Little Girls in 2 Piece Swim Suits

Bikini, two piece, one piece, it doesn't really matter. What matters is that it covers what it's supposed to cover and that it fits well (no slipping and sliding around.)
I wore bikinis as a child, in the 1970's, we all did, nobody thought anything of it.
And I have seen plenty of inappropriate, skanky one pieces that I would never buy for my daughters.
This is why I don't watch talk shows, they're not usually talking about ANYthing real, just trying to stir the pot on an issue most of us don't find to be an issue at all :-(

I don't think my 18 yr old has ever owned a one-piece suit. Just because it is a 2-piece does not make it slutty.. Now a preteen or teen in a thong is another story and not appropriate. There is a balance.

Some people are such prudes... and get all worked up over the silly things. Just think of how productive they could be if they were that worked up about earning money, helping people, etc.

The only time I have ever owned a one-piece was when I was in the prelim Miss America pageants (a long time ago) and at that time, they didn't allow 2-piece.

I don't want to get off on a rant here... I think this is another example of society "blaming" the woman for how she dresses.

A child can't POSSIBLY be sexual. They can be VIEWED as sexual by someone else. So, anyone who feels like those swimsuits are "sexy" is projecting that onto the child. I hate it. I think it's disgusting that they even MAKE the one that models would wear and have them available for kids. But - society wants them... or they wouldn't sell, so it's a double edged sword.

I agree with you. 2 piece suits are MUCH easier with a kid. We did always do either the tankini or the band top rather than what I call the 2 croissants and spaghetti type of top.

Bikinis are more comfortable, easier to take on/off and fit both my girls much better than a one piece. They have always worn them.

I think it's sad we put the burden on the girls AGAIN. They have to dress a certain way so as not to arouse a pedophile? There is appropriate dress for each situation. Less wet fabric at the pool or beach just feels better, it's not sexual.

My girls have been raised not to worry too much about what others think, you're never going to keep creeps from checking out your kids. I personally find the forty year old men checking my 14 years old's butt (fully and modestly clothed BTW) totally creepy.

What about pedophiles who like little boys. Should boys cover themselves up while swimming too? You can't live your life according to what sick people around you are thinking. Pedophiles look to victimize the children who lack confidence and are easily manipulated, not the ones wearing bikinis!

I agree - totally not a big deal. Little girl bikini swim suits are not "sexy"

1. I don't find little girls "sexy". Once they hit puberty, yeah, I have seen 13 year old girls looking way too sexy!
2. I think 2 piece suits are fine! The time when you may want to be concerned about how "sexy" your little one looks is when they have curves, not when they're 4, 5, 6, 7.
3. People get wayyy too worked up about stuff. This is a non-issue IMO.

Oh, I resent the whole thing personally.

I hate that my little girls, whose chests look no different than their male peers, have to wear tops. What's the point? What on earth are the hiding? There's NOTHING there!

So if it was up to me, we'd operate like many places. Topless. At least for little ones who don't have boobs!

But, since we live here, we live by these rules.

With my girls, they were allowed to run around naked/with bottoms only as babies and toddlers. If we're in a private place, they still do. They wear a one piece at the pool and public beaches. I'm not morally opposed to two pieces. I don't get the point, but I don't think it's a big deal either.

Funny, I was talking with a mama at the pool last year and she went on a long drawn out rant against parents who let their kids wear two piece suits.....and then my 5 year old daughter came out of the water in her tankini. The mom was SO embarrassed, as well she should have been! Two piece suits, in general, are not inappropriate for little girls. My daughter is very tall and has a long torso, so one piece suits just don't cover her properly. And, you are so right about two piece suits being more convenient for potty breaks at the pool!

I explained to Wind Bag Know-it-all Mama that I would rather an inch of skin around her belly be showing than her nipples. :)

Padding? Well, that's a problem! It's too bad people just lump all two piece suits in with padding and thongs.

The problem is not the suit, it is the people who are sexualizing it and the child in some way. IMO it is the people who take issue with the suits (the ones who are sexualizing them) that are weird, not the ones who don't care either way.

No, you're not. I have a problem with the padding, but not with the suits. Unless they're designing them like adult stuff with thongs, we had them when I was a kid. They weren't padded. They were just like normal, non-thong bikinis. People are just looking to be bothered sometimes.

PERSONALLY, I don't want my girls in the ones that actually are designed to look like bikinis, but it doesn't bother me if someone else puts their daughter in it. I've bought a "tankini" or whatever they're called for my daughter before, though.

Honestly, though, a 10 year old walking around in a mini-skirt with her butt-cheeks hanging out the back bothers me a whole lot more than a very young child in a bikini.

I see no big deal with little bikinis for girls.

Kiddie 2 piece tankini? No problem.
Kiddie bikini? That would be a huge problem for me.

I myself wear tankinis, but there is no more skin showing than there'd be if I had a 1 piece. I wear it because it is MUCH easier to go to the bathroom with it.

You aren't off your rocker, but here's the other side of things.

While *I* don't see a toddler in a bikini as sexual, there are plenty of sickos in the world who do. And when you start talking about those "tween" years...well, perhaps the boys of that age are beginning to go through puberty and I am of the full belief that we ought not cause others to sin (including causing "thoughts") if we can help it. It's just like the "Why should my daughter wear shorts under her dress?" question.

I absolutely do not allow my children in bikinis...they are 8 and 3...because I don't want anyone else to view them in a certain way. To take this one step further, we also require they wear swim skirts over their one piece swimsuits.

Granted, you can only be so modest in a swimsuit...but if they sold the really old-fashioned kind with shorts and sleeves, I'd buy them.

I'd rather have a little inconvenience in the bathroom than have a young man looking at my daughter in a certain way, or some sicko. It isn't always about YOU...it's often about OTHER people.

I grew up in the 70s and 80s in Southern California. We all wore 2 piece bikinis! It was rare to see a one piece on anyone! That was what was available and what everyone did. There was nothing sexy about it and no one made a stink about it. This is what you wore to go swimming.
I didn't start wearing a one piece until I was in my teens and developed horrible body image problems and wanted to hide everything because I was "fat", "ugly" etc and so on. Of course I was none of the above but hey.
2 piece swim suits are so much easier to get on and off to go to the bathroom or change a diaper.
I do agree that having push up, padded tops for little girls is taking it too far. There is no need for that. But I see nothing wrong with 2 piece suits at all.

It all depends. There are two piece suits, and then there are 2 piece suits.
My daughter has almost always worn a variety, some 2 piece, some one piece. But the 2 piece suits have never been bikinis. They have always been more the tank-ini style... where the top provides a lot of coverage, and the bottoms are pretty full coverage, but they are 2 pieces, for ease of use. (like you say--get in/out of them and potty breaks). They look almost like one pieces and provide about the same amount of coverage.

A triangle top bikini for a young girl is just... well, there is just no point. What are you trying to do by that?

My daughter is not allowed to wear a bikini. A tankini, sure, but I don't like the idea of encouraging little girls to act older than they are. You also won't find play heels in my house. Anything that reinforces shallow girl behavior is skipped in this house. So no nail polish, etc. my daughter loves going to her friends houses that have these things, but I prefer she plays with toys or the computer, rather than with her looks. She is only 5.

EAsier to change the swim diaper or use the bathroom for sure!

now with tankinis and the swim shirts they are even more covered than I ever was!

I think that tweens SHOULD have some lining or VERY light padding though. When it gets cold it can be too revealing!

My daughter never wore a skimpy little bikini - she did wear a tankini as she's very long waisted and it fit better. She's modest and chose 1 piece over a tankini as she got older. Now at 15, she wears a tankini that is deemed church appropriate. She does a lot of church activities and for some there is swimming and they cannot wear bikinis.
I also never let her wear midrif shirts as a child. She wore a lot of spaghetti strap sundresses until she started kindergarten as that's not school appropriate (must be 3 fingers wide).

I, personally, don't agree with dressing little girls up as mini adults. That's not saying I'm going to turn my nose up at someone else who makes different choices for their child, that's your child and your choice. I don't think a bikini is "sexy" per se on a small child but it does sexualize them IMHO.

My girls all use two piece suits. But, there are tankinis or similar style. They are fair skinned and the more covered the better. I don't see the problem with the suits, in most of Europe, kids up to 5 just go without suits at all and no one sees it as sexual.

I wore two piece suits back in the 70s. For my daughter, she is very short waisted, like I am, so to find suits that don't sag in the crotch and show EVERYTHING (I mean, one piece suits leave her essentially bottomless), I have to have her in two piece suits. Usually we go with tankinis or swim shirts, but I've never seen children in bikinis as sexualized in any way.

I'll be honest, it's always bothered me. Maybe that's irrational, but I like to see the innocence of childhood preserved, and to me, a bikini is too skimpy and too adult looking. And as others mentioned, there are sickos out there. And little girls are taught by media to try to be older and emulate the big girls, and they might even get the wrong impression about themselves in a bikini. They might feel like they are trying to be sexy, like their pop star role models, even if they don't fully understand what that means.

My girls were not allowed to wear a two piece until they had boobs. I just think little girls look stupid in two piece suits beyond the tankini. Okay I let them wear tankinis, I sit corrected.

Still a bikini, not until you have boobs.

I have no issue with my 5 year old wearing a 2 piece. If, when she is maturing she starts to look skimpy in one, we will move to a one piece. No need for me to worry about that now as a 2 piece is much easier for her to use the restroom in.

I hate bikinis on kids.
Hate it.
Mostly because they never seem to fit right. On a toddler, not so much of a big deal, but on a 6-10 year old I hate it when the top is not on right and their chest is exposed. Of COURSE it's not sexual....it just bothers me. And usually the little girl isn't even aware of it.
I have a daughter, 2, who will not be in a bikini. Maybe a tankini for potty training. But really.....I grew up in California and unlike my CA counterpart below I didn't notice a lot of bikini's on kids. My mom just taught us how to pull the crotch to the side and pee. Super easy, I still do it!

I always had two piece suits as a child, because they were easier to get on and off to go to the bathroom. Also two piece suits usually provide better coverage than one piece because they fit better. So what if you see some belly, the important parts are better covered! They were definitely not sexy. I stopped wearing them when I started to feel self conscious of my body. The people who are turned on by little girls in two piece suits are probably just as turned on by little girls in one piece suits, so I don't see that as a valid argument against them.

They are practical and should not be and really are not 'sexy'. I did not have my first one piece suit until I was 17 years old. I don't even think they made one piece suits for little kids in the 70s. Certainly no one wore them. Now - there are some truly inappropriate swimsuits for little girls. But there are also very inappropriate tees, pageant clothing and other clothing for them as well.

My daughter wears 2 piece but the tankinis NOT bikinis with the super small tops. Those I don't think anyone under 10 should wear. They are not meant for little girls. My daughter wanted one last year we got it n tried it on her and it didn't look age appropriate at all. There is nothing to hold the top in place if they are active kids. Jumping in the pool running around the yard jumping rope, on the trampoline. The top will just fly up. Even at water parks n water slids nothing for the top to grab ahold of. And one pieces are a pain so we have always settled on the tankini

There's a few pics of me in a two piece bathing suit when I was a kid (in the seventies). Not anything new at all and definitely not a big deal. Although I agree about the padding- that's a no-no. And I wouldn't ever put anything on my daughter with writing on the butt.
People get worked up over the silliest things these days.

I'm not a fan of bikinis for girls. My DD is 4 and doesn't need a triangle top or strings. However, I am a fan of the two piece either as a rash guard or tankini. Know why? Toilets. It is far easier to get a child to use the toilet (or change a diaper) if the only part you are wrestling with is the bottoms. Trying to get a wet toddler back into a wet swimsuit in the bathroom is a source of aggravation I decided I do not need when there are modest options for my little girl.

The sexy/grown up swimsuits? No.

My husband would never go for a two piece on his daughters and he isn't a very conservative person. Even when they were really little he would never allow it. He's a cop and he says that is just inviting trouble. He likes his girls covered. He says they are his treasures and he doesn't want them all out there for other's to see. He has went so far as to comment on their one pieces if they show to much.

My daughter has been in 2-piece swimsuits since she turned 4 - once she was potty-trained, it was so much easier for her pull down just a swim bottom to go to the bathroom and pull it back up again, than an entire one-piece suit. However, they are tankini-style 2-piece suits - or she has some belly showing, but not much. Some swim bottoms are more the swim short style so those are not so bad either. I wouldn't do the skimpy things that are just a couple of triangles barely held together with a few pieces of string - especially because she swims hard, she plays in the waves, she jumps into the water, etc. and I could just see the things flying off of her. And I think padding in the tops is ridiculous - but I also think raised heels on shoes for little girls is ridiculous.

I guess it just matters whether you view a swim suit as a sexy article of clothing for showing off your body, or something more practical for actually swimming in.

I think they are fine especially in little little girls. Once my dd hit about age 5 she (and I) prefer the more tankini look. She's like me and has a long torso, so one pieces are just a pain to fit. Plus soooo much easier to go potty in a 2 piece. She is now almost 9 and we buy her tankinis that also come with a little skirt or shorts over them and they really almost just look like shorts/skirt and a tank top IMO.

Tankinis?
Sure!
They are easier than a one piece suit for using the bathroom.

Bikini's?
No!
It's too hard to play when your suit might fall off.
Besides that, there's WAY too much skin exposed for sun burn purposes and you constantly have to apply/re-apply sunscreen (and no one applies it as often as they should).
People don't think of skin cancer when they are looking for swim suits but the UV exposure starts when we are very young and preventing burns right from the start is important for their overall health throughout their life time.

'Sexy' in a child's swim suit is just wrong.
'Sexy' is for when you are old enough / mature enough to have sex.
(Yeah I know - looking like you're ready for it and actually having it are different but I feel: why advertise if you don't want/expect people (men) to respond to the ad? You can look nice without being mostly naked in public.)
I have my reservations about 16 yr olds looking sexy in swim suits.
There's a place for 'Frederick's of Hollywood' sexy - but it's not in a child's swim suit.

I have a problem with 7 yo and above in these little skimpy two piece suits. No appropriate IMO. I also think a nice one piece on a 15 year old is much more attractive. Tankini type suits are fine.

My husband and I don't like it. But that goes for adults and kids.

I allow my daughter to wear a two piece. Initially it was because when they are are of diaper and/or potty changing age, it is soooo much easier. She is now 6 and it is still easier because 1. it's just easier when going to the bathroom 2. like most kids, she waits until the last second to decide she needs to go to the bathroom. I have tried some on her that I like until I see her in it and then I say, nope (not that I think she's sexy in it but sometimes its just too much for a 6 year old...or should I say not enough of it).

I did get her one this year again (tankini) but because swim suits tend to be small, she had to get a 10/12 and there is some padding (which I prefer it didn't have) but it's not like it's padding to appear she has more than she does but rather padding for the possibly developing girl not to "shine" through the bathing suit fabric.

My BIL always gest on our niece (not his daughter but rather also his niece) if she has a two pc but that's because she is already 11 AND it's not always a good choice on her. She gets mad because he doesn't say anything to my daughter (but that's because we've got it covered already).

I have no problem with this and agree that going potty is so much easier than trying to pull down a wet 1 piece. I don't like the padded tops in little girls swimsuits though. I think it just looks silly.

And I completely agree with Veruca about the pedophile issue.

Sorry if I repeat people, I didn't read down. You are not off your rocker, you just have a different view :-)
For us it's more about setting a precedent. We ere on the side of modesty for our kidlets so for us that means no booty shorts, no "booty billboards," shirts that cover the belly, etc... If we are ok with our 5 or 2 yr old girl running around in a bikini then we are setting the stage for her to run around parading her body when the hormones hit & that's not what we are aiming for. We stick to 1 piece or board shirt/shorts & truthfully for us, the "work" of using those vs. the ease of using a bikini isn't so much of a detriment that we are willing to forgo what we are trying to instill.
Anyway, people find what works best for them :-) mucho blessings!

It depends on the style of the two piece. Have you seen the little girls bikinis that are just little triangles of fabric? That's just too grown up. While I let my daughter do some more grown up things once in a while (Iike play with make up at home and I got her these little wedges for her daddy/daughter dance) I just wouldn't be comfortable with that level of grown up.
Now my daughter is a little bigger so she couldn't wear a regular bikini anyway but she does have a tankini. It covers as much as a one piece and it's so much easier to take on and off which makes bathroom breaks much easier.

They are practical for babies, due to the changing. I get that. Once your kids is potty trained, it turns full circle for me. I don't know whether it is just my kids, but the minute they start swimming and jumping the top ends up showing the boobs, and the bottom ends up coming off. I constantly am having to readjust, where is the sense in that. Doesn't matter what size I put them in, it would have to be 5 sizes too small for it too stay put. One dive, one jump, "bloop" off comes the bikini. Tankinis tops roll up.
I do a one piece for this reason!
The going to the toilet thing is easy - just pull it to the side! You don't even have to pull anything down

sounds like a non-issue to me too. poor Gwyneth. Being famous must get tiresome!

I do have a problem with dressing up little girls in provocative clothes and putting makeup on them in some dance schools, etc.... I am all for fun costumes, but pushing sexuality on little girls........

I personally don't think there is anything wrong with two piece as long as they are not bakini's!!! I can understand wanting them seperate cause is so much easyer to take them to the restroom. But the skimpy ones no I don't think those are approprate cause you are asking for males to look at them in a way you don't want them to be looked at. And if they are used to wearing them now when they are more develped and want to wear them smaller they wont see anything wrong with it. I really hate when I take my boys and even husband to the water park and there are girls of all ages in skimpy bathing suits. So tankinis are fine to me but others no don't get them used to showing their bodies!

I only have one daughter and she is only nine months. For this summer, I have bought her one pieces, a bikini and a tankini. I am pretty sure I will prefer the two pieces, due to it being a ton easier to navigate diaper changes. I think it is ridiculous to suggest that two pieces on little girls are sexual...may be a different story if we were talking skimpy bikinis on tweens/teenagers.
I, personally, wear a tankini. I don't like one pieces (too hard to go to the bathroom and I'm tall, so they tend to ride up), but I don't think my body has been bikini worthy since before kids...in my defense, I have had 4 babies in 7 years! If/when I get my body back to the point that I can wear a bikini again, I will pick out a tasteful and age appropriate one- which is what I plan on doing for my daughter in the future.

My 3 year old wears them and always has. I however do not purchase the triangle top suits for her i prefer the tankini or full top suits more for sun protection than anything. It is sooooo much easier for bathroom breaks and when she was younger diaper changes. People will always find something they believe is inappropriate for childrens clothing. My SIL does not allow her girls to wear anything except a boyshort swim bottom and a full shirt long sleeve swim top which i think is a little excessive being here in texas where it gets hot as hell and the girls are usually to hot.

My daughter nor granddaughter will not wear a 2-pc where the top is so small it looks like band-aids, which most are like these days. Little girls should be dressed like... little girls, not mini adults. My daughter is 8, granddaughter 4. I don't like one pieces but when I wore them as a kid and I grew the bottom started riding up the front and back. Uncomfortable. So I like 2 pieces and can get more growth out of them. But the tops have to be longer like a tank... aka a "tankini". Haven't gotten my daughter a new suit yet this year as they're harder to find now, but I found my little granddaughter one that is just adorable and my DIL loves it. She always wore a one piece so this will be her first 2-pc at age 4 with the tank on top. I think it boils down to allowing little girls to be just that and not allow them to dress like mini adults. Some dress is just inappropriate.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

I think it's definitely easier and I always put my daughter in a two piece suit (she's 2.5). However, the top is either a rash guard, or a full tank top style suit, not a bikini top.

I think the littlest girls can look cute in the bikinis. I choose not to use them since the others provide more sun protection. However, from about age 6 - 11, I think two piece suits (unless it's a full tankini) are not appropriate.

We allowed our girls to wear two piece swimsuits until they started to develope breasts. Nothing wrong with it. Not sexy at all really and if someone thinks that then they should be checked out.

When I was eight years old and started looking curvy, my mother told me that I was wearing my last bikini until I was old enough to buy my own. That sits well with me.

Two piece - fine. Bikini - not fine. I've always told my 9 yo she can't have triangle tops; when she has something to put in them we'll talk about it, but until then they aren't appropriate. We don't even do triangle top tankinis, imo they just don't look right on little kids. When you can imagine, or worse yet actually find, a adult size version of a kids bikini then the kids bikini isn't appropriate.

The only type of 2-piece I think is appropriate on a child under age 10 is a tankini.

I didn't allow my daughter to wear a bikini.

Back in the late 80s and early 90's when she was that young (born in 86) - she wore one-piece bath suits. The bikini's that were out then were not "child" bikini's.

YOU may not think they are NOT sexy. But there are pedophiles who WILL. And yes...they'll sit in their cars at the beach or near the pool snapping pictures to take home and enjoy later.

I wouldn't wear a bikini now anyway...urgh...hopefully by the end of the summer my stomach will be flat enough to warrant a bikini - otherwise? I think it would SCARE people to see me in a bikini!! :)

if you find one you like for your child - have a nut!! She's your daughter!!

Have a great summer!

my little girl wears a two piece because it's easier to go to the bathroom BUT it's a tankini. i feel like whenever i see little girls in two pieces that have the small tops, their bottom halfs are always hanging out/slipping down while the top part is twisted and turned every way that it's not supposed to be. they just don't fit well for some reason IMO.

I think two piece suits are justified, but I don't like them on little girls. I also dont like high heels and mini skirts on them. Just me. Of course normal people don't find little girls sexy in bikinis, mini skirts and high heels...and pervs like little kids even in long Amish dresses. But I don't know how to explain it. I just don't like it. Probably my upbringing. A friend gave my youngest a tankini and I have let her wear it. Sigh. I don't know. I saw a picture of some celebs in Hawaii and the 3-year-old was in a string bikini like mom. I thought it was super tacky. Just an opinion. I don't think people look down on it much though, all the little girls I see at the pool wear them.

I agree with you. I also have a daughter and I just bought a two piece for the very same reason you stated. It's much easier to get on and off when using the bathroom. However, it is also a concern for those individuals who are perverted and do get off on little girls who reveal more than necessary.

Of course a two-piece swimsuit isn't "sexy" on a little girl....to a normal person. But it's a little naive of you to think that only normal people will be looking at your child in a public setting.

The little triangle top ones on toddlers/babies cannot be comfortable for them. My sis just bought the swim top (t-shirt style) and cute bottoms for her twins--adorable!!