Hell No, My Daughters Are Never Wearing "Sexy" Halloween Costumes

Every year at Halloween, I see young girls of all ages dressed up in what I consider to be inappropriate costumes. A flapper with her tummy showing? Why? A pop star with a skirt shorter than the length of a sock? Just . . . no. A cheerleader in an outfit that shows more skin than a bikini? Come on! As a mom of three daughters, I simply fail to see why a child is allowed to wear a costume that's more grown-up than necessary. And I refuse to let my girls wear anything that could possibly be perceived as sexy.

In my view, girls younger than 18 shouldn't be in any rush to dress older than their age. Whatever happened to Disney princess costumes? Or a character from Star Wars? Last year, my fourth-grader dressed up as a unicorn, my first-grader was Rey, and my little one was a superhero. This year, my now-fifth-grader is talking about being Hermione from Harry Potter. The younger ones are doing the pirate thing. Meanwhile online, I've seen awful, offensive, overly tight, short, and provocative costumes for young girls who want to be a "sassy" werewolf, or, cringe, a "sexy" devil. And while women can dress however they want and go the sexy route if that's what empowers them, these costumes are clearly aimed at tweens and teens. I'm just so thankful my girls haven't expressed any interest in these (at least not yet, so fingers crossed).

If my daughters did get all excited about costumes I felt weren't appropriate until they were older, I would most definitely steer them in another direction, or find ways to tone down the sexiness of the look. For example, I saw an Alice in Wonderland costume that looked more like a sexy baby-doll outfit. It's been a few years since I saw the movie, but I hardly remember Alice this way. If one of my kids wanted to be Alice, we'd go for the traditional look, especially since Halloween can be so much more fun if you try to get as authentic to the original as possible without putting a "sexy" spin on it.

Sadly, it seems many costume makers for kids can find a way to make anything shorter, tighter, and more revealing. I just don't get it! Why are we in such a rush for girls to look older than their ages? Of course, not all parents share my view, and that's OK. I know what works for my kids, just as every other parent knows what works for theirs. But as a mom, this is one thing I won't back down on with my daughters — they aren't allowed to wear sexy costumes until they don't live under my roof . . . or can at least pay for the outfits themselves. And as for me, their mom, I will be living by example and dressing up as a witch — the nonsexy version, that is.

Editor's Note: This piece was written by a POPSUGAR contributor and does not necessarily reflect the views of POPSUGAR Inc. Interested in joining our POPSUGAR Voices network of contributors from around the globe? Click here.