And while I'm on my soapbox...

What is it with girls fashion? I am finding it near impossible to find Summer clothes for Lauren that fit and are decent! The shorts this year are all "bum freezers" and not at all appropriate for 8 year olds! The dresses are all sleeveless, backless and offer no protection, and even the swim tops have "cutsey" capped sleeves - so what's the point? I managed to get her a swim top with sleeves nearly to her elbow, but the only shorts that cover any of her leg, are too big - another rant coming on! Lauren is 8 and not small compared to a lot of 8 year olds. Why then do the clothes for her vary in size so much? She has just recently grown out of a size 5 school uniform, has quite a few size 6 clothes, has a pair of shorts in size 7 are too big for her, but has a size 10 polo top that is just right - slightly bigger than she needs but the only way to get sun protection!

Kids clothing in sizes 2- 6 seem to be fine, but if you haven't got girls and haven't already felt my frustration, check out what is available for girls 6 onwards - it's crazy! Fortunately Lauren isn't caught up in all that fashion craziness yet, but some of the kids who come over here certainly are with strappy singlet tops and short shorts that offer no protection and look awful! I wish the designers, manufacturers and parents would just let kids be kids - there's enough time when they are teenagers to have clothing battles with them! Don't start me on the 10 year olds wearing skimpy bikinis at the pool yesterday...