Cute Or Not?

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the kindergarten graduation at one of my school sites. I had worked with all of the kinder classes all year, seeing each group once a week, and I was happy to share in the day...even though I think kindergarten graduation is maybe a wee bit unnecessary. Really, it's a chance to keep the parents interested and involved in their child's education.

The cafeteria was packed. Some of the kids were dressed to the nines, while others were in regular school clothes (it took place during the school day). What amazed and baffled me was the sheer number of five-year-old girls wearing heeled shoes.

Okay, so they're not stillettoes. We're talking maybe a one-inch heel. But aside from a plastic pair of dress-up shoes I had when I was little, I didn't start wearing heeled shoes until at least junior high--maybe high school, even. In fact, the first pair of fancy heeled shoes I can remember having with two inches on them were the shoes I wore to Junior Prom.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is that it really seems inappropriate to me to put a five-year-old girl in kitten heels and a miniature prom dress. We're already sexualizing our girls younger and younger...can't they be little girls for a while longer? They could barely walk in the heeled shoes, and I can't imagine how hard it was for some of them to keep those dresses pristine all day.

I'm interested in hearing what others think about this. Cute? Not cute?

Note: I have blocked out faces in these pictures to protect the privacy of the children in them. Also, I'm not saying all of these children are inappropriately dressed. Some looked adorable.

The second girl in line has heels. Notice the regular old sandals behind her (if you can get past the frills in front).

The girl in front is pretty age-appropriate, but then you've got sleeveless dresses and heels behind her.