That was the stark warning this week from leading psychologists who say inappropriate "sexy" clothing, toys and images in the media are corrupting childhood.

Of course marketing preys on our kids. That's why millions of children are growing up dissatisfied with their bodies and driven to anorexia, bulimia, low self-esteem and depression.

The American Psychological Association's report echoes a warning by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and comes after a United Nations study last week that British children were the unhappiest in the developed world.

And the report says our children, driven by the need to conform, see themselves exclusively as sexual beings "rather than as complicated people with many interests, talents and identities."

Primping and posing seductively, flashing come-to-bed eyes, some of the young entrants for the Echo's Face of 2007 competition were just copying what they see in magazines.

And some of their photographs were too provocative for us to use. And worryingly, many of those pictures were sent in by parents.

Even some nine-year-olds looked older than their years and it was disquieting to see the photographs sent in by a lot of 12, 13 and 14-year-olds pouting like sex kittens.

They really don't realise what they are doing and think looking like little Lolitas is a winning pose, just like the glamour pusses they see in their glossy mags.

It's not very nice to see the sexualisation of such young girls. How refreshing when a photograph did turn up of a bonny bairn, looking just that and still innocent.

What a sick society with thousands of girls thinking their lives are worthless. All this sexualisation of children is further fuelled on the home front by too many empty-headed mothers encouraging their girls to dress like little mini me.

And that's leading to more under-age sex.
They think it's clever to see their girls growing up before their time, can't wait to dress them in in appropriate mini skirts, glitzy crop tops and plunging necklines until the bombshell drops and she's pregnant at 13.

I blame the mothers and fathers who give in to their girl's demands for the fashion gear that sends out all the wrong messages. It's a battle. I know. One friend who has daughters 12 and 13 is constantly fighting her corner, refusing to buy them the stuff they want to wear to look sexy. "You dress for the occasion," she tells them. But sadly there's too few mothers like her around.

You can refuse to buy them the stuff as she does, but girls are cute enough to get what they want by getting their friends to buy them the gear for their birthdays. Then there's a battle royal if you are a responsible parent and stick to your guns.

Sue Palmer, the education consultant and author of Toxic Childhood, hit the nail on the head when she said: "The same mothers that dress their daughters like tarts are probably the mothers going on demos against paedophiles.

"They don't make the connection between how they are dressing children and what they are frightened of, paedophilia."
What's happened to frilly frocks for five and six-year-olds, demure dresses for teenies? All this sexualisation of our children is now part of our culture.

I recently wrote of how their innocence is being stolen by magazines like Bliss aimed at teenage girls but read by girls much younger, which carries features like: "Fit lads exposed, inside his head, heart and pants."

Over at CosmoGirl, four pages were devoted to the 10 trickiest sex questions, including detailed advice to 14-year-old reader Alexis on how to masturbate.

And then there's the high street retailers who have repeatedly faced calls to stop selling clothes that sexualise young girls. Next withdrew a range of shirts for girls under six carrying the slogan "So many boys, so little time."

Asda stopped selling pink and black lace lingerie, including a push-up bra targeted at nine-year olds. Argos additions catalogue removed a range of girls' underwear including G-string pants and padded bras for nine-year-olds emblazoned with "I Love Me".

And then there's the devil's business on the Internet with children as young as nine using chatrooms to talk about their sexual encounters according to a recent study of 1,300 pre-teens.

And then more corruption in the Bratz dolls craze. As one mother said: "The outfits these 'toys' wear would not look out of place on a 40-year-old whore standing on a street corner."

Last week's Unicef report found that in 16 out of 17 of the wealthiest nations, up to 28 per cent of young people had sex by the age of 15.
Here in the UK, the figure was a shocking 40 per cent.

It's down to parents to seriously take stock, stand their ground and teach their children that what really matters is the quality and character of a person, not this vile, transient muck that is an arch-destroyer.

And if they don't believe you, just show them a picture of bald Britney Spears, who never had a childhood, spearheaded the sexualisation of a generation of young girls by writhing around in her school uniform and now appears to have lost more than just her hair – more like her marbles!

And what is she saying? "I just can't bear it."