The Britney generation

Young girls are being led to dress inappropriately because of the influence of pop stars such as Kylie Minogue and Britney Spears, according to the head of a leading teachers'association.Tiny crop tops and hot pants are the favoured fashions of many pre-teen girls. So is this a case of irresponsible parenting or just a harmless fad? Here, five mothers of daughters who love to dress up tell their stories to DIANA APPLEYARD and TESSA CUNNINGHAM.

MIA LINNETT, eight, lives in Chelmsford, Essex, with her mother Suzie, 39, a housewife, and father Andy, 37, who runs a financial business. She has a brother, Mitch, ten. Suzie says:

WE LET Mia wear virtually whatever she wants. I don't guide her at all because I'm happy for her to make up her own mind about what suits her.

If she feels comfortable in an outfit, she'll look good and feel confident. What's the harm in that?

One of her favourite outfits at the moment is a sweatband with skull and crossbones, a black mesh T-shirt, a short, black skirt with thick, heavy chains and white trainers. She looks really trendy.

Clothes are so cheap these days, they're virtually disposable. If Mia wants something and I can afford it, I buy it. I'm much more open with her than my mother was with me and as a result, she's incredibly mature. Besides, unless she lived in a bubble, never read a comic or watched a TV programme, I can't keep her in blissful ignorance of the world outside.

She is attracted to posters and pop gossip but, inevitably, she comes across more grown-up stuff about sex. I can't keep her away from it. It's just part of the real world and it's best she knows.

She says she can't wait until she's 15 and has a proper boyfriend and she's always telling me about teenage boys she fancies. She's passionate about Spencer, in East-Enders. But I know it's just words - she wants to appear grown-up.

Mia started getting strong views about clothes about a year ago. And, suddenly, shops such as Next were 'babyish'. Now, we always go shopping together.

I have no problem with her being influenced by pop stars. It's natural that if she loves their music, she wants to look like them. The only thing I don't like her wearing are little cropped tops because I think it's horrible for anyone to show acres of flesh. I've explained that and she understands.

HER FAVOURITE shop is Faith and, generally, the higher the heels on her shoes, the better. They make her feel grown-up. She has three pairs with heels up to one-and-a-half inches.

My only restriction is over safety, so I let her wear them just for short distances because she might trip over and break her leg.

The last thing I want is boys looking at her when she's 12 or 13 and thinking she's a mature woman. But, I hope by giving her virtually free rein now, she'll be more sensible later.

I'm also happy for her to wear make-up if she's going to a party or out for a meal with the family.

Her friends are all the same and I don't want her to be the odd one out. But, even wearing make-up and dressing as trendily as most 18-yearolds, she still only looks and acts like an eight-year-old girl.

CHRISTIE DRIVER is eight. She lives in Chelmsford, Essex, with her mother Alixe, 38, a housewife, father, Gary, 42, who runs a construction business, sister, Charlotte, six, and brother, Curtis, five. Alixe says: THE last thing I want is to have a dowdy-looking little girl, so I have no problems at all with the way Christie dresses. In fact, I help her choose most of her clothes. I like her to look trendy.

I'm happy with almost everything in the shops. Short skirts are no problem. She has lovely legs. And, as for crop tops, well, where's the harm? After all, she's only eight, so what may look sexy on a teenager just looks cute on her. Besides, all little girls like to get dressed up, don't they?

When she comes downstairs, ready for a disco in her trendy clothes and covered in body glitter, she looks nothing more than a cute little eightyearold. Both Gary and I always tell her: 'You look fabulous.'

She adores pop singer Christina Aguilera and, naturally, she's influenced by her look and watches Top Of The Pops.

Her favourite shop is New Look, where the shelves are crammed with miniskirts, crop tops and halter necks. We buy her clothes in the nine to 15 age range. Everything's trendy and glittery - designed to appeal to little girls.

When I was eight my mother chose all my clothes and dressed me in frumpy knee-length A-line skirts and polo neck jumpers. I don't expect Christie to wear boring stuff like that.

CHRISTIE'S an innocent girl but, thanks to television, CDs and comics, she's very forward-thinking. She knows the latest trends and, quite naturally, wants them. What's the point of standing in her way? It's only fashion.

I'm not naive. I'm well aware that some clothes can be inappropriate. I can see myself getting paranoid about protecting her when she's older.

By the time she's 12, I'll put my foot down - if she lets me. That's the age you need to worry about because that's when they start becoming interested in boys and viceversa.

At the moment dressing up is just a game, and I'm afraid that if I'm too strict with her and tell her what to wear, she'll go totally off the rails. By agreeing to what she wants, I hope that won't happen.

CARRIE-ANN GIBBONS, seven, lives with her mother Lisa, 32, and father Martin, 34, who has his own building company, in Hastings, East Sussex. The couple have another daughter, Megan, nine, and four boys, Callum, six, Ryan, four, Tom, two, and six-month-old Billy. Lisa says: I THINK it's quite irresponsible for pop stars to dress so revealingly because all the girls who are their fans want to dress like that too.

Mini-skirts and high heels are too grown up, but what can you do? Carrie-Ann's friends wear them and I don't want her to feel left out.

So I let her wear crop tops and have her tummy on show. It's her favourite way of dressing up at the moment. She adds a short skirt or pair of cropped trousers, and it makes her look really trendy.

I have tried to put her in pretty, flowery dresses but she says they are too babyish. She's got such clear ideas about what she wants to wear, I'm not going to argue with her.

Carrie-Ann loves make-up, but I don't think there's any harm in that - it's fun. My husband doesn't mind either, so long as she doesn't wear

anything too outrageous: revealing hot pants or really skimpy tops. Basically, she wants whatever her idols are wearing.

Pop stars have a huge influence on her. When she sees Britney Spears in tiny, revealing clothes she wants them, too. When children follow these fashions, it makes them look too sexy, too young.

I put my foot down sometimes. I won't let Carrie-Ann wear G-strings - even Marks & Spencer does a range for her age group - because I think that's just too grown up.

I think it's wrong for manufacturers to try to entice her into wearing adult clothes. If they didn't produce these clothes, then all the young girls wouldn't want to wear them.

As it is, we all find ourselves pressured because it is an easier option. It does feel like they're growing up much too fast but, as a parent, I feel powerless to resist.

NINE-YEAR-OLD Alana Glassey lives with her mother Shani, 34, a housewife, and father Ryan, 36, a black-cab driver, in North London. The couple have two other daughters, Elle, 12, Darcy, four. Shani says: ALANA, as well as my other two girls, is always nagging me to let her wear the glittery crop tops and little hot pants that are so fashionable at the moment. It is exhaustingtrying to keep an eye on everything they want, although of course I do try to guide them away from anything I feel is too revealing.

But getting them to listen is not always easy, because they have very clear ideas about what they do and do not like.

ALANA spends her life in halternecks, tiny crop tops and skirts or cropped trousers. At the moment, especially in the summer, all the clothes aimed at her age group seem to get tinier and tinier.

I think the fashion designers have a lot to answer for but then the pop stars drive the market too. Children see them on Top Of The Pops or MTV wearing very little - and think that it's cool to dress like them.

Stars such as Kylie and Britney must know they have a big pre-teen market. It's very hard to go out and buy sensible shoes and pretty, long dresses when Alana is clamouring for tiny tops and little shorts.

I try not to let her wear anything too revealing - and I draw the line at G-strings for pre-teens That's ridiculous. They are far too 'sexy' for little girls to wear.

But Alana sees them in the shops and, of course, wants them - all little girls want to dress up.

So far, I have managed to resist but I suppose it will get harder and harder to say no, especially when she is shopping on her own.

Some of the 13-year-olds I see in the street look 18, which I think is wrong, but as a mother there is only so much control you can have, with so many outside influences on them.

Some of the fashions aimed at the younger age group are inappropriate but it's very hard to put your foot down when all Alana's friends are wearing them.

I don't want to get hung up about it at this stage, My children are still young, and I think they look very pretty in their clothes.

Some of the outfits around are just too sexy for little girls, but at this age I think it is quite harmless. I'm sure I will have even more to worry about when they get older.

ANESKAMcLACHLAN, nine, lives in Coulsdon, Surrey, with her mother, Tammy, 37, a personal assistant and her brother, Jamie,

12. Her parents are separated. Tammy says: ANESKA owns more make-up than I do. She has always loved to copy me with trendy clothes of her own, and I have absolutely no problem