THE SEXUALIZATION OF EARLY CHILDHOOD

Sexualization of early childhood is one of the most complicated issues that touch the lives of our young children.  This is something that is not taught in the classroom and surely wouldn’t be found in a curriculum.  In today’s society, as educators we encounter more and more issues of homosexuality (gay/lesbian families; masculinity in a child’s sex role; or dealing with aspects of femininity/masculinity) and that’s something we have to deal with.  There are biases in the classroom, children considered to be tomboy or sissies by other children and we must be there to handle such a situation of harassment.  Classrooms are full of children that have to challenge the negative remarks and bullying and we wonder why so much is happening in the class.  

I have a little girl in the classroom and she has a sister in the middle school, around the age of thirteen.  On this particular day, Judy comes to me and told me that her sister had a 13^th birthday party.  She said Ms. Adams, you should have been there, the girls had tiny skirts on and wearing makeup.  This party also included boys that were much older and very little parent involvement.  She saw the boys touching the girls, standing to close, and some even trying to look under their skirts. I listen to some parents when they make the statement, “our children know they are growing up fast”, I wonder why?

Another example that illustrates the exposure of young children to a highly sexualized environment would be the language I hear boy and girls talk in and out the classroom.  This six year old girl amazed me when she used the sex word and I always say be careful what you say and do around children.  She begin to walk down the hall and as I stood to the side and watched her she quickly grab a little boy penis. I came forward and asked her why she did she do that and she responded because it was on TV.  I pulled her to the side and told her not to do it anymore; she’s just a child and act like one. Many children are exposed to sexual messages through the media, cultures and parents.

The third example comes when me and my best friend was out for lunch, along with her two year old son.  While sitting at the table and looking over the menu, her baby starts to cry and she knew he was hungry.  She gradually pulls her blouse up and put a cover over her breast and let her baby suck her milk.  The two year old starts to star and looks at her and looks back down at the baby covered up and sucking the breast.  He gradually and slowly pulls up the shirt, because he becomes aware that something is going on under there.  This is very normal with a little child being curious and looking at his mother finding a way to sooth his brother crying.

I noticed there are kids that expose themselves to television and radio and that’s the way they value themselves.  Many develop low self-esteem, don’t care about anyone else, and don’t respect each other with bad language.  There are many ways you can help students struggle with this kind of sexual communication.  The school district has a policy for children to wear uniforms every day, from elementary to high school.  For this reason, one child can’t be jealous of the other about the clothing they’re wearing and this also help the little girls when they’re out playing and don’t have to worry about playing on the monkey bar or slide. 

Another idea would be to add such gender roles into the school curriculum.  We should be able to ensure that the parents become involved and more importantly, is able to open up and communicate whenever needed.  As an educator, we need to talk openly to our children about a caring relationship and make sure they are provided with age-appropriate material that will help them explore in a safe environment.  There is so much negative and sexual advances in the media today and as a whole.

Ways in which my awareness of the sexualization of early childhood has been influenced by study the topic this week would be I’m really not surprised about this over-sexualized world.  When I was growing up, I could hear songs by Prince and other music artists and would sing alone without a care in the world.  But this topic has really influenced my way of viewing myself in the world and the upbringing of children today.