Primark bikinis… for 18-month-olds
PRIMARK has been accused of ‘ stripping the innocence’ from children by selling bikinis targeted at toddlers.
A shopper spotted a bikini designed for an 18-month-old girl in a branch of the high street chain and shared the picture on social media.
Children’s welfare charity Kidscape has now urged the company to ‘let our children be children’ and to leave bikinis until girls are old enough to make conscious decisions about wearing them.
Angry parents also pointed out that the bikinis would leave a lot more of their children’s skin exposed when at the beach or by a pool, offering limited protection against the sun.
Primark denied that its children’s swimwear was unsuitable and said the bikinis were designed in line with British Retail Consortium guidelines, insisting that the items were age-appropriate.
The clothes store offers a pink and white striped two-piece with a bow on the bikini top and another blue and gold set with ruffles featured on the front.
The range of £5 bikinis are aimed at children between the ages of one-and-a-half and eight years.
When mother Holli Sherratt, 22, first saw the swimwear, she said she did not even realise that the two-piece was intended for children.
Miss Sherratt, from Paignton, Devon, said: ‘ In my eyes it is completely stripping the innocence and childhood of said child. When I first saw the bikini, I instantly thought it was lovely until I realised it was for a child.
‘A child should be covered up, protected from the sun and not flaunted as some sort of model. I have a daughter of my own and I want to protect her innocence and let her be a child.
‘I look at this bikini the same way I look at bras that are aimed at young children.’
Another mother said: ‘I wouldn’t put my four-year-old in it because I prefer her to wear clothes more suitable for her age. Unfortunately, it’s not just Primark selling clothing which I think is more suitable for adults.’
Lauren Seager-Smith, CEO at Kidscape, said: ‘We are utterly dismayed that high street stores continue to profit from “adult” clothes such as bikinis and bras sold to babies and young children. This is a difficult enough world for girls to grow up in, with sexual harassment a serious issue in our schools. ‘Let our children be children and save the bikinis and bras for a time when a) they have breasts and b) make a conscious choice to wear them.’ A spokesman for Primark said: ‘All Primark’s childrenswear, including swimwear, is designed in line with British Retail Consortium guidelines and we take great care to ensure all our children’s ranges are age-appropriate.’ The budget store previously came under fire for selling padded bras for seven-year-olds in 2010. After a public outcry the firm agreed to remove the item from stores, apologised for any offence caused and promised to give any profits made from the padded bra to a children’s charity.