what message are our children really getting?

A couple days ago my 6 year old (Ireland) walks downstairs obviously upset and begins to protest what she is wearing. Getting her dressed in the mornings has always been a power struggle but today she was overly moody.

So my daughter looks at me and says, "but I hate this I am so fat". Now, my baby girl has never been fat a day in her life. She was only 5lbs and 11 oz. the day she was born.

While I am no longer a size zero I am not the type to go around talking about how fat I am or how unhappy I am with the way I look. I've always thought of it as a work in progress. At times the process may be rather slow but all the same I know I'm in charge.

To hear those words out of my daughter's mouth floored me. I looked at Sean who was looking at me and we immediately tried to find out why she was saying this. We pointed out how unfat she was and that what was important was to be healthy... eat healthy and to exercise. To which for the most part she does.

I mean this kid has stomach muscles that would make women in their 20's jealous. So this made me start wondering exactly where was my 6 year old getting this information. Why would she say this?

I have become increasingly upset with television because of the hidden comments in cartoons and the type of commercials that play during children's programing. Not to mention that some of the toys targeted towards girls are terrible. Take the Brat dolls for example. They wear very little clothing and carry around an even more upsetting attitude. For this reason they have been banned from my home.

Also, you shouldn't have a kids movie playing that will be filled with commercials about sexual lubricant or the latest horror film. Maybe this is just another sign that I am old, but I find it rather frightening how quickly we are forcing our children to grow up.

I hear about parents that allow their very young children to watch adult shows such as Dexter or movies such as Saw and then wonder why their children have anger issues or are depressed and scared.

Maybe it's time we parents took a step back and reminded ourselves that childhood may only last a short while but the impact during this time lasts the rest of their lives. Not only do we have to worry about what they watch but also how those commercials and toys shape our children's vision of the world.

It's a daily battle, one I know I don't always fight. However, I am hopeful that I can make good decisions for my children that will keep them healthy, safe, and allow them to enjoy their short childhood.

So what do you other parents or soon-to-be parents think? Should we think more about the television and toys we allow our children to be exposed to or is that being too protective?