Bikinis for little girls are a bit yuck

[Rosieeo]

I just don't like them. It implies that they have something that needs to be covered and they don't. Why can't they all, boys and girls, just run around in pants on the beach? Or am I being a bit OTT?

If it's so insignificant to you southeastastra why have do you hang around to non-argue? You sound defensive

oooh get you

was just not wanting other posters to think mumnsnet was not so whack to be honest

Oh how I love the word whack..(thought I was the only one!!!...she has stolen me nose and now me 80s slang word of the decade!)

you are calling southeastastra defensive blackberryway??? Kettle black much!!

I don't understand your post.

nappy addict, I don't think tankinis are inappropriate. And I don't agree with banning photos at sports day/ school concerts in case some paedophile is later drooling over them.

But the triangular bikini my dd picked out makes me very uneasy. It is covered in gold bits and makes her look like a pole dancer. She is only five. It does make me uneasy, not so much because some pervert might look at her but rather that at this age she is already signing up to the idea that this is how girls should be.

If you don't feel that way about bikinis, fine. But accept that a lot of us do, for quite rational and sensible reasons.

The only ones I dont like are the very bra type ones thats mainly because I think it looks a little on someone with a totally flat chest - have no problem with the more crop top type of ones.

Having said that all of mine have all in ones which cover their bodies and top of their legs because we spend more time on the beach than in the swimming pool and so a bikini is a little cold 99% of the time!.

blackberryway let me translate for you...she means you are equally defensive therefore tis a kin to pot calling the kettle black..you get it now?

I have said earlier that its about how the bikini looks and the style...pole-dancer stylee not a good look on a child...

Mumcentreplus, but a surprising amount of posters seem to have missed that quite obvious point and seem to think its all in the weird minds of the bikini objectors.

Go easy girls....

Quite frankly regardless of what my 4 year old daugher wears to the beach I always tell her to cover herself with a withe t-shirt...the sun is just too harsh on her pasty skin...

the more skin covered the better for your little girls....

Spero I'm not sure they have...bikini objectors seem to tar all bikinis with the same brush...thats like saying all dresses should not be worn because some exist that make you look like a prostitute....duh..make good and decent choices with your swimwear for your child...I agree LadyG especially if your girls are roses...mine have brown skin but protection in the sun is key no matter your shade

Indeed, at the beach children should wear UV suits.
I am a bit torn on the bikini. They have been worn for millenia for sporting purposes, they represented progressive liberation for women in the 1940s in that they were no longer compelled to cover their bodies by patriarchal society .... but I also wouldn't let my five year old wear a mini skirt.
Perhaps the post about "being like Mummy" is the most pertinent one. I wouldn't be seen dead in a bikini, even when I had a pre-children body, because I don't want to walk around in effectively underwear in public. So DD is unlikely to ask for one I suppose...

I did wear a bikini in the past a bright orange one at that!..when I was on holiday and it was hot and I was feeling particularly confident...I wore an orange sarong to walk around!..lol..I will not limit what my DDs will wear based on my own objections...

The impression I have got from the thread is that those objecting are objecting to the 'sexy' bikinis, not to two piece swim suits per se. And that I think is perfectly valid.

I don't think this is an argument about what provides proper protection against sun, sand, prying eyes of peadophiles etc but rather why should little girls dress like they are about to be shakin' their money makers???

didn't M n S have some trousers with 'cutie' written across the bum that they withdrew? Same thing. Unnecessary and sad.

but they term triangular tops as 'sexy' in some cases...wtf?...its not an enhancement, it's a nipple cover at best!...and some are saying 'all' bikinis are sexual or have sexual connotations...thats just plain weird imo...I have never brought my child any sweat pants with anything written on them...or any playboy based merch...actually I would say I was one of the first people to be very vocal about it!... I really think this has nothing to do with shakin their money makers and more about people becoming ott...

Mumscentreplus, the history of the bikini is that it was worn to expose the body and be sexually alluring.
They are not exactly utility wear are they?

Mumcentreplus - triangular bikini tops are not 'nipple cover' . They are designed particularly to draw attention to the breasts. Little girls don't have breasts. They are adult clothing for adult women who can make their own choices about what they chose to wear.

Hopefully this will be an informed choice and they won't be parroting some crap about how presenting themselves as sexually available is somehow 'empowering'.

I have nothing against people enjoying the fact that they are sexy or wanting to encourage others to think it too but that is because once they are adults I can assume that they know why they are doing it and the kinds of reactions they are likely to inspire.

I agree the bikini is not utility wear...but nor is the bathing suit...back in the day everything was covered...so should we go back to total cover?...arms and legs covered not for sun protection but for our children to be demure?...a child is never sexually available...this is not about empowerment...they are children!!..as I mentioned before some children go top-less does that mean their parents are drawing attention to them by not covering their nipples???...when i wore a bikini I was on a beach on a volcanic island...very few beach dwellers and I was there with my mother??...who exactly was i trying to impress with my triangular boob covers?..lol

'a child is never sexually available' - exactly the point people are trying to make so why dress them to mimic sexually available and aware adults?
'back in the day everything was covered' - there is a very obvious difference between the freedom to wear less on the beach, which both males and females enjoy, and wearing something designed to draw attention to the body/to the wearer
'who was I trying to impress with my triangular boob covers?' - I doubt you ever thought in that way, any more than your DD would consciously think in that way. No one here has suggested that little girls are trying to impress anyone - that is why it's so sad to see that their own mothers don't have the sense to guide them in their choices.
And what kind of weirdo describes a child as going 'topless'.

"Crop-top bikini (basically a tankini) = fine
Anything bra-shaped or triangle-shaped = wait until you have something to put in it or it just ends up around your neck and looks stupid" - TrillianAstra

My thoughts exactly, 'sexualisation' arguments aside.
Triangle/bra-shaped bikinis need something to 'anchor' them, frankly, the risk of revealing a nipple (shock, horror) in a child is much more likely when the bikini slips as they inevitably do on a flat chest.(or, perhaps we should start introducing our daughters to tit-tape at a young age, too ).
Tankinis are cute, practical and give more breathing room to skin.

I don't mind them as long as they are not tacky ones. This has brought back memories of my little sister who used to live in a bikini and wellington boots all summer (when she was 3) The really funny thing is that she never wore the bottoms only the top and wellies ! Obviously this was only at home though-not out.

My Mum has pics somewhere, we must get them out and tease her !

I don't like them. DD wears a one-piece or just pants.

I think the OP is talking more about this style of bikini. These are available from 3 years. The top just wouldn't stay put.

I love tankinis, and see the point of ease of changing/toileting. DD (14mo) has 2 1-piece cossies cos that's what I happened to buy her. I would happily buy her a tankini, but wouldn't buy her a tiny bikini.

Putting a child in a bikini DOES not 'mimic' them as sexually available adults. Give me a break, if that is what you think perhaps you need to give your head a shake. She is a litle girl wearing cute and comfortable swimwear.

'Mothers don't have the sense to guide them in their choices' - Wow! I guide my child very well, people are constantly impressed at how outgoing, well-mannered and polite she is. Yes she wears bikini's (amongst other forms of swimwear) and I resent that you Blackberryway would even for a moment critise anyone's parenting over a decision such as this. You sound exactly like the book burning, keep them in the closet, women should were high collared shirts type of person that is everything our modern society has fought so hard to move on from.

I am bringing up my daughter to be an empowered, independent, free thinking, polite and courteous female who is comfortable in her skin, with her clothes, with her body and to be proud that she is a unique human being in this world.