Just finished anaesthesiology posting this noon and went to East Coast Mall for a walk. Was thinking of treating myself with a scoop of Pralines 'n Cream but changed my mind and bought Chocolate Cookie Latte at Big Apple instead. I think the latte was loaded with too much caffeine so I only finished half of the total volume (wouldn't want my kid to get jumpy in there..huhu..)
Well, that's not the most interesting part of my window-shopping spree tho. It's something that I overheard in Brands Outlet store that intrigued me.
I was scanning through the colourful, multi-styled clothes that were hung neat in the store with mannequins lining up along the aisle doing what they do best - looking fashionable and chic. The colours fascinated me but alas, my physique is not made by God to fit into the skimpy clothes that the manufacturers have to offer.
And then I arrived at the children section. The choice of dresses and clothes that they have for children, I would say, is much much more than what I used to see when I was small as far as my memory serves me right. The myriads of colours and patterns and styles..gosh it makes one feel tempted to fill up the shopping basket with every single clothes in line. This would be the most perfect time for the devils to work their art of persuasion - whispering into the hearts of beings with an XX chromosome to fulfill their lust towards beautiful and cute things.
As I was strolling down the aisle, all the while amazed at the collection that this store has, I could not help but overhear a lady saying to two other friends who were looking for girl clothes to purchase. She said, "Kalau baju girl kena beli yg seksi-seksi sikit, baru la cute."
Immediately, I felt this sense of uneasiness. Is that perception a safe one?
The designs of girl clothings have evolved so much from the past that they now appear to be miniatures of adult-style clothings. This includes really sexy and skimpy clothing (altho they don't have the bumps and curves to show off as yet).
Children are innocent beings and no matter how they dress, they would still be innocent. However, what I am concerned of is how differently people with twisted minds perceive these children nowadays. There are numerous stories in the newspaper of children being sexually harassed and abused in every way possible (and sometimes unfathomable) by adults whose idea of sexual gratification is immensely distorted.
While dressing a child in a revealing clothing is not impermissible in Islam, it carries the risk of attracting unnecessary danger to the child in the current world that we live in.
With child pornography business flourishing, children are portrayed as sexual beings, one capable of becoming the source of excitement and satisfaction. A child is never viewed the same way again by those who are exposed to this kind of pornography. One would have already been conditioned into feeling sexually attracted to children.
In addition, sexy clothing that is associated with sexy adults (who inevitably instigate a certain degree of arousal in those with an XY chromosome) is also now related to children.
These two factors combined, a greater negative effect may be produced when a child dons such kind of clothing.
One might argue that even a child who dresses decently has fallen prey to this cruelty. Then why all the fuss on clothing? A child might as well be running naked and remained untouched but another counterpart be wrapped head-to-toe and become a victim.
Well, in every happening in our life, various parties are involved. The part that we're most in control of is our portion of responsibility. It is up to us to do what it takes to reduce the risk or probability of an event occurring. When we have done all that we could, we pray and leave everything to Allah. Anything that happens afterwards is simply takdir. But nobody would blame us for trying, would they?
Therefore, I am in the opinion that children should not be dressed in too revealing a clothing. Trust me, they won't lose anything. The value of fashion is instilled by the parents while a child is growing up. A strongly embedded value is what remains and becomes the guideline for the child when he/she becomes an adult.
It's our choice to make.
Well, that's not the most interesting part of my window-shopping spree tho. It's something that I overheard in Brands Outlet store that intrigued me.
I was scanning through the colourful, multi-styled clothes that were hung neat in the store with mannequins lining up along the aisle doing what they do best - looking fashionable and chic. The colours fascinated me but alas, my physique is not made by God to fit into the skimpy clothes that the manufacturers have to offer.
And then I arrived at the children section. The choice of dresses and clothes that they have for children, I would say, is much much more than what I used to see when I was small as far as my memory serves me right. The myriads of colours and patterns and styles..gosh it makes one feel tempted to fill up the shopping basket with every single clothes in line. This would be the most perfect time for the devils to work their art of persuasion - whispering into the hearts of beings with an XX chromosome to fulfill their lust towards beautiful and cute things.
As I was strolling down the aisle, all the while amazed at the collection that this store has, I could not help but overhear a lady saying to two other friends who were looking for girl clothes to purchase. She said, "Kalau baju girl kena beli yg seksi-seksi sikit, baru la cute."
Immediately, I felt this sense of uneasiness. Is that perception a safe one?
The designs of girl clothings have evolved so much from the past that they now appear to be miniatures of adult-style clothings. This includes really sexy and skimpy clothing (altho they don't have the bumps and curves to show off as yet).
Children are innocent beings and no matter how they dress, they would still be innocent. However, what I am concerned of is how differently people with twisted minds perceive these children nowadays. There are numerous stories in the newspaper of children being sexually harassed and abused in every way possible (and sometimes unfathomable) by adults whose idea of sexual gratification is immensely distorted.
While dressing a child in a revealing clothing is not impermissible in Islam, it carries the risk of attracting unnecessary danger to the child in the current world that we live in.
With child pornography business flourishing, children are portrayed as sexual beings, one capable of becoming the source of excitement and satisfaction. A child is never viewed the same way again by those who are exposed to this kind of pornography. One would have already been conditioned into feeling sexually attracted to children.
In addition, sexy clothing that is associated with sexy adults (who inevitably instigate a certain degree of arousal in those with an XY chromosome) is also now related to children.
These two factors combined, a greater negative effect may be produced when a child dons such kind of clothing.
One might argue that even a child who dresses decently has fallen prey to this cruelty. Then why all the fuss on clothing? A child might as well be running naked and remained untouched but another counterpart be wrapped head-to-toe and become a victim.
Well, in every happening in our life, various parties are involved. The part that we're most in control of is our portion of responsibility. It is up to us to do what it takes to reduce the risk or probability of an event occurring. When we have done all that we could, we pray and leave everything to Allah. Anything that happens afterwards is simply takdir. But nobody would blame us for trying, would they?
Therefore, I am in the opinion that children should not be dressed in too revealing a clothing. Trust me, they won't lose anything. The value of fashion is instilled by the parents while a child is growing up. A strongly embedded value is what remains and becomes the guideline for the child when he/she becomes an adult.
It's our choice to make.
