Primark withdraws padded bikinis for 7yos

[MmeLindt]

Would you buy this for your 7yo DD?

Good to see that the MN campaign was mentioned.

Horrible. I feel queasy seeing dd in last year tankini now it's a bit too short in the body. Girls are girls, they don't need bosoms.

What gets me is that they take it off the shelves and feel that they have done what they needed to do, yet there was no one at Primark, in the product development, marketing, sales, or shop floor who thought "Hmm, this is a bit odd for a 7yo." and raised the issue before it got into the shops.

Flame me but I bought one of the pink bikinis for DD last week, she wore it in our garden on Sunday and had great fun in the paddling pool.

DD has always wore bikinis and I really dont see a problem, quite often on holiday she has just worn bikini bottoms .

She is a confident little girl who has a tasteful sense of what to wear. I do completely agree with the whole " let children be children" philosophy, but also I agree with the approach of talking to children about what they are wearing, and what is appropriate in various situations. It is a balance. If anyone dared make assumptions about my ability to guide my daughter in what she chooses to wear they would have to have a convincing arguement to make me change my opinion.

Where do we draw the line?, at what age can our daughters decide what they like to wear. There are clothes that IMO are completely wrong, for example,playboy logos on childrens tshirts. But that is my opinion, i would not preach to others if they chose to wear those items. I am confident in letting my daughter make choice about what she wears, and discussing her choice with her, she is learning a valuable lesson and I am not promoting my daughter as some object made to look older than she really is.

My dd is 8yo, we went shopping, I told her she had £5 to spend in primark on whatever she wanted, she chose the bikini, we discussed the padded bra and she said that she realised older ladies wore things like that to make them look bigger, but she liked that pattern and generally she has always preferred wearing bikinis to full costumes.

Someone tell me, at what age can our children choose thier own clothes without having to be told they look tarty, too old, and all the other descriptions that people come up with. Generally my DD dresses ver sensibly (IMO) and those mnetters who know her would agree...but I wont have anyone telling me that I am wrong for buying and letting her wear one of these bikinis

It's the responsibility of Primark and starts at their production meetings. I just can't understand how anyone could suggest padded bikinis for children when they discuss a new range.
Obviously not a mother....

stoppinatto - I'm sure your daughter would have still loved the bikini without the padding. The problem people have with this garment is the adding of "fake breasts". For that is what padding is....

brightongirl, she would have indeed, if its any consolation, the padding is hardly noticable

Agree - DD's would happily leave the house in heels and full make up if I allowed it, to them it's dressing up, but if it strays into their actual clothing, so that they feel it's normal and right to ape having breasts years before puberty or such like, then we're messing with their normal development.

stoppingattwo
It is up to each family to decide what they find appropriate clothing for their children, and yes, I do sometimes say that I find a garment inappropriate or too adult for my DD.

She is almost 8yo and is allowed to choose her own clothing, but this winter she wanted black leather knee high boots and I refused them as I felt that they were too adult for her age.

If you and your DD are happy with the bikini, then that is ok. I would not be.

In your case I would have steered my DD to a different bikini, in a colour and pattern that she liked that did not make it look like she already had breasts.

tbh, when she wears it, it doesnt really look padded, i think the whole think is rather over egged

yes but the bra IS padded. Therefore it is designed to make little kids look like they have tits. End of. That isn't ok with me. You think that's over egged? to make 7 yr old girls look like they have tits?

a paedophile's dream.

let's give them thongs too.

intelligent input donnie, making a child look like an adult "with tits" must be a real paedophiles dream

I have my opinion, my daughter has here own taste in clothes, no need to be sarcastic, thongs are a whole different thing and you know it, my DD would seriously never be comfortable with something like that and so it would never happen.

Shocked when I heard list of withdrawn items, including knickers with "dive in" slogan on them!

(Didn't mention which items from which shops, but it was last of a half dozen items mentioned on R4 news at 18:00, or PM programme before news).

Chain should have sacked the "buyer" responsible for that blunder!

My 6.6yo dd wants to wear out and about her 'high heeled' flamenco shoes bought on holidays.

She persists in asking and I persist in telling her that I bought them as part of her flamenco outfit and it was more for dressing up time. I've explained that apart from being impractical to wear out to the park high heels are not appropriate for children as everyday wear.

She's not convinced.

Glad Primark have taken them off but what gets me is Mme Lindt's point about why no-one said 'NO' way before they got onto the shelves in the first place. Or why no-one listened, if someone with two brain cells to rub together did point out what an appalling product this was.

In the current economic climate, I suspect that some of the staff consider the less they stick their head over the parapet the better, so by the time it gets to the shop, staff placing items on shelves are unlikely to make too much fuss in case a supervisor thinks they are just a troublemaker.

Obv depends on mood the supervisor is in that day, too, as to whether it gets taken seriously or dismissed, so a bit of a lottery and maybe easier to put on shelf and wait for orders to remove from shelf.... IYSWIM.

This is what I left as a comment on another forum...

What possesses any grown woman to buy an item of clothing such as this for a small child? In my honest opinion it would be one of the female race who think they have a barbie doll to dress up rather than a child. Before we lay vengeance/blame on the manufacturer we need to educate the parents that buy these items. Until we do then there will continue to be sales which in turn will increase the amount of scanty/sexualising designs created for children.
Anyone who thinks it is ridiculous to ban the sale of padded swimwear for SEVEN YEAR OLD LITTLE GIRLS needs to look at the bigger picture. It is not just about paedophilia it is the general sexualisation of little girls which is a huge worry to any sane person.

I directed this to a woman who thought it was ideal for her little girl to have one as she liked feeling grown up having a bikini top like mummys

I was abit put off young girls in bikinis when I saw two 9/10 year old girls at night in south africa (1996) who were child prostitutes, in bikinis on a street corner. It made an unfortunate association in my mind. My mum never let me have one, but then I grew up in the 80s, that seems Victorian now doesn't it!
Padded bras for 7 year olds. Jordan must be congratulated.
I went into Wood Green Primark day after the bikini was withdrawn, still 3 types of padded bras for 9-10 year olds on sale. I complained and I hope it all the padded/ sexualised stuff for kids is withdrawn. Im a mum of little boy but also I'm a youth work manager and have worked with many girls and young women both here and in south africa who have been sexually abused.
Who is designing these things? Put them on a register?