Tweens Rocking Bikinis: Cute or Horrifying?

Tweens Rocking Bikinis: Cute or Horrifying?

My 12-year-old girl and I make a go at swimsuit shopping a few days ago, in pursuit of a "fun" (her statements) bathing suit she could wear to our neighborhood pool --an option that is other than the one-piece hustling suits she wears day by day to swim group practice.

Certainly, I considered. Who would like to feel and turn great toward the pool? So off we went.

At the store, the young lady passed up the one-piece suits, and the tankinis, and took a straight shot for the swimming outfits. Not by any means persuaded this was an awful thought, I stayed silent. At that point she tried one on.

Wow.

I won't lie -- she looked good. At 5 feet, 5 inches, slender and, um, 'blossoming,' she certainly filled out the garment. For one second, I was a bit dazed -- how did my little girl turn into THAT? But the feeling was short-lived, because my very next thought was, 'There is no way on God's green earth she is walking outside in that thing.'

Fortunately, my girl was so self-conscious, she couldn't even exit the fitting room, much less think about strolling across the pool deck. We left the bikini on the hanger and she opted for a more modest tankini the next day. Potential argument, averted.

But the whole episode had me wondering: Are pre-teens, and even tweens, too young to be wearing bikinis? Or am I just hopelessly out-of-date and uptight? Here's what a few of my friends said:

"Not OK. A 'tankini,' maybe, but not a full-on bikini. Girls have the rest of their lives to be 'sexy,' and I think our society pushes girls to dress in ways that are far beyond their emotional maturity. I wouldn't let my 12-year-old walk around outside in her bra and panties, and a bikini isn't any different." -- Ruth, Fort Collins, Colo.

"I feel that bikinis show too much skin that automatically catches the eye. Whether intending to or not, people will automatically look. Not that a man, teenage boy, or even a woman for that matter is intending to look at a 10- to 12-year-old girl, but the skin attracts a look before the mind processes what someone is looking at. To me, there is no reason to even draw additional attention to my 10-year-old girl. Additionally, if I give in to a bikini, then what? I want my daughter to grow up comfortable in her own skin, not that she needs to show skin to be appreciated." -- Jen, Fort Collins, Colo.