Topless Toddlers?
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A recent blog post on the SunSentinel.com got me thinking of a dilemma I have yet to face. At what age should your toddler girl, who is used to spending sun-soaked beach days with swimming bottoms and nothing else, have to cover up?
Rafael Olmeda writes:
Should toddlers cover up in public?
My wife and I discussed the issue the other day after a snorkeling trip in Key West. A little girl on the boat with us, no more than 4 years old, was with her father on the same excursion, and she wasn’t wearing a top.
I’ve never raised a toddler daughter; my stepkids are in their teens, and the younger of the two was 11 when I met them. But I did ask my wife whether she ever allowed them to be in public without a top, and until what age. Her response: no way. Not in public.
Clearly, the issue has a cultural component. I heard the toddler’s dad speaking a language I didn’t recognize, so it’s likely they were from someplace less inhibited than the United States can be. But still, this trip was in the United States. Should this dad have recognized that? You know, put the other half of the bathing suit on the kid?
Topless toddlers raise a slew of questions, of course. Like why did I think she should have a top on when I wasn’t wearing one? Why is it okay for little boys, and big boys, but not big girls? And when is a little girl big enough that a top becomes a necessity?
What do you think? Should little girls be allowed to go topless for as long as they want? If not, at what age should they wear a top? Do we live in a society that unnecessarily covers up body parts, especially in young girls, making them feel like what they have is “bad?” Leave your opinions in the comments below!
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Comment by Father2Three on Sep 02 2009 01:25:21:
I am a father to three kids and my daughter is four. As a dad my initial response is she should have a top on at all times. I am very protective since she is my oldest. However, as a little baby she did go without a top a few times. We did not do this much. I think that definitely by the age of two this practice should stop. Especially as she begins to notice her body changing.
Comment by tamika on Nov 07 2009 07:00:33:
NO-until that child feels like she needs one-or asks for one-leave her alone! Why do you think so many young girls have eating disorders and issues? BECAUSE the public makes such a big deal out of their bodies! My 3 year old still can go w/o whatever amount of clothes she feels fit-and she already notices that she is a girl-and asks that no boys (daddy, grandpa) see her w/o her panties. We never made a big deal out of anything-she is healthy and happy, but ON HER OWN she told me that she does not want them around her when she is naked (she is a smart, possibly too smart 3 year old!) I remember having friends that didn’t care until they were 6 or 7… She is not as aware of her top being an issue, and I will not push it until she says something. She is flat as a board-c’mon! I wish American’s were more acceptable of skin…maybe I wouldn’t feel so badly about myself if I was raised in Europe!