Thanks for nothing

In the light of various news programmes and other media highlighting the over sexualisation of children in the media and this http://tinyurl.com/ydby8qh Katie Price posting a picture of her 2 year old daughter on facebook with false eyelashes and makeup, it got me thinking about what we as parents are supposed to actually do about it.
The media are always ready to paint a picture of gloom and doom - our children are growing up in a world where by the time they are 10 girls will all supposedly want pole dancing on the school curriculum and boys will have all seen some hard core porn in some shape or form what then?
Kids who grow up on farms, see animals having sex, people in far off cultures are married at 12. I do think our society has a problem and that girls are growing up in a world where Lady GaGa in a gang bang video is acceptable viewing for 8 year old girls, so what then?
I have two boys and although they won't have the same pressures faced by girls they will be having relationships with girls (or boys - I'm not proud). I want to at least ensure that my boys will have the tools to be able to form friendships with girls both sexual and platonic - I have many male friends - some men just aren't equipt to be friends with women, it seems. I don't want my boys to have unrealistic, unfair expectations of how their girl friends should be and the aspirations they have.
My first proper boyfriend was arrogant and rebellious - I thought he was cool. In reality he had a very low self esteem and actively sought out to undermine and belittle what talent I had so that I wouldn't seem better than him. I let him spend my money and behave like a brat in front of my family. This has happened to women throughout history, and I don't think it's more or less likely now, if anything women are taught about the dangers of relationships like the one I had. My friends had similar experiences with varying degrees of degradation and abuse, some far worse than what I put up with, also for far longer. I dumped him after a year and a half. One of my friends put up with a boyfriend with a severe alcohol problem for a good 5 years and another was physically and mentally abused for a good couple of years. So is it going to be worse for girls now?
Sexualisation as in making a child look like a woman because they don't have the appropriate stimulation to keep them a child for long enough is one thing - it's what it leads to in later life that is the concern - being able to form your personality, likes, dislikes, aspirations, talents etc without worrying about conforming to a set of expectations about what a woman should do/act/look like is crucial.
I don't think the internet can make this any harder than it already is, advertising is a major culprit and if anything, I think telly is improving since the 70's and 80's when it comes to having women in positions of responsibility, charisma, expertise, talent etc Just like kids, all women need role models and there are some good women out there mostly they are very beautiful as well as talented but part of that is just knowing how to make the most of yourself - they aren't all thin, some are very tall some are very small, they represent the UK in racial diversity more and more so well done the BBC and Channel 4 for being on the case.
Kids telly is mostly pretty good, from what I let the boys watch - there is pink fairy stuff out there which I know I'm completely oblivious to as I have boys but not that much and lets face it, girls can like a bit of fairy princess stuff, so long as it's not all they are into. My boys have a variety of types of toys and the mediums they play with them in - they have the wooden railway - a favorite, but also, a farm with animals and the play mat has fields. My son has a combine harvester as well as a tractor and trailer for emptying the combine once he's harvested the carpet. We have pairs games, puzzles, snakes an ladders, castles, pens, glitter and glue, magnets, torches, dressing up kit, musical instruments, ride on toys, bikes, sand pit, etc Girls have access to all of this too - is it the fact that parents can quickly restrict the range of play as their kids get older and do more at school so that when they are home the parents select toys that tidy away well and fit in with the image they have of their kids.
I don't believe in spending alot on my kids, especially not around Christmas or birthdays but I do think that they should have a wide range of stimulation available, some with my input and participation - games, cooking, sticking and painting. But alot that they can do themselves; stories and scenarios that they make up, situations they make up so that it can be mended and solved. For example, Leon will break the connection in a railway bridge and stick one train teetering on the edge so another train can rescue him or her.
I wonder whether by providing our kids with a sense of history in their family, to know where they came from, see old photos of us and our family will give them a sense of who they are and who we are. Surely this is part of building their confidence and self worth. Isn't this what will help them form healthy friendships and relationships later on in life? Seeing anatomical footage of sex, like watching animals at it isn't what makes us fall in love with someone. Giving them the skills to communicate their feelings and expectations to each other is surely more relevant here. Once they know the biology, which I believe they can fully comprehend by the time they are 7 or 8, it's up to us to guide them towards being balanced human beings.