Children's lives today: It's mayhem out there.

A story emerged recently from the States which has me questioning just how much shorter childhoods can become. Will we get to the point where we're giving infants briefcases, mobile phones and pension plans for their first birthday?

A four-year-old girl from Ohio, known as Mayhem, has been recruited by fashion brand J Crew to design their latest children’s clothing range. That's right: a four-year-old child, with a name not dissimilar to a bad 90’s boyband, has been deemed responsible enough, old enough and willing enough to put her name to creations designed for a multi-brand retailer.

After potential was spotted in the toddler’s home craft work, which her mum was uploading to Instagram, Mayhem apparently became a very important cog in the J Crew machine and her designs are now set to hit the shops late spring.

While I admire the budding fashionista's obvious talent, respect her skill and applaud her keen eye for detail, I must ask - what’s the rush?

Mayhem will still have those talents as a teen or young adult and can then choose to provide her services when she knows what she’s letting herself in for.

As opposed to handing her over to a retail company at the tender age of four in a bid to increase their profits and raise awareness of next season's lines, shouldn’t we be encouraging Mayhem to hone her talents in the comfort of her own home instead of under the watchful eye of a company exec?

Let our children be children while they can and let The Toddler Formally Known As Mayhem return to her day job - being a kid.