Childrenswear Guidelines - yea or nea?

Ayla

Interesting Guidelines released today on children's clothing (particularly underwear):

http://www.merrionstreet.ie/index.php/2012/06/minister-fitzgerald-launches-irelands-first-childrenswear-guidelines/

I will be the first to applaude this; I treasure my girls' innocence and age-appropriateness and I would never allow them to wear heels/push up bras/explicit underwear, etc. I find such things....sad.

But, I have to wonder about this...if parents didn't allow these things in their family then there would be little market for them, thus no requirement for these Guidelines. And yes, I understand the power of suggestion & the influence of media/peer pressure, etc, however isn't it down to the parents to make a final say?

I wonder if these Guidelines - no matter how well-intentioned - actually breech into a violation of (eek!) free speech?

mirekb

I saw a really interesting documentary about how young teenagers (12-14) were wearing padded bras beacause, far from seeing it as a sexual thing, it protected and hid an area they felt self conscious about.

I'm not an advocate of the hyper sexualisation of young people, I had just never seen these things from a child's perspective before.

And I absolutely think it is up to the parents to have a final say in this.

munchkin_utd

mirekb wrote: »

And I absolutely think it is up to the parents to have a final say in this.

it is BUT its easier to say no to something you object to when the stuff isnt in the shops in the first place!!

Ayla

Well obviously. But in the same vein, then, should the gov't put out Guidelines/Restrictions on sweets in shops? How about expensive toys that lots of parents can't afford?...

Sleepy

There's no two ways about it in my opinion: no one should be allowed to sell Playboy branded stuff in children's sizes.

I don't care if their mother's a slapper who thinks wearing the bunny ears logo makes her attractive to men, it's inappropriate to sexualise children.

Lisha

My 2 year old daughter was given a present of a tshirt with the logo

JUNIOR WAG

I could not believe that a. it would be for sale for a 2yr old and that b. a very normal person would buy it for a 2 year old. It got the bin very fast.

So yes I do agree with these guidelines, the playboy logo on kids makes me ill, I abhor sexualisation of kids. Sexuality when appropiate is fine and normal.

If you look in some shops it was difficult to avoid these clothes at times. So hopefully these guidelines will allow for a real choice in kids wear.

Kids should be allowed be kids for as long as possible.

Morag

Again with the ‘padded’ bras, seriously they are slightly padded as in 0.5 of a centimetre.
They are not push up bras, or wonder bras.
They a slightly padded to provide extra protection to the breast buds of developing girls and to even out their appearance cos often one will develop first leaving the girl self concious.

By all means ban boob tubes, mini skirts, tracksuits with juicy on them and the playboy bunny but leave the padded bras alone there is a need for them.

Lisha

Sharrow wrote: »

Again with the ‘padded’ bras, seriously they are slightly padded as in 0.5 of a centimetre.
They are not push up bras, or wonder bras.
They a slightly padded to provide extra protection to the breast buds of developing girls and to even out their appearance cos often one will develop first leaving the girl self concious.

By all means ban boob tubes, mini skirts, tracksuits with juicy on them and the playboy bunny but leave the padded bras alone there is a need for them.

fair enough for a girls 5 class up maybe but I ve seen them for 6 year olds That can't be right

my problem really would be with the slogan type stuff and styles of clothing that just look more adult.

I also do not agree with girls in playschool wearing heels, I've actually seen this, I just don't get that

caprilicious

Lisha wrote: »

[/B]I also do not agree with girls in playschool wearing heels, I've actually seen this, I just don't get that

:eek::eek::eek: wrong, wrong, wrong!!!

I agree with it, can not abide seeing kids in playboy branded clothing & similar.

Lisha don't blame you for binning that tee, I seen a baby vest I similarly disliked with the logo "Mammy's little bollox" :eek: Not my cup of tea at all!

Davidth88

I agree with the guide lines , its a shame they are needed.

There should be a thing called ' market forces ' , where people don't buy this rubbish so the shops don't stock it.

Sexualising kids makes me sick .

There was an interesting one on the news yesterday , she was a mother of a 10YO girl , saying because she is tall for her age she ends up buying teenage clothes and finds it difficult to find suitable ones.

My eldest girl is 6 , she is already in 7-8 YO clothes, so I imagine Ill run into this soon enough.

Tell me this , why do people think it's acceptable to put their little girls in these clothes ?

hoodwinked

a simple ask or so i thought the other day was to pick up vests for my 2 year old daughter,

i went into a well known large clothing retailer and headed to the baby/toddler section,

all the socks / vests there were only up to 12 months, so i headed to the children section, i found socks that would fit her but no vests, then i spotted them, all crop tops and bra shaped tops in sizes 2-3, 3-4...etc upto 11-12.


i then tried a shopping retailer who also sells clothing, and while not as bad (no crop tops bra shaped tops for 2-3 year olds) they too sold these string top vests (this time with a designed lacy straps) rather than sleeved for any child over 2-3.

i was horrified and wouldn't put them near my two year old i just wanted a non string top, short sleeve vest.

hopefully these guidelines will help!

Hannibal Smith

I think its about time there was something brought in. I don't think it interferes with a right to free speech, because it's not restricting parents from buying them, it's restricting manufacturers from targetting them to a younger purchaser. And what would they be restricting you from saying? My child is a sexual object? That's a bad thing how?

iguana

Well for one there is absolutely no thing as 'free speech' in this country anyway and the simple fact is that nobody has absolute carte blanche to raise their children however they want. That's because children aren't objects which belong to their parents, they are separate people with rights all of their own. If I decide to raise my child in a way that is deemed to remove the rights of that child I'd expect someone to stop me.

So the question is, is dressing your toddler/young child in a sexual fashion a removal of their rights? I'd say a pretty strong case could be made, under their protection rights, that it is.

How Strange

I think as regards the sexuslisation of children and children's clothes if it ultimately protects the children then I'm in favour of it. Perhaps if you couldn't buy these hideous clothes in every shop and at every market parents would start dressing their daughters like children again and those clothes wouldn't be socially acceptable anymore.

I have friends living in France and it's just not socially acceptable to dress your daughters like mini women. Little girls wear clothes appropriate for their age.

StillWaters

I welcome this too, its long overdue. I think Tesco are really good in this regard, and have a very well designed range of first bras as a result of guidelines in the UK.

I'm disappointed its voluntary and interesting that Dunnes don't seem to have signed up.

Lisha

StillWaters wrote: »

I welcome this too, its long overdue. I think Tesco are really good in this regard, and have a very well designed range of first bras as a result of guidelines in the UK.

I'm disappointed its voluntary and interesting that Dunnes don't seem to have signed up.

Apparently Dunnes have not signed up as they are not a member of Retail Ireland but they can sign up if they wish. It was discussed on Ireland AM (I think Friday morning. )
I hope they do too.