Mother daughter fashion wars!

Hi Jennifer & Friends: Saturday morning I was at a local market with some friends shopping and having tea and one of my friends had her 14 year old daughter with her. This young lady is very pretty and extremely sweet but she looks well beyond her years in many ways but mainly it's because of how she dresses and uses makeup.

I think she dresses and looks like she's in her 20's and when she was off by herself the conversation came up with the four of us about the age of when you stop buying clothes for your daughter or at least drawing the line of what she wears and how she looks when she starts choosing clothing and styling herself on her own.

What this came down to and the biggest worry for all of us was if a young girl dresses far beyond her years will she be able to handle to sexual advances she is bound to receive. The conversation went all over the place after that.

I heard a wide range of solutions and some crazy reasons about why some mothers let their daughters wear the things they do and why some do not and the reasons that they keep to themselves. I also heard some serious reasons and some real problems that mothers have with their daughters. I don't have any children but I want to some day so I was listening to this discussion with an open mind. (Something I rarely do, by the way.) I have to say that what I heard was unbelievable and I have a new found respect for mothers and the dilemmas they have with their daughters.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this topic? This was a very interesting conversation and I would love to hear any coments or experiences you may have had.

Clare
London, England