Pre teens, do they "have" to wear a bra top?

[Bluebluetuesday]

DD has breast buds, they are quite pronounced, she's 9.

I feel as though she should start wearing crop tops, although can't really work out why I feel like this....a few friends have commented on her changing shape so it's quite obvious she's filling out.

She's reluctant to wear a crop top / bra top, and im wondering if I'm just projecting some unexplainable feeling that her budding breats must be covered up, or is it just sensible?

First child approaching puberty, it's a minefield. Any advice gratefully received.

Mine was the same age when this started happening. Felt too young for crop top/bra top type things.

For her dignity/modesty we went with a vest, which as it was late summer heading to autumn didn't feel odd. After a while we discussed it again and she was ok with wearing a crop top towards age 10.

This time of year is a little trickier.
Maybe buy some loose fitting/ thicker cotton t shirts to get through the rest of summer and then re visit it?

I think be led by her at this age. She will likely be quite keen for bra's and crop tops once she gets to secondary age.

My 8yr has started wearing crop top bras - isn’t developing but obv wants some dignity /modesty and that’s fine

Primark of all places have some lovely pretty ‘cropped vests’ - in amongst a lot of other nice vests and jersey cami style vest tops…maybe frame a treat shop and see if she likes any of them? In the adult section (near pyjamas in our store) but they do xxs which is about the same size as 10-12 ish.

I suppose the fact that some of your friends have commented has made you feel more aware of the situation. Striking the right balance between maintaining her modesty without stressing her out can be difficult.
Maybe go with the thicker / looser shirts for the rest of the summer holidays or a vest under thinner tops.
Once she goes back to school she may be happier to wear a crop-top if she sees that some of her classmates have started to do so.
That's what happened with my daughter at about that age. Although she hadn't quite started to bud, she wanted something to cover her chest when she was changing for PE so I bought her some simple cami-tops. At first she only wore them on PE days, but once she started to bud she got into the habit of wearing one every day under her school shirt.
Good luck!