Hello Kitty Nails 2012 part 8

Hello Kitty Nails galleries

In 1960 America, 5.3% of all births were to unmarried women; in 2009 America, 41% of all births were to unmarried women. 41%!

Hello Kitty Nails galleries

Equally unsettling: 59% of boys agreed that it's okay for an unmarried woman to have a child; 70% of girls said so.

Hello Kitty Nails galleries

Is it really so surprising? Every kid nowadays walks around with a cell phone glued to her ear or thumbs - sexting, not just texting. Meanwhile, Hollywood celebrates non-committed hookups, MTV parades sex as youthful entertainment, retailers cash in on our youngsters, pop music resounds with offensive language, and on it goes.

Hello Kitty Nails galleries

Even Disney is in on it, as is GapKids and others, by offering heels to teenyboppers. Says mumsnet's Justine Roberts, "Some of the shoes I have seen on sale look more suited to a lap-dancing club than the feet of a young girl."

Hello Kitty Nails galleries

And while Primark withdrew its padded bikini tops for girls as young as seven, not so Abercombie and Fitch, which simply deleted "push-up" and went with "Triangle" for its padded top bikini line.

Hello Kitty Nails galleries

Says Wheelock College's Professor Gail Dines: "It gets young girls to think about themselves in sexual ways before that's developmentally appropriate."

Hello Kitty Nails galleries

Then there's Wal-Mart's geoGirl line of "sheer color cosmetics moms can buy their daughters." Offerings include bubble-gum flavored lip gloss, light-pink blushes, even eye shadows and mascara, all at a cost of just $4 to $6-so suitably priced for our third to eighth graders.

Hello Kitty Nails galleries

The NPD Group, Inc. surveyed about 1,500 girls, 400 of whom were between 8 and 12, and found they use beauty products at least once a month. Says NPD vice-president and beauty-industry analyst Karen Grant; "Makeup use today is more likely seen by parents as a bonding opportunity. A lot of the brands the mother is using are actually what we see the young girls using, too."

Hello Kitty Nails galleries

Next up: dolls. Mattel's Monster High line takes Barbie to a whole new level. Clawdeen Wolf, for instance, comes decked out in a mini mini-skirt, way-high boots, and heavy makeup. Her favorite hobby is listed as "flirting with boys" and she describes herself as "a fierce fashionista with a confident, no-nonsense attitude." Marketed to tweens and teens, she's actually being scooped up by girls as young as five and six.