I am always somewhat reluctant to write articles dealing with child development, due to the simple fact that I don't have children of my own. All I have to fall back on is observing my own parents and my friends who do have kids. I will, however, tread these treacherous waters, because I think the subject of responsibility for one's behavior stretches far beyond our childhood.

It all started with today's www.msn.com article Are Bratz Dolls Too Sexy? The concern expressed in the article is far from new: are the overly sexualized dolls with their revealing clothes and the web site encouraging little girls to dress up and do their hair impacting how young girls view themselves? Are girls being pushed toward the notion that all happiness lies with their appearance? And, while we are at it, are we sending a confusing message to boys by indicating that they should only judge girls based on their appearance? I do sympathize with these concerns. While not being a parent myself, I do have a two-year old nephew and two seven-year old nieces. I certainly don't want my nephew to grow up judging women solely based on their appearance, and I do despair as I scour stores and web sites for presents for my nieces and find nothing but overly-decorated low-slung jeans and miniature halter tops with rhinestone inscriptions "Spoiled brat" and "Little hottie".

However, let us look at the issue from the other angle. Would the Bratz dolls be this popular, would their parent company MGA Entertainment have the resources to continue developing those provocative little outfits with the accompanying instructions on the web site, if no one was buying them? The answer is simple - if you don't want to propagate this trend, then don't buy the merchandise.

Yes, it is heart-breaking to deny your precious little one that one toy that "everyone else at school has". But isn't it up to you, as a parent, to explain that just because everyone else does or has something, doesn't make it right? I mean, 500 years ago everyone believed that Earth was flat and stationary in space, and we all know how that turned out (pun intended). Don't buy the overly sexualized dolls, or the too-grownup clothes or the too-violent games if you don't like the message they convey. Talk to your child as to why. This doesn't mean establishing a culture of complete and utter denial of all fun and games in your household. It simply means not conducting the fun and games according to the TV commercials and trends.

Go get Tinkertoys and Lincoln logs - they do still exist. Build paper planes and boats and cut out a crew for them out of paper. Make a kite (instead of buying one with all the bells and whistles at the store) and figure out how to make it fly. Stores like Michael's and Hobby Lobby offer all manner of supplies to make your own stuffed animals and dolls - wardrobe and all - but at least you can combine play with teaching your kid how to sew. Make your own Christmas ornaments. Teach your kids how to journal, how to sketch, how to sculpt. Pull together everything from their wardrobe and yours and maybe a little something from a local discount store and see what you can combine, mix and match to teach your kids how to dress tastefully and well without becoming slaves to fashion labels.

There are tons of things children can do and have without ever dipping their little toes into the stream of pop culture - as long as you take time to seek those things out and do them with your kid. The more you do it, the less it will bother you that Barbie has a new video out and that there is a new line of Bratz bikinis at Kids R' Us. Soon enough, you won't notice these things at all, and won't that be something...

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