to wonder why Y3 girls are not allowed to wear bikinis

[catwoo]

for school swimming.Apparently tankinis aren't allowed either. DD only has one piece costumes but taher fancies a bikini (she has an older sister).She has been questioning why not and it has made me wonder too.Boys can and do wear speedos which are essentially bikini bottoms, so why must a 7 yr old girl's midriff be covered and not a 7 yo boy's?

Bikini and tankini tops ride up esp when jumping/diving in, etc.
Every type of swimming lesson DD or her friends have been to, inc school swimming specify a one piece costume for girls.

I don't like bikinis on little girls without breasts tbh - they don't look right to me. Tankinis can be okay depending on the style but tbh on little girls this just means a top that touches the pants - so looks like a one piece initially - but will always ride up in the water, meaning the girls concentrate on pulling them back down instead of on their swimming strokes. So a nice covered tankini for playing in the pool, or on the beach - a one piece costume for lessons.

I agree with the school that they should be wearing one pieces for swimming lessons. That said, I HATE this nonsense that a bikini sexualises a child. No, it bloody doesn't!!

Where I live, I don't know any girls who DON'T wear bikinis for recreational swimming. It gets ridiculously hot in the summer and they want to wear as little as possible. My daughter looks nothing more than a beautiful, innocent child in a pretty bikini, there is nothing sexualised in it at all.

probably for the same reason women Olympic swimmers don;t wear them - swimming properly or learning to swim properly doesn;t require you to prance around the pool flashing the flesh

seriously - a nice Speedo is much more practical

for example - learning to DIVE - which is part of developing your technique and pool confidence and jumping in ...and your top comes off - in front of your class - that would mortify most kids

Boys have to wear tight fitting shorts, it stops them bagging out with air when they get into the pool. Plus leg movement is easier to see.

Girls have to wear the one piece because it is a swimming lesson, not a fashion show and part of the curriculum is to teach children to swim.

I go with the swimming group in school, so I can tell you first hand that the one piece is quicker to get off, no faffing with two lots at changing time (which is 10 minutes from getting out of the pool, shower, dried, changed and pack all your stuff away, coat on and line up, make it outside and back onto the bus with irate driver)

Children often forget the other half of their bikini or tankini and it does ride up in the pool.

Personally I feel it sexualises children and I hate a bikini on a child, tankini is fine but not for swimming at school.

While we are at it, if you child wears either a swimming cap or goggles can you please teach them to put them on and if they have long hair, plait it for me as trying to wind a long ponytail up and put a cap on for a girl is hard for me as I have two boys We take 60 children at a time. 180 in total in a morning.

Oh, and teach them to brush their hair from the bottom and they do not need deodorant/moisturiser/body butter/masses of hair product. You would be amazed at what they bring in, did I mention 10 minutes to get ready?

Fizzylemonade I feel your pain.

Can I add, if they have swimming first thing in the morning and they wear their costume under their uniform please ensure they have a pair of knickers in their swimming it bag

DD's school had the same rule.

I find that my Adidas sports bikini does not ride up my arse as much as a one-piece, and it fits better - certainly does not fly off when I jump in. However, I can understand that some flimsier bikinis are not as practical and might draw attention to a younger girl in an unwelcome way.

Because teachers can't be the fashion police so it's simpler to just set one easy rule than nitpick about what's a tankini, and what's crop top and pants, and if string ties are ok, as long as the vest is longer... Just say everyone has to wear a one piece, it saves a lot of angst poolside. School isn't meant to be a catwalk., it's for learning stuff. Clearly the bikini debate distracts from that focus.

Why don't the girls just wear bikini bottoms - same as the boys?
My DD wears a bikini bottom only - she hasn't started developing and they're a lot less faffing if she needs to go to the loo than the over the shoulder suit.

I think the world's gone bleeding crazy about girl's nipples actually.
Why not have them swim in a full arm and leg modesty suit, if pre pubescent girls' skin is so sexual? Or better still not have them swim at all. Or do any sports where they might flash a bit of skin.

It's just about control, and projection.

Why not give them all the option of having a bikini / speedo bottom and a top if wanted? Treat them equally, and focus on the important things = teaching them to swim.

Because they are there to learn to swim as opposed to sun bathe or take part in a fashion show.

This is school, not a fashion parade.

Uniform regulations don't have to make sense. Why can they only wear blue skirts and not black skirts, for instance? (or whatever the uniform is) There is a rule, and at least when the rule is "one piece" it's simple to enforce and simple to decide what it includes and what it doesn't include.

I think official rules say only one-piece but DD wore tankini for 18months & nobody said a word.

DD's tankini didn't tie on, do any modern bikini-tankini's tie on? I stopped wearing bikinis after reaching puberty, so I wouldn't know. It's much easier for a person without breasts to comfortably wear 2 piece (& for it to be perfectly practical); it's people with something to support that need the support & a lot of covering. Banning 2 pieces after puberty makes sense, not before.

Bikinis look wrong for proper swimming, and don't stay on for jumping in.

Many tie or have very fiddly clasps so are a nightmare for changing.

Dreadfully easy to lose one half or the other without noticing.

Most tankis are fine except for the losing bits problem.

As for the sexualisation bit, I don't know it's weird. Bikinis on little girls look wrong in a British pool and perfectly OK in a Spanish one.

However, DD2 did have a perfectly sensible looking one piece with crossed straps.

That was also an utter pain for her to put on by her self.

Why don't the girls just wear bikini bottoms - same as the boys?

Why do they wear skirts and dresses?
Why do they have longer hair?

because bikinis are not for swimming they are for playing in water and leisure pools.

my dd wore a bikini in the garden and on holiday abroad, she looked cute and not in the least sexualized!!!!!!!!

She wears a one piece for school swimming, more conservative and sporty as she is learning to swim for sport not prancing about and having a splashing fun time in the sun.

I honestly don't think the rule about swimming and one pieces has anything to do with sexualizing young girls, it's more about trying to instill that school is not a fashion parade and their attire needs to suit the job in hand (hence boys wear speedos not baggy jazzy shorts)

In regard to speedos for boys/men ... the swimming pool on the camp site we stayed at in France stipulated that all costumes had to be lycra with no pockets, so even board short type things of a non-cotton like material were banned. Something to do with fibres/bits of tissue left in pockets clogging up the filter.

A new EU regulation/bit of advice apparently, so the days of baggy shorts may be more widely numbered.

i agree with the school.

i don't agree with the early sexualisation of children.

i can imagine that looking for bits of swimmy, ie lost bikini tops or bottoms, is a pain on swimming days.

it's school swimming. keep it clean, keep it neat, keep sex out of it.

Thanks for youir replies.The school doesn't have a uniform regulation really regarding swimming.In previous years they have just taken the Y5s and 6 s for a block of 8 lessons during the year, but this year have decided to take the Y2s and 3s instead..One of DDs friends only has a bikini and has been told she needs to bring a 1 piece next time, which i think is a bit unfair as there are only 6 more half hour lessons left.Incidently this child does private swimming lessons at the same pool in her bikini!
I don't really mind if the rule is there for practicality, but if the rule was for some ridiculous rule about modesty or sexualising children then I might be prepared to kick up a stink.Little girls shouldn't think there is anything shameful of sexual about the top half of their body.maybe some fatter girls at that age have started developing (I've never seen it and i do teach about 200 children in leotards every week but heard it can happen)
How is this less suitable than this

It's often the pool itself that specifies what children can wear (if they swim in a council pool).

Ours specifies one pieces for girls, and speedo-style only for boys, as bikinis etc and bermuda shorts impede swimming.

BTW the tight vs baggy trunks are for drag I think. Our swimming teacher asks for boys not to wear baggy trunks.

"I don't really mind if the rule is there for practicality, but if the rule was for some ridiculous rule about modesty or sexualising children then I might be prepared to kick up a stink.Little girls shouldn't think there is anything shameful of sexual about the top half of their body"

Absolutely. That's why drawing attention to it by wearing a bikini is such a very bad idea.