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The other day, my ten-year-old daughter (who's turning eleven in December) was scootering with a friend and, as she waved at one of the other mother's in our neighborhood, a woman in a passing
car made this statement, "Does your mother know you're wearing that t-shirt?"

When my daughter answered, "Yes, she knows," the woman told her, "Well...she should dress you better!" and took off like a big 'ole bat outta hell.

It's my daughter's favorite t-shirt (pictured above) and - although there weren't any "sexually suggestive" words printed on it - I hesitated for a moment, before my daughter insisted other kids have worn similar t-shirts to school.

The skull wasn't quite as malevolent-looking - at least, that's what my daughter and I thought - when I bought it.

I blogged about my husband and my dealing with our daughter's taste in street clothes, on my personal site, before and started writing this post with one very specific question in mind - okay, maybe two - "What are other girls wearing and where do their moms shop?!?"

That's when I found Jules' Everyday Mommy Blog and was going to mention her .

But, a fellow BlogHer - the always in-tuned Mary Tsao - beat me to it.

Reading even further - a very good post, by the way - I couldn't help but think about my daughter, or the comment made to her...by an absolute stranger...it really started to hit home.

Speaking from experience - having said, "NO!" to "hoochie mama" from off the clothes rack and being labeled a "mean mommy" often enough - shopping in the girls' department has become quite a challenge.

Perhaps you already know - or read by now - about how teen's t-shirts are making educators squirm, as parents and schools wrestle with what do about racy tees, and here's the thing.

Wearing suggestive clothing - especially for a ten-year-old - is inappropriate, you'll get no argument from me. But, why stop there? Does dressing modestly mean no skulls or suggestive shirts...what about "Hello Kitty" or "Got Milk"...ever?

Or, is it merely censoring our children's "freedom of expression" and where do we - as a concerned parent or guardian - draw the line?

As most parents, especially those with young girls perhaps already know, I have learned to "pick my battles" which - directed especially to those of us who are concerned with the way "other children" dress - sometimes leads me to make certain compromises, that may be even harder for some parents to face.

Yes, I allow my child to wear skull earrings and t-shirts, but -- nevermind, the kid is a straight-A student and has been enrolled in the gifted & talented program since the 2nd grade -- does that make her evil and/or me a bad mother?

I want my girls to be comfortable in their skin and do allow them the freedom to try and express their own sense of style, while exposing as little skin as possible.

It's not easy.

Take Halloween costumes, for example.

Annika is living Life in the Suburbs and blogs about trying to find a Halloween costume:

But, you guys, it is so incredible hard to get a decent costume for a 10 year old girl. I don't

want her to dress up as "Tina, the little tease" or as "Bella Cheerleader".

Her daughter is the same age and is into wearing something "scary" (like my skull-loving child) for Halloween - how hard can it be?

Sadly enough we did not find a thing...All the costumes they had in the Halloween store were either cheerleader costumes or sexy little vampires. Give me a break! There is no way that I am buying something like that. Karolina wants to be something scary, but not with a mask on her face. She wants to show her face, and she wants make-up on. Scary, scary make-up, of course. So, since we did not find anything today we have to continue our search for the perfect costume.

DC Baby polled their readers and got some pretty good tips on best bargains for Halloween costumes like Target, K-Mart and Old Navy, including these online stores:

CostumeExpress.com: They have some of the cheaper prices I've seen for a lot of the standard costumes. However, I've also noticed they have some really cute toddler costumes that I haven't seen anywhere else. They
process orders very quickly. I ordered my son's costume before noon on Wednesday, and it was shipped the same day. I got it via standard mail several days before it was expected. The quality
is the same as most standard Halloween costumes!

DisneyShopping.com: Because great sales, free shipping with coupon codes.

LillysKids.com

Sensational Beginnings

Joann's Fabric Store: They usually have a cute selection of bagged costumes and accessories. If you're on their mailing list, you can get a 40 percent off coupon and then the prices aren't just reasonable, but cheap. Also, they often have sales where the Halloween costumes and accessories are very reduced.

One Step Ahead: Affordable, lots of variety, and best of all, I can shop from home.

Clearly, when it comes to addressing the way young girls dress, there are quite a few bloggers having a problem these days.

There are a lot of gray areas with deciding on what exactly our children should be wearing - especially with Halloween just around the corner - it just doesn't seem all that fun, anymore.

One thing's for sure - manufacturers should stop marketing "sexually suggestive" clothing to young girls!

Then, perhaps the fashion industry should start paying a little more attention to bloggers (like Moms for Modesty) on a mission to teach their kids the right way to dress.

Just remember: do not confuse our children (and parents like me) anymore by sending out the wrong message.

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Contributing Editor also writes for the eZine, "The Imperfect Parent."