Electric Blue Mascara Now Seems So Innocent

The other day while waiting for M to get her teeth cleaned at the dentist, I saw a Seventeen magazine on the table and decided to flip through it. If it hadn't been for magazines like this when I was entering my teen years then I wouldn't have had all those great "make-up secrets", like wearing electric blue mascara or even known about Baby Soft or Jean Nate. What would I have done if I didn't see that Guess or Esprit outfit that "I HAD TO HAVE" and beg my mom for it for months? Not to mention I wanted every pair of and Candies that I saw an ad for.

While thumbing through today's version of Seventeen I learned at least 3 things:
1-Candies are still in style and still run ads in Seventeen
2-Electric Blue Mascara has not yet made a come back (Thank the good Lord)
3-My child will not be allowed to read Seventeen until she is at least 30!

I was completely shocked at the total lack of modesty and quite frankly, the subject matter in the articles made me blush just reading it. I'm sure the magazine that I read, too, in some way pushed it a little, but I can assure you that I never read things like this.

I remember a few years back, as one of my nieces was beginning her teen years and wanting to read these type magazines, that my sister in law would have to view it first and tear out anything she thought was inappropriate for her young daughter. I can tell you that between the ads themselves being racy and provocative along with the articles containing information that you don't want your daughter to read until she is married, there wouldn't be much left in between the front and back cover of the one I was looking at.

Trust me, the whole Miley Cyrus ordeal dulls in comparison to this stuff, but nobody is screaming up and down at Seventeen Magazine. Meanwhile, Miley Cyrus is being bombarded with questions, mean comments, and has been forced to apologize for appearing in a photograph for Vanity Fair that is considered too risque. I have to agree with people on this, as she is a role model for many very young girls, like my 7 year old. It may not have been the best judgement on her part, but really, shouldn't our girls be looking for role models more there age , instead of a sixteen year old? I take part of the blame myself on that one because I let her watch Hannah Montana, which is a very cute show.

Another issue is the whole Jamie Lynn Spears issue. M came up to me the other day, as I was checking out at the grocery store and said, "Mom, Jamie Lynn Spears is doing it alone." Apparently she read the headlines of a magazine in line there...which by the way is about the 4th time she has done that concerning the same story. Try explaining that to a seven year old. Not quite ready to go there.

What I want to know is where are the "Punky Brewsters" of today? They aren't to be found. I think it's time we not only slow down the pace of our lives, but try to slow down the pace of theirs as well. Let's let a 7 year old be 7, still into baby dolls, books, sticker collections and riding bikes until bedtime. They're growing up entirely to fast.