The tweenie clothing dilema- Bum wraps with studs or the twirl factor?

I'd been through this before! I scratched my head with a deep sigh and resigned myself to the unavoidable, why or why did Little Miss Mischief have to become a size 8; the clothing available for little girls this age is just a smaller replica of adult wear except on the worse side of yuk.
Behind me stood racks full of delightful, pretty clothing that stopped at size 7. In front of me stood a couple of dishevelled clothing racks, a mish, mash, mosh of  cast iron greys, blacks, dull greens and sickly looking blues. This is the appalling, dismal offer of clothing for little girls sized 8 to 12. Despite years of parent protests and the target market of the girls themselves, nothing has changed.

A mother standing next to me sighed in unison to my unspoken thoughts, I think she heard or saw the utter disappointment and frustration on my face. "When the public complain we sexualize our young children, its starts with the clothing that the designers put out! every where I have been the last week its the same stuff, boutiques and chain stores. All the same crap!! my daughter doesn't like to wear skinny tight black jeans or grey sloppy joes!" the mother blurted out. I agree, Little Miss Mischief doesn't like that type of clothing either, nor does it suit her. Little Miss Mischief, is a tall, willowy, fair headed, fair skinned, blue eyed little girl that has a sprinkling of sun kisses on her delicate elfin face. She also still believes in fairies, has 36 Barbie dolls and loves all the colour that comes with them; blacks, greys mixed with silver studded bum wrap skirts doesn't have a place in this picture.

OK! it seems that all the designers for children's clothing must have gone to the same design school, because the styles dramatically change from size 7  to 8. There's no transition at all anywhere. I voted with my purse and walked out having purchased nothing at all.

I might have made a statement by not buying anything at all from stores such as Pumpkin Patch, Target, Myer, Big W, Best & Less and I definitely didn't bother to hike to Kmart for my efforts, but the problem remained, Little Miss Mischief has grown out of her winter clothes and I just cant squeeze her in the size 7's anymore.
The one outfit I purchased the week before from our local boutique 'Bonnies' was a size 7L, which matched LMM's slender frame beautifully. The printed cord layered knee length skirt of apricots and baby blue floral was contrasted with matching stripe band and a long sleeve blouse to match. The colours looked divine on her, and most importantly of all, it passed the 'twirl' factor. It was the only clothing on offer.
No matter the generations, throughout the ages; all little girls love to twirl!. Watching my older daughter, 'Zip' now a young woman twirl in a new flowy dress she made, I think all women love to twirl!
 My older daughter 'Zip' as she is affectionately called, is a sewing guru, with a blooming label of her own, has made a lot of clothes for her little sister for a few years now. Some things like jeans are out of the question only because we don't have the machinery to perfect the job. I know there is a gorgeous double breasted hot pink cord jacket with a floral flannel lining on its way for winter for LMM, but with Zip's current workload and demand, we'd be lucky to get anything else more than that.
I couldn't help myself, but I just had to prove that little girls really do love to twirl. Here are 3 of my favourite photographs of LMM twirling in an outfit created by her older sister for summer in our backyard.
Its probably the most beautiful fairy dress ever created, but it isn't going to make winter a warm one.
What to do! What to do! I could look online, this too is fraught with danger. Little Miss Mischief's peculiar shaping, though not obvious has proven an obstacle too many times. Its a 'try on b4 u buy' job with anything LMM. She is also the worlds worst clothes shopper, except when it comes to shoes...... Emelda Marcos reincarnate.


Last week's effort was a reward of one outfit but the trip to Big W (our only other store locally) afterwards was traumatic for me. LMM screwed up her nose, she could like this perhaps, maybe, as she looked at a top which was a 2 tone grey with a weird splotch on the front. Blah she said and we left it. Hmmmm.... school holidays, a trip to Parramatta might be in order suggested Zip. Gulp - crowds.

We girls 3, had some serious shopping to do anyway. I just wanted new underwear that's all, Zip had a list a kilometre long, which included shoes, makeup, jeans, books and fingers crossed a new wardrobe for LMM. Having Zip along meant our options decreased, as she is the reigning wardrobe police. All items of apparel must pass her scrutiny, not a lot gets through.
The shopping trip was planned for  the day after my iron injection, I took an extra dose of vitamin B. I was good to go, I had energy.
Parramatta Westfield wasn't as busy as we were expecting, yay! Some of Zips items in bags already when we found the Kids Zone, all the kids stores in one central location- thank you Westfield.
 LMM is out of Cotton Kids sizing, so we bypassed that store. Perused Pumpkin Patch, but not one item of apparel passed Zip's strict standards of style. The colours of the clothing was OK she admitted, but the "underage teenager going to the club with an ef me look" was a no go zone. I didn't think it was that bad, but Zip stormed out with a very disdainful obvious huff!
LMM & I caught up to her in front of a store nearby called Gymboree. With a smile larger than life and a finger already pointed to its front doors "we are going in here!". I heard a very loud long "Woooooooooow coming from LMM's lips as she stood transfixed in awe. Zip & I headed in different directions in excitement forgetting  LMM, left still statuesque, with mouth wide open and eye's dancing over the front etalage of the store. Oops, I went back and dragged her in.
Within minutes we all had arms full of clothing for LMM to try on. Here was a store that had successfully bridged the gap from little, little girls to little girls to tweenie without any compromise on morals and ethics, needs and wants.
The colouring of the entire range from birth to 12 years is a breath of fresh vibrancy and happiness. Styles modern, contemporary yet age appropriate. Jeans with felt flowers on the hemline or down the leg, colourful cords, matching long sleeve t's with stripes and flowers. Dresses, tunics, coordinates, shoes, boots, hats, knitwear and much more to tantalise the eyes and feast the  wardrobe.
                                       A wondrous butterfly found amongst the fleet of dull, grey moths.

Though I am a very firm believer in buying Australian first, Gymboree is a US brand with the one store in Australia (more planned openings soon) I am a new huge fan. If an Australian childrens clothing company had catererd for the 'transitional' age such as Gymboree has done so effortlessly and simply, I would be the first to buy guaranteed.
Wake up Australian designers, get out there and research your the target market. You might just find out what all parents already know, little girls love to twirl, dress up, play and still be little girls.
Take a look at Gymboree by going to www.gymboree.com

The importance of Immunisation

Not immunising your child is the same as allowing your child to ride in a car without a seat belt; unrestrained and completely unprotected. You might never have an accident, but then again a quick sudden slam on the brakes to avoid hitting something will cause your child to fly through the windscreen.
It seems almost 'unnatural', an emotionally impossible thing not to strap your child in. Guilt stops us; what if we have an accident?
Why is it not the same when people opt out of immunising their children? is it the misguided belief that the diseases we are trying to protect them from are antiquated and no longer relevant? or just like my own parents, who had the insane notion of a sinister government conspiracy.
Isn't it healthy for children to get Measles & Chicken Pox? actually no.

Speak to a mother whose baby died from Whopping Cough, as told in Practical Parenting magazine, "Her last Breath". Its a heartbreaking tale of a death that could have been prevented.

I met a woman a few weeks ago that proudly stated that she refused to have her child immunised. I was instantly compelled to commit grievous bodily harm of an atrocious nature on this woman. Being in public, I held that thought with a tight hold, but it was very hard.
Instead I took a very big obvious step back from her and said "My parents had exactly the same attitude as you. Every day for the last 20 years I have lived with the burden of my parents decision".

I am rejoicing in a government initiative to ban all un-immunised children from attending day care or schools. If you don't immunise your child, be prepared to home school and work from home for the rest of your child's youth. There is talk of government departments not employing non immunised adults in the future, which counts me out.

When my brother met his wife Barabra, a Chinese immigrant, he saw the most beautiful girl in the world. The rest of the family, on the other hand were confronted with a cripple, a girl with twisted mangled legs of not much use. After the initial shock wore off, we too no longer saw Barabra's legs, but the wonderful person that she is. Barabra was 4 when she was stricken with Polio. These diseases still exist because some countries don't have the resources or the respect for its citizens to protect them.

For all the love and care, and the great deal of sacrifice and discipline my parents took to raise their bunch of 4 in a 'earthy natural' environment, they had handed me a death sentence in the process. Their unintended consequences.
At 27, 3 very young children, a mortgage, a husband, 2 cats and half way through a mandatory career driven degree, I caught chicken pox from a lady who decided that she was bored staying at home with her infected daughter.
All I did was stand at a sandwich bar waiting for my lunch when both came to stand next to me. 5 minutes of conversation was all that it took for my health to change forever. I had walked into the cafe with an empty stomach, and walked out with a sandwich, a bottle of water and a ticking time bomb.

As an adult, chicken pox often turns into Shingles, just like Herpes from which chicken pox is of the same virus, it never goes away. If you're very unlucky, you get ITP (Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpera) unluckier still, is the chronic type.

I'll spare you the long boring and most arduous story of what happened, but I will enlighten you a little bit with what life is like as a chronic ITP sufferer.

Anemia, abnormal blood cell structure, internal hemorrhaging, profuse bleeding from the roof of the mouth, gums (lovely sight when talking to clients or customers when this occurs) nose bleeds, external hemorrhaging, daily headaches, stomach and organ ulcers, mental confusion, extreme cold, fatigue, breathlessness, low blood pressure, blood transfusions, enlarged spleen, swollen tongue, curly fingernails, difficulty swallowing (how I love the choking bit), insatiable thirst, injections, monthly blood tests, Prednisone, radiotherapy, removal of the spleen, heart problems, stroke, dizziness, nausea. The trademark red lesion dots on the skin that come with the territory are so numerous now that Little Miss Mischief can draw 'join the dots' and cover my entire body without taking her texta off.

Because ITP is an autoimmune deficiency syndrome, which I never say in its short form, AIDS, because most people automatically think its THAT type of aids, and its not. Its the same type as people who have cancer etc, which means that I should have no immunity or resistance to colds, bugs etc which can quickly lead to death.
The ironic part of that is I haven't had a cold or flu since 2005, the only time I am sick is directly due to the disease itself. Apparently, pregnancy can increase remission periods to 5 years and revert the blood cells to normal structure and give a female ITP sufferer incredible protection, which I didn't find out until 2 years after my last pregnancy.
As the 'pregnancy insurance' is wearing out, and my last treatment took more than 16 days instead of 3, before I started to feel better again, I know that I am now walking a fine line as remission periods will get shorter and shorter.
When making decisions on your child's future, think very carefully. Again I say, never use your child to make statement of your own political or religious agendas.
If I had been capable as a baby of making the decision on being immunised, I would have gladly said "Yes Please"