French fashion brand Jours Après Lunes has released an underwear collection for girls aged 4-12. The ‘Fille’ range is seen modelled on the company’s website by young girls sporting make-up, heavily groomed hair and adult accessories.
Bill Haymaker is a C of E cleric who has been serving children in crisis for over twenty years. Recently he wrote, “If you want to understand the mystery of creation, just look into the face of a child.
“Over 50,000 children die every day from abandonment, starvation, cruelty, and preventable diseases. In over 80 countries, children are deprived of any education at all.
“Newspapers abound with horror stories of kidnapped and exploited children, parental abuse, neglect, rape and torture. Throughout the Middle East children have been turned into single–minded, rock–throwing victims and suicide bombers. Truly our children are the fatalities of the 21st Century.
“Television entices young children into modelling themselves as sexual beings and then society cries out when the child becomes a victim of promiscuity. The internet, whilst extolling its benefits, robs them of human interactive and communication skills, denies them the ability to dream, and creates yet another subculture where the family structure has again suffered. Our society encourages and rewards them for creating fantasy alter–egos, under the guise of ‘security.’
“Wherever our western media spreads we turn children into powerful consumers, consuming adults without the maturity to cope with the responsibilities. They strive to emulate the fantasy images of television stars and uninhibitedly mime the most provocative songs and movements.
“What have we done? We have manufactured the death of innocence and encouraged disenchantment with the innocence of childhood.”
Thank God that there is an organisation with the capabilities of the Mothers’ Union. The Bye Buy Childhood campaign which they organised impacted on the UK government to the extent that the Bailey Review was established under the chairmanship of Reg Bailey, the MU’s Chief Executive.
And if you think this is alarmist have a look at these reports and websites:
http://www.mydaily.co.uk/2011/08/17/french-company-launches-lingerie-collection-for-children/
Houston McKelvey