Day 241: Good little girls grow up to be...

Spend an hour in a suburban mall and you will discover there is an army of underdressed teenage girls out there. Which prompts two questions: First, why are these girls not in school? Second, where are their clothes? I really must be a mom, because I suddenly have this urge to grab them, scrub off all their make-up and buy them a sweat suit. And not the kind with the writing on the bum, but a real one - from Sears, maybe. I want to sit them down and tell them that self-respect and visible jewelled thongs usually don't go hand in hand.

It's a scary prospect, raising a girl these days. All I can hope is that by the time Maddie reaches highschool this trend towards baring all will be reversed and fuzzy suits will be all the rage. She looks so good in a fuzzy suit. Honestly, though, I just don't get it. When exactly did this happen? And why? I mean, I know it has everything to do with what they see on TV, with our celebrity-obsessed culture. I guess that's always been the case. I vaguely recall my own highschool days, when Debbie Gibson was bee-bopping around in her high-waisted jeans I was doing the same thing. And now we've got Paris Hilton. Don't even get me started on her. And really, I'm all in favour of Britney's big comeback, but when I see her on TV every night going to clubs and living the high life I do have to wonder - where are your kids, woman? And once again, where are your clothes? Sure, I'm spiteful and jealous cause she's already got her pre-baby body back, but really - if these are the role models, we're in trouble. How do you teach a kid self-esteem and respect and worth? I guess that's what we'll have to figure out.

In other disturbing developments, a while back Maddie and I were out running some errands and a salesgirl came up and said, "Hi Madeline, how are you today?" It was a bit unsettling to think we've been to the store so often that the employees know Maddie by name, but I got over it. Then yesterday we're at the liquor store and the cashier says, "Oh, she's getting so big now!" The liquor store. I think we need to find some new hobbies.