COLUMN: Kids growing up too fast in the 'Buffy' era

From Melissa Wong's, "Days Like This," Fall '99 From Melissa Wong's, "Days Like This," Fall '99Seems like only yesterday that we would play kickball on the playground after school or chase after boys we had crushes on during a game of lunchtime tag. And it really wasn't that long ago when we college students were a generation of kids, full of the vitality and innocence that comes with childhood. Children today are growing increasingly adult-like before their time. Nine-year-old girls wear more make-up than your average sorority sister and dress more provocatively than the 21-year-old patrons of local nightclubs. Boys are more aggressive in pursuing their female classmates and instances of sexual harassment, and even sexual violence, in schools are alarmingly high. It is important to realize that this newfound adulthood does not equal maturity. Growing up has always involved its fair share of trials and tribulations, but today's growing pains arrive earlier and are thus much more severe. In their efforts to exhibit their so-called maturity, kids are more susceptible to the pressures of sex and drugs at a younger age. Parents and teachers are often unsuspecting and unprepared because they do not expect to confront these problems when kids are that young. And the difficulties only multiply over the next years of a dwindling childhood. What is different today that leads to such a wide variance between the generations of children? We were as devoted to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as today's kids worship PokZmon and Beanie Babies. Kids study the same grammar points and take identical spelling tests year after year. But this is where the similarities end on several levels. First, there may be a purely biological reason for rapid maturity. Recent studies indicate that children are reaching puberty at earlier ages than ever before, meaning that the process of moving from childhood to adulthood begins at younger ages and occurs over a shorter amount of time. When kids physically mature faster, it is no wonder that their peers often feel pressure to exhibit traits of maturation as well. Even so, the more disturbing trend is how much certain elements of society exhibit, cater to and even facilitate this early maturation. Visit the local mecca of teenybopperdom (the mall, of course) and you'll find obvious differences in the environment from when we used to roam the shopping mall. Clothing lines for young girls are no longer decorated with bows and plastic daisies, but instead incorporate adult fashion trends that are meant to be a little more daring and a little sexier. Spaghetti straps, low-cut tops, higher hemlines and platform shoes are found all too often in children's sizes. Perhaps the most apparent displays are found within the entertainment industry. I was shocked when I took my 11-year-old brother to see films rated G and PG, only to be confronted by violence and sexual innuendo -- even from family-friendly studios like Disney. Must-see television for kids during the 8 to 10 p.m. time slot includes hypersexed shows like Dawson's Creek and Friends, and Buffy episodes focused on bloody violence. When such mature themes are prominently displayed and vaulted in media that are made available to kids, it is no wonder they become affected by these pressures. When my brother Andrew received his first love letter from a classmate last year, I realized that children will continue to pine after first loves and play hopscotch or Pop Warner football for years to come. But while many elements of growing up will remain constant, we should take notice of the things that take away some of the innocence and navetZ of those precious years.