have a giggle and stop her worrying about the fact that she isnt skinny enough this world has become far too obssed with the percieved look of perfect and its not just teens who are affected because believe it or not so are most younger children

Theres my view ... Personal ... NoOffence.

[bainbridge island florist]

oh my gosh, it's insane that they actually have thongs for little girls. that is just mind blowing.

[memole]

oh well, I've a little story to tell. Once I was waiting for a changing room in a lingerie store and there were three generations there, just before my eyes. There was a woman in her late twenties with her own mother and a very young baby (say less than 24 months) scuttling around the floor. The baby was picking up sheer nigthies, putting them againt her and dancing along to the tune playing in the shop (must have been the one that goes 'you wish your girlfriend was hot like me'). Mummy and granma were cheering along and saying things like 'shake your bum' 'yeah, be sexy!' and similar niceties. Then I decided to distract the baby from 'being sexy' with some babytalk and funny faces, because that sight was hurting my stomach. I must be a terrifingly prude vitorian maiden (at the ripe age of 27) and i never realised.

[Sophia]

"Would you start a MACHO-GUYS-IN-HUMVEES blog? Or a BIG-BLOKES-WHO-TAKE-STEROIDS-AND-PUMP-IRON blog? It's pathetic."

Because parenting is just like owning a truck, or body-building. Would you (universal you) start a blog for dads? Of course. I'm quite sure there are plenty. Perhaps it's a shame that there isn't one here, but that doesn't mean there's something wrong with mothers talking to each other on the internet about what they do with their kids.

"I used to think Caitlin Moran was quite a good writer but now...well, now I see she's revealed as....a mother-of-two."

Yes, all that time you were reading her articles and thinking they were good you were sadly mistaken. Her motherhood clings like a putrifying miasma to every word, whilst simultaneously producing an illusion of quality so the uninitiated reader cannot see the rot. Now you know the terrible truth all her columns on every subject will miraculously be revealed as drivel. The idea that anyone should have anything to say about the trivial topic of bringing another human being into the world! If she's going to do anything so disgusting as give birth to a child, she should at least have the decency to pretend she hasn't, or else stop writing professionally - wait, what decade are we in?

[c boylan]

Oh yuk. I can't believe this blog. ALPHA MUMMY??? You cannot be serious???!!! Really? No? I feel ill. Would you start a MACHO-GUYS-IN-HUMVEES blog? Or a BIG-BLOKES-WHO-TAKE-STEROIDS-AND-PUMP-IRON blog? It's pathetic. I used to think Caitlin Moran was quite a good writer but now...well, now I see she's revealed as....a mother-of-two. Fasten that shoelace, Caitlin, and spoon in that yoghurt. Never mind that writin' thing, you got alphamummy stuff to do. Please share the recipe for gloopy green slop. Ye-f'ing-gods, please remind me what decade are we in?!

[Shannon]

Id rather give my child a sexy clothes that giver her some sexy toys that eventually will go to trash, id rather buy those beyonce the house of dereon clothing line than stuff toys. http://www.beyoncehouseofdereonclothingline.com

[jane]

I have 4 daughters aged from 9 down to 20 months and am becoming increasingly alarmed at the amount of sexually ornientated stuff marketed at kids. It is practically impossible to get clothes for kids over toddler age that arew appropriate for little girls. Another thing that worries me even more are the practically pornographic images used in kost music videos. they usually have fully dressed males with barely dressed women gyrating, licking cars,and mimicing sex acts etc stc. These are shown during the day on satellite TV where any kids can watch them. thankfully we don't have satellite for this very reason and never will (I see them in the gym where they seem to run all day). Teh playboy stuff is appalling, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it in John Lewis the other day!

[Lane]

I have never had a problem with my daughter having Bratz dolls, having thought they were just Pan Asian Barbies with macrocephaly. Having read this blog I thought I'd go and inspect them more closely. Yes, they are dressed in mini skirts and footless tights and they all have what look like orthopaedic boots on their unfeasibly large feet (probably to balance their unfortunate macrocephaly) and yet I would still say that they resemble My Little Pony, (which was manuafactured because little girls like hair and horses) far more than any human being, with perhaps the exception of a morphed Beyonce. The fact that they wear trashy clothing has no more made my daughter want to wear anything different to jeans and a t-shirt than I ever wanted to wear the bum skimming dayglo mini modelled by my own beloved Pippa doll - remember those?

[Cain]

Well you all have to realise that these companies do this for the money , SEX SELLS, its a world-known fact... (Now dont get me wrong, because I think that children (12 and below) should be allowed to keep their innocense and not worrying about what they wear etc etc)

But you parents have to realise that in the modern world, the world today, children grow up fast.. girls aged 13+ (not all, but in Sweden where im from, most) have sex, wear sexy clothing, drink etc etc..

And your struggle to prevent it only makes it worse.. so next time your 12-13 year old daughter/son asks you for sexual advice etc, dont start shouting sayin theyre too young - instead help them and explain. (Always wear a condom!)

dunno why I started talkin about this but I get so annoyed at media trying to make todays 14-15 year olds look like children - they're not.

[Fiz]

It's times like this that I'm glad I have two boys.....(I know i'll be eating my words in about 10 years though :-/ )

[Lisa]

I'm sorry to disappoint Sarah and other moms, but my mom got my ears pierced when I was 5. I actually ended up listening to rock and roll when I was a teenager, and still listen to it. But I never tried any kind of drugs or offered my body on the street - I enjoyed my childhood and my teenager years, and when it was time I was conscient enough about the "dangers" that we face during our development - so it was my own choice that made me away from them.
I'm about to become a bachelor in Law and I think that, more than having or not the ears pierced, it was my family support and orientation that allowed me to be raised the way I was.

[Mags]

I was surprised to see the Polly Pocket toy on your list. I consider that I am very careful about what my daughters (age 6 and 4) are exposed to. The only TV my 4 year old watches is CBeebies and my 6 year old watches a very limited amount of other programmes, such as Strictly Come Dancing and the recent Bill Oddie wildlife series. They both dress appropriately for their age, including their pants. After my younger daughter's fourth birthday party last month, I swiftly whisked away the Bratz dolls she was given as presents by some of her 3 and 4 year old friends (presumably purchased by their mothers). I would not countenance buying most of the toys featured in your list for either of my girls, and yet our birthday present to the 4 year old was the Polly Pocket Cruise Ship. It didn't cross my mind for a moment that I would be setting her off on the slippery slope to debauchery by buying her a toy which is really all about pretending to be on holiday.

[papa]

Homework: compare and contrast the behaviour, language and demands of children who spend time in front of a TV and those who don't have a TV at home. Oh, you don't know any kids in the no-TV grouping? I live in a part of London where there are many religious families who don't have a TV at home. Trust me - you can spot the difference.

[James Montgomery]

Get the kids a dog. Let them learn, with the aid of woofer's gentle demonstrations in the park, the mystery and wonder of carnal lust.

[The Unicorn Lady]

I could go on forever about this subject. However, I totally agree - thongs for little girls is WRONG. Bratz and Bling Barbie send the wrong messages and too many children are hooked on tv. I am so glad my 9 year old daughter is a tomboy, who prefers books, bikes and playing outside. As for clothing, its nigh on impossible to find her suitable items to wear - all too often we find its tight tiny tops and micro skirts. Where are the proper jeans, not hipsters? Aaaggghhh!

[Caroline Swift]

So far as ear piercing for babies and very young children is concerned, I seem to recall that this was tied to a superstition that it would improve their eyesight.

[supermother]

We found sending them to girls only schools and buying them a horse helped avoid all this stuff until a suitable age. I don't like from a feminist point of view, not a sexual point of view, girls being made to think their worth is their looks only.

There is one topic in the UK we love to censor because it is so uncomfortable for people and that is that children feeling sexy and many reach orgasm. I did. I might well not have had a pole dance set bought for me at 10 but I was certainly making use of bits of rope. So you can take the pole dance kit away from the girl but you can't remove her sexuality, thank God unless you're one of those families in the UK who send her abroad for FMG or we go back 100 years to the Victorians tying the hands of children up at night so they can't touch themselves.

[dr venables preller]

I am surprised that Kirsten above didn't think to ask the doctor if the vaccination scar could be made heart or snake shaped to act as a frame for the later tattoo.

There's always a possibility that some of these playthings are devised for parental amusement, so being judjmental could be inappropriate, too.

[Kirsten]

I have four young daughters so this article really got me steamed. But it's not just the manufacturers of such inappropriate toys who are helping over-sexualise our girls. The parents themselves are to blame too.

When my last baby was being vaccinated against smallpox a few months ago, the doctor said she would do it on her bum to avoid a potential scar at the top of her arm. Ok, no harm in that. But then she told me several other mothers have requested the injection be put right at the top of the, ahem, butt crack so that their daughters can later wear thongs without the scar showing. Now what kind of perverted mother (in my very affluent neighbourhood) would even be thinking of thongs when looking at her 3-month-old baby girl???

[Amy A]

Pierced ears, while admittedly purely decorational and so, I suppose, there to make the wearer more attractive, should not be the subject of generalisations and assumptions.

I am now 20, and had my ears pierced at the age of six, as did all the girls in my class. It was a Catholic school and quite a few, although certainly not all, were of Italian or Irish descent. At that age, I was a fairly tomboyish girl, never watched TV and always had my nose in a book. But I did enjoy my little gold star-shaped studs, just as I liked having my hair in plaits one day, bunches the next and an Alice band with my name on the day after. Nothing to do with sexualisation, just novelty.

My mother was born in Italy, where in the South (at least in the 1950s), all baby girls had their ears pierced with a needle and thread. No idea why, just a cultural thing. It wasn't as if they were all toddling round with giant dangly earrings! Just plain gold studs. Perhaps it was a sign of wealth? She was always very strict with me on the subject of clothes and make-up, but the idea of pierced ears being too adult for a young girl would have made her laugh.

I was bewildered (and felt a little hurt and insulted) when I started at grammar school at age 11 and heard that none of my new, very middle class, friends there were allowed to have their ears pierced and had to wait until the age of 14! By then I already had two sets of piercings in my ears - and didn't have my first kiss til 16, let alone sex, drugs and all that! Unlike some of my unpierced friends!

[Amanda]

Rebecca's right -
Don't give in to the pressures put on our children by the advertising and consumer industries. They don't give a damn how it influences our children. Sometimes I wonder if the people inventing these 'toys' have children themselves.
Or perhaps all these companies are run by pedophiles.

[Amanda Hughes]

As a mother of two daughters, 10 and 6, I feel you have to decide on your own values and what toys/cultural influences you will allow you infiltrate your home and what you won't. I have to admit I have been shocked to see Playboy pencil cases in WH Smiths - what is that all about?!!! But it's relatively easy to stop the children being bought these things.

But it becomes more difficult to completely protect children from these influences completely when organisations such as the good old-fashioned Brownies run meetings which include make-over and pampering sessions. Girls can join Brownies at age 7, do they really need to be having make-overs at 7 - this is ridiculous!!! I have given my feedback to Brown Owl, only to be told this is what children want -a chicken and egg situation?!!

[jmo]

I am expecting a baby girl in a few weeks and I am seriously tempted to move somewhere really remote where we can not be reached by any form of media! What a strange time we live in- I would not for one minute want to live in the past with it's insipient poverty and dangerous diseases but how have we got to this point now, where our clever human species is so indiscriminating about the media messages we are subject to. We are so out of touch with what we really need to nourish ourselves both literally and spiritually. Recently after a visit to the cinema with my son (8) to see Eregon- I was surprised to see so many very young children there. Why do we do this- treat our children as much older than they are- this I think is related to the thong and pole dancing issue. I would like to suggest that it has something to do with the viciously competitive nature of our society and our need to get an advantage in the race to get to the head of the pack. Just a thought.

[Justine]

I'm 5 months pregnant with my first child (a girl) and so am finding myself thrown into the midst of a myriad of decisions and value judgements for my child. Should we/how do we allow our children to find out about the less savoury aspects of life? Is it acceptable for small girls to play with dolls dressed 'as hookers' and explain to them that some women earn their living by selling their bodies for sex. Should children role play these scenarios to discover whether they feel this may be a suitable profession for them? Would it 'empower' them in their future sexual relationships? Oh please!! Childhood is a precious time. Innocence a few moments of life. My Dad always told me to enjoy being a child as it didn't last for very long. How right he was. Freedom of choise for our children does not mean the freedom to sexualise and obliterate their innocence. Why lend a hand to sexual predators by dressing small girls in 'adult' underwear giving off 'adult' messages. What kind of messed up world is it where we are encouraged to buy this kind of trash. If the stores won't act then responsible adults should. Don't weaken, don't give in to pester power, don't buy this rubbish. I know, I know I've yet to discover the power of a nagging child, but what's the better option, giving in or standing firm? My husband and I intend to stand firm!

[Bella]

Oh this makes me so sad. I visited a cousin recently who had a whole load of Bratz stuff in her room- I was about to say something- but then I didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable- 'your parents shouldn't buy you that stuff because it's too overtly sexualised for an eight-year-old like you'- the whole point is that she doesn't need to know about that stuff yet. But then I felt really sad when she saw the picture I carry of her with her mum in my wallet- 'that's me in the bad days' she sighed' 'i didn't look so good'. It was, needless to say, a lovely photo, but she thought her face didn't look quite right or her hair quite groomed enough. To repeat- she is eight.
We need to get this stuff out of our children's bedrooms and off televisions ( she even had a special Bratz tv to watch MTV on)

[Johnny]

I can not believe some o fthe comments about free society & the rest of it. should our torelance in a free society be teh rope that would hang us!!!Sexy toys?? I once saw a paid of underwear for kids that had teh words Cherries on it!! i complained to the store. I'll save you a lot of reading by giving you my bottom line opinion about this!!! if anyone is in a position to NAME & SHAME the individuals in charge of the biuying department of any store that buys or stocks such items then they should either name them or email me so i can name them & then lets see how proud these people might be when their own neighbour knows that he/she next door is the man in charge of buysing sex toys targeted at little children or indeed tergeted at th ehollow headed parent who buys it!!!! if its LEGAL to buy & stock such toys due to the board roam presure for profitability, then these poeple have nothing to fear by being names!!! lets see how fast they will buy the smalles hole to hide in. I say, name these buyers!!! name them.

[Mel Sleepe]

I don't see why children need to be exposed to everything just so that they can 'make upi their own minds'- let them enjoy childhood. I remember being mortified as a young girl when I repeated a phrase I'd heard and it turned out to be incredibly rude. I'd also have been mortified if what I thought was a cute bunny logo had been revealed in later life to be the sexual symbol it is. To be honest, I think this applies to Sarah too- i remember being 16 and feeling pressure to have sex- I didn't, felt like a freak and then a few years on I look back and am glad I resisted- I know more now.

Oh and what's wrong with a thong? It's about awareness. OK, so nobody sees it on your six-year-old ( you hope) but do you want her to be goign about all day thinking about wiggling her thong to make it confy? Pants at six should be just something you have to wear under a skirt not a sexual reminder.

And no these things are not ok for adults either. Our whole culture is much too sexualised. But at least adults can realise this and choose to ignore it- as a child, you don't realise that the messages you are being fed are just one option.

[LouiseG]

Er. Wherever Sarah's planet is I think I pretty much live there too, thanks. I wouldn't let my daughter get her ears pierced before high school, even now.

And it certainly isn't a generational thing, as a quick bit of maths suggests Sadie is definitely older than me - or got started a great deal younger! I expect it's more a cultural thing and dictated according to the community you grow up in where it may be considered normal or not. Certainly it's the context that matters, and how it's perceived in your own community, rather than the thing itself.

I do think the level of outrage here is a bit OTT and I'm frankly a bit bewildered with all this defensive "extra instrument" stuff. What has that got to do with anything anyway?

[Sadie]

What planet are you on Sarah?????
I am actually disgusted that you have spread your narrow mindedness quite so far.
Funnily enough I and my two sisters had our ears pierced for our fifth birthdays as did my mother and her sister.
In no way were we cajoled or forced or vice versa our mother.
As for being sluts plying our trade for drugs whilst listening to rock and roll, well sorry to disillusion you but both of my sisters have been to very good universities - one is now a radiographer in New Zealand and the other has a business degree and lives in Canada.
I myself have a few HND's under my belt and can't decide which subject to further in but in the meantime I work for the Scottish Executive whilst raising a family with my partner of 17 years.
We have three kids (two girls and a boy) and the girls have their ears pierced. One for her fifth and the other for her sixth at their request.
My oldest is neither on drugs or pregnant although she loves music and dancing, but at fourteen is sitting three of her standard grades in third instead of fourth year, plays football for her school and is learning an extra instrument.
My nine year old still plays with her dolls and attends a church youth group every week with her friends.
If you don't wish to have your childs ears pierced that is completely your own choice as is their clothing and toys, I would agree with most of the comments on some of the things available but I just can't on ear piercing.
If that is Sarah's opinion she is entitled to it but to broadcast such a generalistion is very ignorant and extremely insulting.
I'm actually wondering how old she is as her view is very outdated, perhaps a generational thing??

[sarah adams]

As a mother of a six year old girl I have been horrified by the type of toys marketed to that age group.I am lucky that at the moment my daughter is into animal based toys, Sylvannian Families and Grand Champion horses, is this nature or nuture I wonder.........My horrors in certain ares of the toy market are extended into greater nightmares with clothes retailers. On the high street the selection of clothing seems equally problematic. I am finding it increasingly difficult to find nice clothing and footwear that is in my opinion suitable for what after all is still a little girl.I also find myself in a situation where I am being asked by my daughter why she can't have pierced ears like an increasing number of the other five and six year olds in her class. Surely these thing are to be looked forward to and really, really longed for in teenage years. If they have the grown up toys, clothes(lets not even talk about the kit at the school disco), shoes, pierced ears by six surely by the time they are twelve all that will be left to try is sex,drugs and rock and roll. Lets try to keep them young, we owe it to our kids.

[Alice]

As a teenager, I have to say that, from my point of view, part of the problem is with parents who buy these products!
My mum never bought me anything sexual and probably never will and I am very thankful to her for this. These products are marketed at young children and the competition between children to have the best toy is increasing and getting worse all the time. If one child has a sexy bratz doll, all her friends 'have' to have one to be seen as cool.
‘Peer pressure’ is part of the reason why children are becoming spoilt with sexual products. But it is also parents trying to show off and competing with each other to show that they spoil their child the most.

It’s not just a problem with sexual products though. I have a younger brother who is constantly being allowed to view images for 18 year olds! My brother is only 5!!! He likes watching his older brother play the godfather and Gran theft auto - san andreas which are both 18 games. What is worse is that he repeats the swear words in the games. On some occasions he has told me to 'move'a your f***ing head'

Admittedly, I play the godfather and I have bought playboy things, but I feel as a 16 year old, I am capable of distinguishing between what is good for me and what isn’t.
What is not good here is parents buying sexual products for girls too young to understand about sex and relationships. All I’m trying to say that parents are encouraging their children to grow up too fast. What happened to traditional games with friends rather than games with plastic dolls and electronics?

Thats what I think, you can agree or disagree with me but ask yourself this question - Do you want your child to become a porn star/sex symbol or would you rather they become intelligent individuals, valued for their mind?

[Emma]

Interesting opinions. How about this one.
Children are born knowing nothing and it's down to the parents and society in how they blossom.
The child has the right to be given every opportunity to experience all aspects of life but up to the age of 16 they can not be held fully responsible for their actions. Therefore it's upto us parents to guide them into making the right choices by offering a decent explanation of their consequences. Because we have been there and we know. We can't control society but we can be aware of it and decide to challenge it or accept it for our children.
If my child asked my opinion I would say something like I prefer doing something where I feel comfortable and happy and not just to please others.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.

[anon]

Hi,

awesome blog and i agree with you. it's kind of crazy what is being marketed for the younger generation these days. Another blog article that goes hand in hand with this is something i read some time ago about the Pole dancing kit for childred???. its at http://yusuf.asgerally.com/?p=99 if your interested in reading it.

[Innatech]

This article has been Dugg, so prepare for the influx of traffic and stupidity.

Before it gets here, since this is a blog for (hopefully) thoughtful parents, allow me to point out another article that I think is interesting when read side-by-side.

Regardless of your political/cultural leanings on this issue, we (speaking for American society) are fostering a massive disconnect between the media role representations and anticipatory socialization kids receive and the standards of behavior that adults expect and that society actually enforces (with a full range of sanctions, from the subtle to the official.)

To wit:
http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2007/02/3658_florida_appeals.html

I tend towards the very liberal on cultural issues, but this whole area of debate gives me pause. I'm 26 years old, and took a couple years off from college. I'm now finishing up with kids who were still youngish when Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, et al exploded; and certainly had commercial hip-hop as background music from an early age. Growing up is extremely complicated, but in many ways it's all about the transition from pretending and preparing to being and doing--from rehearsal to performance. This is implicit in parental concerns over "role models." Cultural influence is less about direct emulation and more about structuration and patterning, but in the end it's the same concern. Do you want you little girl to be pretending to be an astronaut, or a porn star? Do you want her to value her mind and her creativity, or her body and her sex appeal? Ultimately all are important, but I'd suggest that the former should outweigh the latter by a few orders of magnitude; and that the latter should not really be an issue of concern until society requires it (*requires*--not suggests.)

Just my $0.02 -- maybe not worth much these days what with the conversion rate. ;P

[taz Devil]

It wasn't long ago that the Harry Potter witches Broom was removed from sale because of the vibrating feature it had.

[smart]

Cool post!

[Heath]

@Spyder
Maybe you didn't actually look at the thongs. Go to the website and you'll find printed plainly on the "under"wear is the phrase "Eye Candy", and you'll find that they're created for girls ages 10-16..... If that doesn't sound grotesque when printed on a young girl's crotch, I don't know what is. I understand that there are several people opposed to morals; that's obvious by some of your comments, but I don't think that anyone would disagree that looking at a 10 year old girl as "eye candy" is not only disgusting, but also immoral. I thank God that I live in a country where I'm not forced to support any of the aforementioned companies. By the way, I'm a 25 year old male who doesn't have any kids. You can take my opinion for what it's worth, but the statistics show consistently that pop-culture's view of sexuality is unfortunately costing our children their innocence and their dignity. What is so disconcerting is that too many parents won't open their eyes and see the evidence of a lack of moral absolutes (making a 10 year old feel like eye candy is wrong). Even Mr. Carney says that these underwear are inappropriate for 7 year old girls. Now tell me, is there really a difference between a 7 & 10 year old girl concerning her sexuality? Neither should feel the need to be eye candy, and if this is the message that we've allowed to reach our children, I think that we had better consider the sexual implications of what we allow to influence children, or we'll all remember this day, as Robert said, "when your 13 year old daughter gets pregnant cause you figured children screwing around was natural."
I left a way to contact me personally through my URL. I hope it shows up on this post. I would love to hear from all of you.

[eyrieowl]

well and good on the first ones, but why the slagging off on hot tubs? i've known plenty of people who owned hot tubs, and while i'm sure they were used for romantic moments from time to time, the big appeal seems to be that it's luxurious and makes you feel good to sit in hot water with jets and bubbles. certainly from my own experience, it's never been the hot tub that made me feel sexy, but the company i might have in it.

[Mikedasnipe]

There is a sexual expression vs perversion argument.
Anti child sexualization people cry morals
Sexualizers say they free from opression and are logical.
Now let me tell you a way you are both wrong, and my two cents

First Cent - Sexual expression: This seems reasonable, but you're approaching it wrong. Remember, woman didn't get rid of the bulk of their opressions until a centuary and so back. Woman are still transistioning, so going from opressed by husbands to full blown sexuality isn't wise. To elaborate, full blown sexuality is currently a fairly underground buisness, including pimps, drugs, rape, assault, and murder. Going straight in here and succeeding may give control to men to keep their wives under control or something. Going straight into a sexualized toy, even if you want the sexualization of children, isn't benificial.

Second Cent - Sexual innocence/nature: You to have a point, kids should have an innocent period for a bit of their lives. However, by outright opposing a category you never win. You need to at the same time recognize better expressions of sexuality. Then kids can't go "You don't like it cause you hate me". How can they say no to "No, i agree with their message, but the characters there are just too silly for me, i can even accept barbie". As kids don't know how to debate, or fully understand what they are, or can understand you, so they're shut down. The message is out that you like barbies example but not bratz, and you stop the sexualization of children in it's tracks.

[Robert]

I want all the people who say this stuff is harmless to remember exactly what you said when your 13 year old daughter gets pregnant cause you figured children screwing around was natural.

[Don]

@Rose
'look where that got her'
About 90 million dollars?

If the goal of the capitalist society is to make a lot of money, Britney certainly did that. And her life in tatters is no more a tragedy than the lives of countless others whose very soul is sucked dry doing stuff that their very being protests against and which they only do because they find no other means to generate an income. The 'sexy' toys are just a means to lure young children into the lifestyle that will enslave them as much as it does their parents. Children are taught to be consumers, only interested in acquiring more inventory without actual enrichment of their lives.

If their minds and spirits were really free they would be a lot harder to manipulate, if at all, and society would not be the smooth consumption factory that it is today. Look at China, the 'communist' country [they invented paper money, btw]. No greater capitalists then the Chinese and they are hell-bent on making every last mistake the West made on the way to splendid riches.

We consume 'products' but actually it is the process of consuming that consumes us. What sublime irony.

[You care?]

Alysa, don't be stupid.

We're not talking about sex here, at any rate. We're talking about little girls being sold on sex by shameless marketers. Media of all sorts has a profound effect on all ages of person, and to suggest to pre-tween girls that the new fashion necessities are thongs and stripper poles is just plain wrong.

Your pointless diatribe is all about 'protecting' children from the 'things that really harm them,' like "soda pop, high fructose corn syrup, caffeine, and the pulp garbage and television shown on television."

Well, guess what? Kids don't come out of the womb wanting those things any more than they want thongs, and the principle is the same thing. They're sold on these things by what's around them.

You seem to have some problem with suggesting that sex isn't for children. Now before you go all "but it's NATURAL" on me (and you know you want to), consider that children playing at sex IS natural, but them being encouraged to by strange adults trying to sell product is decidedly NOT.

If you can't see the difference, YOU'RE the one who needs to be taken care of. Take your platitudes somewhere else.

[Alysa]

You call all this stuff perverted, and such things are okay for YOU TO DO or WATCH or BUY, but not for your children. So how does this make you any better then they. You call sex dirty, and yet, you engage in it yourself. Explain to me, how is sex dirty or doing something sexual at all, at any age? You are quick to judge others but based on nothing factual whatsoever. Humans of all ages, even children, have been having sex since the dawn of time. Everyone, from the moment they are born, have a sex, and are therefore sexual.

Its not against the law for kids to buy this stuff, nor against the law to sell it. Why don't you instead go after the stuff that REALLY destroys kids, like soda pop, high fructose corn syrup, caffeine, and the pulp garbage and television shown on television and commercial media. The stuff your kid is eating, drinking, and listening to is far more damaging by a wide margin than any of these fringe funny things.

I have a right as a human being, no matter my age, to have sex, as well as to buy anything that I want. I am not your property, I am not your chattel slave, I am not someone for you to lord over your own neurotic hangups onto.

[rebecca]

Some are saying that if you dont want your child to own a thong or a toy that depicts more of an adult behavior than a child appropriate depiction, dont buy them.

Surely, you may do that but that doesnt mean that other parents are not out there buying them simply at the whim of their child's plea. Hasnt anyone actually taken to heart the term of "peer pressure" ,i know as a child if i really wanted something there were ways around parents (children are not angels and if you think they are you might want to remember how you yourself were as well as your little friends).

And oh Dear God! Thongs for little girls, i am not being prude but in all honestly i would not want to clean a pair of grubby underwear( little girls are learning and body care is one, underwear that has no place to go but between the cheeks.. just think about that one).

Then comes the kicker, girls are just that, girls, they are not mentally able to comprehend the message that they are sending out except that it is adult ( do you think that the readers of seventeen are really 17?)

Do you really want your child or someone else's for that matter to think that it is appropriate to "flaunt" what they "have" and risk catching the sight of a predatory elder and truly end up a mangled mess mentally and potentially physically?

Certain behaviors and garments are "adult" for a reason and acting as if producing such things for little girls, and boys for that matter (6 year olds are not thugs and if they have actually shot someone their parents hopefully are no longer their guardians)is all ok and one should remain apathetic, you are a part of the problem for not confronting such disgusting marketing and parenting.

pedophilia,why the hell would you want to feed your child to it?

[Andacar]

I do remember being a kid, and I remember that neither I nor my sister were interested in dolls that look like tarts on Central Avenue at about 1:00 AM looking to pick up a trick. There was a recent article about the Bratz in the New Yorker that talked about the high pressure tactics used to sell them by their creators. One especially unpleasant idea that they have come up with is to sell them despite what parents want. They sell them as cool because parents don’t like them. And they are advertised everywhere so as to make avoiding them difficult. The only purpose of the Bratz is to make their parent company a lot of money, not to promote some kind of “personal freedom.” That’s just an advertising gimmick.

[Jon]

"This is a free market economy." indeed it is. But I don't think people are proposing we legislate the problem away. I think we are pointing to these products and saying "this here is wrong, we reject it." Hoping to shame these companies into behaving in a way compatible with our social standards.

[Spyder]

Whats wrong with a damn thong, its not sexual in any way as long as no one sees it. Maybe people need to quit being so stuck up about sexuality in this country, Have you also forgotten what its like to be a kid already?

[Dallas Freeman]

It's simple, if you don't want your kids using or having these types of toys, then don't buy them.

I agree that it is disgusting, but the simple answer to the products is don't buy them.

[anon]

This is a free market economy. People can make, buy and sell anything legal(or not). If you don't like it try being a good parent for once and actually controlling your devil child.

Soccer moms are whats wrong with this country.

[Scott]

First off, the Peekaboo dance pole isn't meant for kids, it's meant for adults. What the parents thought they were getting their daughter I do not know, as the name alone suggests to me something pornographic or erotic in nature.

Second of all, have you seen how most girls dress nowadays? I would be more concerned about this than a Polly Pocket toy.

[CaptainObvious]

What about the entire Bratz line? The entire product is built on minature prostitutes.

[Imagine It!]

Sigh..I discovered something recently, there are actual websites that are like myspace but intended for a younger audience and they encourage kids to dress 'sexy' and even worse to take pictures and share the photos online. I mean one only needs to take a visit to picture upload sites like photobucket to see that children - or rather tweens (children below teens) are imitating just about every sexual icon in the media. I'm not against sex in the media, but I think parents need to get more active and stop buying their kids 'thongs' and letting them watch sex romp movies or w/e.

[Rose]

I agree with Clare that there is something very wrong with giving a young girl a pole dancing kit and designing thongs in sizes for young girls. All the Playboy content being market to young girls just pisses me off.

[Clare]

There is something very wrong about giving a pre-pubescent girl a pole dancing kit. And thinking that its OK. Look at Britney! Once gyrating away in a school uniform and holding her virginity aloft like some sort of marketing trophy, look where that got her. LEts let kids be kids please.