I am raising a daughter in the 2020’s. A daughter who is completely opposite from me. I am a data-driven, introverted, linear thinker. My sweet girl is an artist who loves color, quirky items, and anything out-of-the-box.
Never in my lifetime would I have thought that it would get to the point where I would have to worry about her thought processes because of the packaging on a sponge. Yes- you read that right … a sponge!
I was sitting at work this week when I received an email from one of our partners asking if I had seen the “Spongies with Undies” at Kohl’s. I thought that was a cute name, so, like any person who spends all day at a computer, I looked it up online to see what it was. I thought it was super cute (you can get a strawberry, pineapple, lemon, or avocado) and wondered why she was upset with Kohl’s … until I read on and went in search of more pictures. What you can’t see online at Kohl’s is the packaging; however, you can see it online at Wal-Mart. There it is in bright colors to draw the eye, “Lift me up for a peek at my undies.” What? I had to read it two or three times to make sure it said what I thought it said.
I am not a “helicopter” mom. I do homeschool my kids, so I know they are getting a good, solid, Christian education; however, I also know that they have to be prepared to live in and interact with the world. We have taught our children to protect themselves. We have told them to never get in a car with a stranger. We have told them that they are to remove themselves from a situation if they feel uncomfortable. We have told our soft-spoken little girl to scream as loud and long as she can if she feels threatened. We have given them permission to use us as their why-can’t-you-do-this excuse.
Why, oh why would we be OK with a tag line of lifting anything up to look at its undies on the packaging of something that is colorful and quirky – exactly what would draw the eyes of a child? My daughter is a young teenager now, but when she was younger, she absolutely would have read that and walked around lifting up her dress saying, “Peek at my undies,” and she would have thought she was the cutest thing ever! Then, when we would tell her that she is not to lift up her dress so that people see her undies, she would be confused.
What sort of messages are we sending? We have to do better! Luke 17:2 KJV says, “It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.”
Streamline Imagined is the company who actually produces these sponges, though they are sold at Kohl’s, Wal-Mart, and Amazon- and probably other stores. Those are just the ones I found in a quick online search. They need to hear from us. They need to know that this type of soft grooming advertising is not OK with us.
The best option is to go to your local store and speak to a manager at the store. If that is not possible for you, the public contact information for the stores is below.
Streamline Imagined: email: info@streamlinenyc.com phone: (845) 268-1000
Kohl’s: chat: https://www.kohls.com/faq/article/623 phone: (855)564-5705
Wal-Mart: chat: https://www.walmart.com/help phone: (800)-925-6278
Our kids deserve better. Our children are impressionable. They are learning new things every day. They want to do what others are doing that looks like fun. Please, for the sake of our sons and daughters, let’s not teach them that showing off their undies is acceptable behavior!