We’re ruining our kids’ childhoods

While collecting my grandson from school, I notice that boys as young as four have hair styled with gel and haircuts that you would expect to see on teenagers or twentysomethings.

Do their parents not realise the body-image problems they are potentially causing for their youngsters?

I feel so sad for children these days, feeling they have to style their hair and wear the ‘right’ trainers, and so on. It’s storing up future problems.

My grandson recently said he could not wear his dinosaur raincoat as it was old-fashioned. How sad is that? He is only six. Apparently, kids laughed at him.

Also, the clothes on sale for young girls are too grown-up. When my daughters were young they wore knee-length dresses, not like the clothes around now, which should be seen only on tacky pop stars (and even then they look cringeworthy).

In years to come, we will be wondering why the nation has so many self-esteem issues. I just hope parents come to realise that these youngsters are not mini-versions of themselves and let them be children.