This Mom's Rant About the "Itsy-Bitsy" Shorts For Girls at Target Will Have You Clapping in Agreement

Carolyn Moore, a mother and writer at Assignment: Mom, took the time to get real about the struggle that is trying to find her 9-year-old daughter a decent pair of shorts. And while she's the first person to dub Target her happy place, she admits that their selection of shorts leaves a lot to be desired. Carolyn detailed her frustration in a Facebook post, and by the looks of the comments section, dozens of other parents share the same sentiment.

"Dear Target, You know I love you . . . but we need to talk about tween girls for a minute. More specifically, we need to talk about what you're offering them in the athletic wear department these days. It's ridiculous."

She explained that the unbelievably small shorts on display aren't going to cut it for her active kiddo.

"I have an almost-10-year-old daughter who, next week, is going to basketball camp. As they do, my tween is growing like a weed — which means she's outgrown her old pairs of more 'little kid' feeling shorts," she wrote. "No problem, I thought. I'll grab her a new pair at Target while I'm picking up the eleventy billion other things this family needs to function. You know what I found instead? Teeny-tiny, itsy-bitsy, way-too-short shorts. That's it."

While Carolyn certainly gets the concept of shorts, she's not exactly sure why it has to be all or nothing in the length department.

"I get that shorts are, by definition, short. But where are the mid-length shorts? The approaching-knee-length shorts? The shorts that don't require built-in underwear she'd undoubtedly find uncomfortable? The options girls my daughter's age have seem to be limited to these or skin-tight leggings (which she cannot stand)."

Carolyn adds that even though she's OK with her daughter showing a little leg every now and again, it doesn't have to go to extremes.

"I don't fancy myself a prude, but neither do I take the responsibility to teach my daughters about modesty and appropriate dress lightly," she said. "We live in a culture sexualized enough as it is; I wish I could go shopping for my tween and not have to worry about her backside or her underwear showing in a pair of athletic shorts."

Carolyn also explained that she already scoured the women's section for a pair or two, but unfortunately, there weren't any solid options there, either. So what's her only saving grace? The boy's department.

"I'm raising three daughters, so I feel well-qualified in saying this about girls: they are fierce and strong and 100 percent deserving of athletic wear that underscores exactly that. Until I can find that on the racks of your girl's department, I'll be shopping for shorts for my disappointed tween daughter in the boy's section. In the meantime, consider the challenge issued: it's time to do better by our tween girls."