Let's Deglamorize Our Youngsters!
It's time to take a hard look at children's fashion shows, sophisticated parties,
and athletic spectacles so much in vogue today By THEODORE IRWIN
IN LOS ANGELES not long ago, 200
girls, some as young as 12, competed
in a Brigitte Bardot resemblance contest-Wearing
towels, bikinis, and the
proper pout, they did their best to emu
late the celebrated French "sex kitten."
Harmless fun? Not when viewed with the
spate of other glossy, glamorous activities boys
and girls are participating in often with the
blessings of their parents.
One of the gaudy, prematurely sophisticated
roles that young girls play these days is model
ing in small-fry fashion shows, where mothers
dress them in scaled-down versions of strapless
evening gowns and high heels. Pre-teen beauty
contests, in a carnival atmosphere, also are
staged, often sponsored by service organizations
and even mothers' clubs.
Particularly in suburbs, social dancing is in
creasingly being pressed upon children as early
as the fifth grade. Pint-sized children compete
to be the best dressed. "Pairing off" is apt to
be encouraged, and the tendency is for boy-girl
parties to start at around the age of 11. Dating
begins early. According to a survey by Dr. Win
ston Ehrmann of the University of Florida,
one in four girls dates regularly before she
reaches 13.
Junior-grade mixed parties, sponsored by par
ents in this affluent era, may include hired en
tertainment. For the "younger" element, a ma
gician or games leader may star at a catered
birthday party. In St. Louis, an eighth-grade
graduation party was held in the city's best
night club and one high-school Valentine's
Day dance cost each boy a minimum of $30.
Athletics, too, are being glamorized. Small '
boys are being handed flashy uniforms, unnec
essary warm-up jackets, and sweat pants. Base
ball diamonds are laid out like replicas of big
league ball parks, sometimes with grandstands,
dugouts, scoreboard, even a built-in public ad
dress system for elaborate pregame ceremonies.
"The basic idea of athletics is being lost in
the trimmings and gadgetry," says Joseph
E. Curtis, recreation commissioner of White
Plains, N. Y. "It's not baseball itself that seems
to count, it's showmanship and glamour. A kid
is involved with so many distractions that he
plays for the accouterments as much as for the
game. All this distorts his sense of values."
SOME OP the glamorizing can be downright
dangerous. Consider the "go-cart" craze.
One afternoon in Spartansburg, N. C, a 12-year-old
boy driving a motorized "go-cart" on
a drag strip suddenly lost control. He smashed
into a group of spectators, injuring 16 and send
ing four to a hospital. This was not an isolated
incident. A survey of 1,500 cities reveals that
at least 33 deaths and 193 serious injuries have
been caused by these "toy" cars. Yet more than
a quarter-million go-carts are now being driven
around, each at a cost of several hundred dol
lars to pampering parents.
Educators and social scientists observing var
ious aspects of the glamorizing phenomenon
maintain that in many cases the children are
pawns for their parents' frustrated ambitions.
These parents are overanxious for their off
spring to be "popular."
But American youngsters really don't want
the razzle-dazzle, says Joseph Prendergast, ex
ecutive director of the National Recreation As
sociation. He cites this example:
"A recreation department in Oklahoma of
fered a stargazers' program to youngsters who
were willing to lug bedrolls to chilly hillsides,
keep careful records of the constellations they
saw, and construct their own scale models of
the solar system. Perhaps a dozen takers were
expected. More than 100 responded. The only
razzle-dazzle in the program came when nature
let go with a shooting star."
Instead of high-powered go-carts, fashion
shows, sophisticated parties, and athletic spec
tacles, the consensus of thoughtful recreation
directors is that our children would be much
better off with some old-fashioned diversions.
utteep them simple and honest," Curtis sug
J. gests. He strongly advocates bicycling,
for instance, and would like to see a network
of community bike paths. From the third grade
on, youngsters can go in for roller skating, ice
skating, swimming, and basketball, he says.
Softball can start in the fifth grade. Beginning
in kindergarten, gymnastics can be enjoyed if
mixed with games and stunts (these can be per
formed in your home playroom, too, with a layer
of blankets or a mat). Touch football develops
:.uch skills as kicking, feinting, passing, and
playmaking. Family recreation could include
hiking, camping, and picnics.
In Curtis' view, we should also go back to folk
dancing, musical games, and homespun fun. The
finest home recreation device ever invented, he
believes, is the living-room piano..
Heads of youth organizations point out that
children do like vigorous sports and real hikes.
It's usually a timid adult who is reluctant to let
a child sleep on the ground or who fears he'll
be hurt if he plays a "rough" game. Our chil
dren should be encouraged to participate rather
than grow up to be victims of what President
Kennedy has called "spectatoritis."
"Let's stop making jaded adults of youngsters
bursting with energy," says recreation expert
Prendergast. "It's fun to be active and fit. Let's
give fitness and fun without gaudy frills
back to our children."
ILLUSTRATION BY JOHN WOOLHISER
COVER:
i4rfre.SK Shirley Jones, photographed by
Peter Ranch, had to shed sireet-yirl roles
to win an Oscar and her husband shares
much of the credit for her success. See:
"Shirley Jones and How She Grew," p. H.
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