Bikinis for 5 Year Olds?

I agree. And I think that about a LOT of the clothes they make for young girls now too! It's very sad! Like you, I wouldn't say anything to the neighbor, but I wouldn't let my own daughters wear them! :o)

My girls have been wearing (modest, age appropriate) bikinis since they were in diapers (if they wear a bathing suit at all, WOO HOO!)

The only bikini I had a SERIOUS problem with was when Abercrombie Kids came out with a bikini for kids... WITH PUSH UP PADS IN THE TOP. EFFE *YOU* ABERCROMBIE & FITCH!! That crossed the line from cute to creepy.

There's a difference between 'cute, modest, age appropriate' bikinis, and slutty, child size bikinis. The one's my girls wear are not teeny tiny triangle tops... a bikini is defined as a 2 piece bathing suit. These cover more than enough... not little string bikinis or anything! They have PLENTY of coverage, but they're little bellys and backs get some sun, NO big deal, nothing inappropriate about them :) They're adorable! Even a bikini top with board shorts, SUPER CUTE!!

I hate bikinis on little girls. I know most people don't take issue with it. Like one poster said, bikinis on little girls are pointless. No breasts to hold them in place! Not to mention, really, why not make it easy on the pedophiles? :|

I've never had trouble with my little ones going potty in swimsuits. I just sit them on the pot, and reach in front and behind them to kind of pull the crotch part to the left or right, out of the way. They go, we wipe, I put their suit back in place, everyone washes hands, and no one had to peel out of a swimsuit. By the time they're five, maybe six, they can usually handle doing that on their own.

Totally inappropriate, I believe. I'm with you on this one, D.! :)

My daughter has worn cute little bikinis since birth. It never occurred to me (until now) that there were so many sexually dysfunctional women all around me at the beach and pool thinking it was 'inappropriate'.

Huh, who knew?

:)

My daughter has plenty of time in her adulthood to choose how much skin she wants to show off. I, of course, think she is darling running around the house nekkid :) But when we are going to be outside playing in the sprinkler or swimming at a hotel I don't need strangers seeing any more than is absolutely necessary. We searched high and low for a one piece bathing suit, and it was HARD to find one (she wears a 3T). I think that is rediculous, that I had to search three stores to find a one piece suit for a toddler that didn't have cutouts to show as much skin as possible.
I also don't like the super short shorts that are out there for little girls lately. I got a bunch of handme downs, and the inseam was no more than 1 1/2 inches! I gave them to a consignment store and got her shorts that are labeled "bermuda." At three years old, the minute she sits down to play in the sand box you can see right up those tiny shorts, not my cup of tea.
I am only interested in preserving her innocence and comfort, cute and sassy can come later, much later!
and FYI, I'm not sexually dysfunctional, but there are lots of weirdos out there that ARE, and I don't want them looking at my daughter

Obviously many people think they are appropriate as they keep making them and keep selling them. I am not as offended by children wearing them as some adult women that wear next to nothing at the pool/beach. That being said, if I had a daughter, I would not let her wear one as I wouldn't want her wearing one as she grows up. I think one-pieces are much more flattering and don't attract the negative attention that bikinis do. I work with teenage girls and they don't understand why guys bother them when they wear skimpy clothing/swimwear. I tell them over and over that we don't understand how the male mind works, but if they're going to show off their skin, it will attract some nasty attention (not that the guys are in the right either).
Its not really my business, but I do want to protect the future minds of my sons, so as they get older, I'll probably try to keep them from girls in bikinis as much as possible (I know, I know...good luck with that :)

I think its so trashy to see a little girl in a bikini. Not that the girl is trashy, but it says more about the parent who approves of it.

I totally agree. These little girls are made to look "sexy" waaaay too young. We went to a 5 year old swimming party a few days ago and one little girl had a string bikini, I kid you not. They don't even have any boobs yet!! It just looked weird. It makes me sad that these little girls' childhood and innocence is gone so young.

Tankinis, yes. Binkini, no. There are way too many products out there that are not appropriate for the children they are marketed to. They have found that while tweens won't buy kid clothes (or want to wear them) they can get the kids to buy the tween clothes. So basically, savvy marketing and lazy parenting. I don't think I'm dysfunctional. I think that there are clothing choices better left to older kids and that my little girl does not need to be matching her teen sister's attire like that. There is time down the road for her to have a bikini, or a bra, or heels. Let little kids be little kids.

I thought they were cute, my daughter wore one until she started to get a little older and now she wears the more tank style with the bottoms. ( SO much easier for them when they need to go to the bathroom than the one pieces!)
Sometimes it is a matter of what is available. I honestly do not recall being able to find the tankini's when my daughter was 2 and 3 years old. Of course that was several years ago. ( she is 10 now)

Just had a pool play date with a friend and her 5 kids (4 are girls, all under the age of 12) and we were discussing that very thing. She and I both agree that they shouldn't be in 2 piece bikinis. Most of her girls wear one pieces, but one of them wears the hand-me-downs from my daughter, who mostly has 2 piece tankinis. I like them for the ease of running to the bathroom. (Ever tried to get a wet one piece suit back?!) There are usually plenty to choose from, and they look practically like a one piece, except they aren't. Although, I did notice this year's selection has more tops that the top doesn't go all the way around...a lot of them have a back clasp (like a bra) and the tankini coverage around the middle is just loose material that doesn't connect in the back, except for the mid-back clasp. I don't buy that kind.

I wore bikinis as a child, it was common then. But I remember well how easily the suits moved around when jumping and diving into the water and got misplaced... I even almost lost my bottoms one time diving in. So I don't think the little triangle tops are even CLOSE to something those kiddos should have on!

Your post is so strangely well-timed for me.

Yesterday I was at the town pool with my daughter who is 5 and happened to be wearing a one piece. And there was a little girl there around 7 who had on a bikini that was really small and low cut on the bottom (bottom front - as in low waisted). It was so low waisted that I (a fairly liberal new Yorker) thought twice about it.

Now, I don't hesitate to put my 5 year old in a tankini or bikini but it has to have some coverage. At least more than this one did.

The problem with bikinis, is they slide off when a little girl dives under the water or jumps in, exposing their naked bodies. If you are ok with everyone in the public swimming pool seeing your baby girls foo foo, then go ahead and let her wear a bikini.

over thinking this just a bit, they are kids little girls have been in bikinis since forever. If this offends you stay away from a water park with Teenage girls you might just flip your lid

My daughter wore them when she was little, and I see nothing wrong with them. Its purpose was to cover her tiny privates and it served that purpose.

Bikinis don't bother me as long as the style and cut is modest and age appropriate.
I am WAY more disturbed by the sexy panties they sell in the little girls section. Some of them are just gross :(

Just had this conversation with a friend yesterday. Our daughters are 6, mine wears a one piece or tankie. Hers wears bikinis. I commented that I didn't buy one for mine because they are just too much. Her reply was she was living vicariously through her daughter.

Clothes for little girls are more absurd than realistic. It takes me forever to find appropriate things that don't make her look like a hooch. Honestly.

Updated

Just had this conversation with a friend yesterday. Our daughters are 6, mine wears a one piece or tankie. Hers wears bikinis. I commented that I didn't buy one for mine because they are just too much. Her reply was she was living vicariously through her daughter.

Clothes for little girls are more absurd than realistic. It takes me forever to find appropriate things that don't make her look like a hooch. Honestly.

not any big deal. I used to wear one. I actually still have my very 1st bikini that my mom saved for me, just to have (for memories). I put my daughter in bikini's starting at 2 months old! They are cute.

I hate them on little girls. It is not because they look like bras it is because they are pointless. The girls have no boobs to keep them in place so they fall off all the time or just move so much you can see too much.

They are just stupid, in my opinion.

My oldest was 12 before I would let her wear them, the younger one is still not allowed.

When I was 5 I got a bikini.. It was very age appropriate, with Pink gingham and ruffle around the waist.. It was not a string bikini.. I loved it..

As long as it is modest, I do not see the big deal. I think they are cute..

I don't like it either, but that's my opinion. I think it just sexualizes girls at such a young age, and we don't need that with all that is out with the media to begin with! As a mom of an 8 year old, it is becoming more and more difficult to find "modest" bikinis for her age. Most out there are triangle tops and string bikini bottoms. I still shop at Gymboree, and thank goodness they still make more modest cut suits for that age and size. Don't know what I'll do when Gymboree is no longer "cool" to her!

i always wore a bikini until i was about 7. as long as it is decent looking i dont see a problem with it.

I wore them when I was little. I honestly don't think they even had one pieces for little girls back then. If I had a daughter (I have a 5 year old boy) I think a bikini would be fine, or a bikini bottom and a rash guard top if she was likely to sunburn. Honestly 5 year olds can run around in just bottoms for all I care. They would probably be more comfortable. I think a wet one piece would be difficult for a 5 year old to manage in the bathroom.

MY opinion...I'm with you. I think they just look trashy (the bikinis, not the kids). I once saw a leopard print, triangle string bikini for an INFANT! As I was fighting the urge to vomit, all I could think of was what kind of person would want to dress their baby girl like a pole dancer?!?! The same place also sold those "high heels" for infants - hence the stripper thought.
I will admit, I do think less of parents who let their kids wear tiny bikinis (as in string/triangle & DEF push-up). I think putting "cutesy" & convenient over safety (from sun damage or perverts) is selfish & neglectful. If that makes me a sexually dysfunctional prude to some, so be it. That's better than offering up my daughters as eye candy to a pedophile.
BUT...like you, I also don't share what I think with the parents of these children out of respect that it is their child & their choice & I'm pretty sure if they want my opinion, they'll ask for it. Plus, unless they know & respect me, I'd bet they couldn't care less what my opinion is so why waste the time.
As my mom used to say..."In the end, we feel what we feel & we don't have to justify it...just as others don't have to justify why they do it...until something bad happens."

hubby and i were talking about this. If my daughter (6) would go for one, and i could find one cheap enough that wasn't a string bikini I think i would buy it for her. Although i haven't actualy seen any young kids at the pool wearing one so i might feel different if things were sagging on them and not covering or looking like it fit. I am modest about her other clothes and would never buy sweat pants that had Juicy on the butt or even the Victoria secret sweat seem trashy on teens to me. but i never felt comfortable in my body and even today while i could stand to loose 20 lbs I am by no means fat, and let me tell you there are some OBESE people walking around the pool and beach that are way inadaquately covered. I want my daughter to feel confident, but also not to invite creeps. Is it possible?

My parents are ultraconservative, but I have pictures of me n a toddler bikini that had strawberries as the um...cups? I have no issue with these, but am not a huge fan of the thigh-high boots I saw a third grader in this winter. Yikes!

My daughter (16) has never owned a one-piece swimsuit or tankini and neither have I.

You just use common sense and be reasonable.

I wore one when I was around that age, and that was a long (LONG!) time ago before this weird trend to have preschoolers run around looking like strippers. They didn't have tankinis back then (seriously). My mom thought a bikini top was stupid on a little girl and wanted me to go topless (I'd love to see a post about that! lol), but at some point I insisted on wearing the top. I have a very cute pic from that time, and I look like a little girl in a bathing suit. Nothing untoward, inappropriate, or, god forbid, sexy about it.

I see nothing wrong with it, as long as it's cute and age-appropriate (i.e., no padding).

FWIW, I have two girls 4 and 1 who don't wear bikinis. Not because they are inappropriate, but because it's too cold or they'll get too much sun. I buy them swimsuits with sleeves. Keeps them warmer and/or requires less sunscreen.

My daughter wears a swim shirt and bottom for the pure fact that it's easier to change a diaper when the bottom is separate from the top. I prefer to keep my daughter as covered as possible so that I have to apply less sunscreen.

its very hard to find anything else in the store. i dont have anything against them, but I have enough to keep up with. Finding 2 shoes, sunglasses, sunblock and a towel is enough for 2 kids, much less having to find 2 pieces to a swim suit! But thats whats on the shelf.

I didn't read all of your posts but wanted to reply. My almost four year old daughter had a bikini (not triangle top though - more like a sports bra) that I bought for her because I thought it was the cutest out I found when looking. I also like it for ease of getting on and off for the bathroom or whatever. She also (at the beginning of the summer) was wearing a floatie vest over her suit so I didn't want any unnecessary clothing on because I figured she would be hot and/or uncomfortable. I think bikinis are okay on girls. When I was younger and lived in Italy and then Germany, many times I went topless at the beaches (never older than 8). It was very common over there and no one ever said anything about it. But then again, my daughter swims at my parents pool (not the public pool) 99.99999% of the time (actually she has not been to the public pool yet this year) so maybe that is different too.

I really think it depends on the style. A lot of bikinis for children are way too revealing and I'd say no way. But if the top is more like a sports bra and covers close to the belly button I'm ok with it. I have a 5 yo and a 6 yo. They have several swim suits between them, only three of which are two pieces and only one of which is a bikini. The other two were made by me and are tankini's and one even has shorts for bottoms instead of the usual briefs. One daughter hates to have her belly uncovered (totally her) and won't wear anything less than the tankini and the other one couldn't care except I won't let her wear the bikini right now because it's too big and doesn't cover ANYTHING on her skinny little self. I do agree that most clothing on the market is too adult for small girls which is why I make a lot of it and am very careful what I do buy. I don't keep them from dressing girly by any means but I do draw the lines at shirts made super tight, tiny skirts that don't actually cover their bottoms (all of their skirts have built in shorts or panties because they're so darn active), shirts with sayings too mature for little ones or logos, pants with super low waist line etc.

I agree but I also have boys. I took my friends daughter to the town beach with us and she had a triangle top one on. She constantly was fidgeting with the top to make sure she was still covered that she really didn't get to enjoy playing.
I like the tank top ones they cover just as much as a one piece but make trips to the bathroom a lot easier.

Mind your own business. You should know it is hard enough being a mom w/o other moms constantly judging you. They are in their own yard for goodness sake.

my daughter wears a bikini and she is 4 (she always worn one). i do look for age appropriate cuts for her though. every parent is different in what they allow.

My girls wore bikinis when they were little. Quite frankly, it was MUCH easier to 1)change the swim diaper, 2)potty train, and then 3) go to the bathroom. But a funny thing happened. As they got older, they started refusing to wear the bikinis and switched to one-pieces "Ew, I don't want to show my stomach in public!" or "When I jumped in the pool, my bathing suit bottom FELL DOWN! EEEW!" I never really had a problem with two piece bathing suits and have no problem with one-piece bathing suits. But now that they're 10 and 8, things are different, their bodies are different (and changing everyday!), I'm much more aware of how people look at them in public, so I'm glad they're such prudes and only want to wear modest one-piece suits. And if they ever wanted to wear a little string bikini, I would not let them.

I'm definitely surprised by how many people are against girls wearing bikinis. I have a 4 year old and she's had one every year. They are so much easier when they have to use the bathroon - especially when they are potty training. Or even if they are still in diapers and you have to change their swimmer, so much easier! I see absolutely no problem with them.

I worse 2 piece suits as a little kid, and "belly tops" but back then, they weren't scaled down versions of slutty/trashy grown ups clothes, they were modest cute little kids stuff . Smocked tops, cotton shorts that were SOOO short in the 70s....but it wasn't looked at as a sexual thing at all, that is what there was to wear.

I have a little girl, 4 years old, and I agree, the 'string bikini' style, with triangle cups and stuff is rediculous, but I don't object to a cropped tank style with regular breif style bottoms...it is practical for potty breaks, one pieces are a PITA.

Unfortunately, past about size 4t, everything in the main stream stores nowadays, turns into miniature "teenage" style, and that is just wrong...I don't want my 4 year old having "juicy" written across her backside ( or my teen for that matter) or wearing a push up anything - kids Gap even has thong undies for little girls, like 5/6 years old - what???? My friend saw this as he was shopping on the other half of the store for his boy - he asked the sales person, what in the world they stocked little kids thongs for, and she sais " for when they are wearing white dresses or pants, so ppl can't see panty lines" - WHAT???? Give them some plain white little girls/granny panty breifs....who cares about panty lines on a baby - no-one should be checking out their butt that way anyway!!!!!!!!!!

So yes, I agree, some things can get wayt out of hand with miniaturized sexy apparrel, but I don't think that sound mean that showing your belly at all is wrong or lewd either, if it is a cute age- appropriate style, not a downsized Fredricks of Hollywood style.

i think it doesnt matter at that age if they wear a shirt at all...but for uv protection i do the long sleeve uv shirts for my 4 year old girl

I personally don't have a problem with it. It's a swimming suit. Meh. As long as there is no fish net, thongs, mesh, push up bra's, innapropriate print on the fabric, i say it's fine.

I agree. I don't allow my daughter to wear a 2 piece in public, I just don't see the point. I also don't wear a skimpy string bikini when out with my kids, I save that for when hubby and I get a weekend away.

I didn't read all the responses so sorry if I'm repeating. I personally don't allow my girls to wear bikinis. I do allow them to wear the tankini's because it is a lot easier for them to use the restroom that way. I think it's kind of disturbing for little girls to wear bikinis in public....too many weirdos out there. If I had a backyard pool I wouldn't have a problem with it though. So yeah, I see your point of view here. I'm glad your not going to say anything to the parents though...

Well, I have a daughter who just turned five a week ago, and she has been wearing bikinis since she was a newborn. So have her older sisters, and her baby sister who just turned 2 months. I understand why some Mom's worry about it. It is a little lkke they are wearing a bra, but they are just going swimming. I like to buy cute bikinnis from target, Lands End, places like that. Though my daughters alos wear one peice and tankinnis too. They choose which one they wear.

I could not believe the options in the toddler dpt!!! They almost are forcing you to buy 2 piece for a 3t!!!

Little one has too much trouble keeping on such little bottoms since she likes to jump and all into the pool! I tend to keep her in a one piece because of it - especially when the "Y" does their swim days!

I agree, but most people think it's cute.

Can't stand bikinis for little girls. I can see the tankinis, especially for potty breaks:) - but otherwise, they make me cringe! You're not alone!

My daughter had one when she was about 2. Of course she out grew the bikini and the next year she tried to wear it again and couldn't get the bottom above her knee. I got her a new suit a one piece which I still have as a memory. She is now 34 so it wasn't a big thing as it is now about swimsuits and little girls.

Good luck on what you put your child in and don't worry about fads as they do go away.

The other S.

I let my 7 yo have a bikini, as in a two piece, for the first time this year. By bikini I mean a two piece with the belly showing as opposed to a tankini with the belly covered. She is not allowed to have triangle tops,I think they look ridiculous on little girls and they don't fit right because they are designed to hold breasts which little girls don't have. She is also not allowed to wear string bottoms or basically anything that will ride up/fall off. I searched high and low to find suitable 2 piece swimsuits that weren't tankinis, weren't triangle tops, and weren't string bikini bottoms - no one carried them! We finally ended up with a couple suits that were appropriate, but it was a chore to find something - even Lands End (usually conservative) had primarily triangle tops.

So for me, No, no revealing bikinis on a 5 year old, totally inappropriate for a child to wear sexualized clothing - no different than dressing your kids up like Toddlers & Tiaras.