Walmart Sells Inappropriate Clothing for Children

thing is, young mothers today (like myself) are more into the
"fashion". i'm 20 and my daughter is going to be 2, & i recently
bought her an ECKO dress, it came with the little bloomer/underwear
thingy. i thought it was adorable. SO i bought it. you don't have to
but things you don't like, so don't. it's your opinion, and others,
i'm sure. but there's a wider variety that is going with the flow and
the NEW times.
Way i think of it is, my daughter's a baby, she's going to take off
her diaper and run around the house, and be a kid. she's going to be a
kid while she can, and dress cute while being a KID.
But this is just my opinion. Adam and Eve were naked, so i think of
this as and evolution of clothing. think of it how you want to, Only
god can judge you. & i could care less how people judge me or anyone
else for that matter.

Kids will be kids.

It totally does. Who wants their 8 year old daughter wearing off the
shoulder t-shirts or short t-shirts that show their belly, shorts so
short they are practically hot pants, super mini skirts...I can go on.
Walmart is definately the biggest culpret of inappropriate clothing
for girls.
I started a blog last month, and I mentioned this same subject. I
started a blog for inexpensive stylish girls clothing all under $10. I
am a designer & a mom. I don't like to spend a lot on clothes for my
daughter because she grows out of them so quickly - but there are a
ton of great deals that are NICE, stylish and age appropriate. The
blog is: www.girlsclothesforless.blogspot.com/
I think that Walmart will continue to sell inapropriate clothing as
long as there is a market for it, if people wern't buying it Walmart
and other manufacturers wouldn't be making it. This problem really
stems from the roll models and media, who encourage this lack of
clothing for ratings or to sell more albums. It's totally gross, but
it's not going away probably ever. Right now the best I can do is
teach my daughter what is appropriate and what is not. On multiple
occasions I have pointed out young girls who are dressed
inappropriately, so my daughter can get a sense of where to go or not
to go with her fashion sense.

Sometimes, I question people. They worry more about the little things
in life.

For example: Walmart can take it off the shelves but they still have
to face society. Things on a shirt is not the major problem. I
guarantee that there is no place that you can take your child and not
see someone doing something inappropriate. When it comes to people
respecting the public and children, it doesn't matter. Even amusement
parks have teenagers and adults damn near half naked. So either deal
with the sayings listed on clothing, or deal with no words, but
straight panty-showing, belly button tattoos, and all of the other
things. As the person mentioned below, if you don't like it, so be it.
There are not shirts on every aisle of the store.

If you didn't like that shirt, there's always Hannah Montana, High
School Musical, plain, plaid, polka dot, and whatever else clothing in
Walmart. That is NOT the only option, I promise you!!! I have two
daughters and buy them clothing from Walmart of all the time.

Sure, I wouldn't allow them to wear it but faulting Walmart is
inappropriate. The style now is attitude comments. Get with it or just
go shop in grandma's closet...your choice, but Walmart isn't to blame.
More than Walmart sells shirts like that! Clothes are clothes. As with
anything, you can take all of those shirts off the shelves at the
store, but do you think that will help these children who attend
schools with others that are raised wrong or around inappropriate
behaviors?? Nope, it won't. I don't care if you dodge public schools,
and send them to private. They are right there in the same boat, so
just enjoy life, and quit complaining about the little things. Discuss
things about your life.....what you are doing wrong.

People like you make life harder than what it is. Live your life, and
stop being concerned with what people wear. Obviously, you don't have
one (a life) to the point where Walmart's clothing (that you DON'T
have to buy) is a major concern with you.

You will see once you get your house in order, everything would not be
as important as you are trying to make it.

Have a great day, and mind your own business.

Treat it like the TV (change channels)...if you don't like the item
don't buy it. If Walmart forced you to buy inappropriate clothing
then you got a problem.

GROW up world of Babies!

I feel your pain - I have 2 sons myself and finding nice clothes is
nearly impossible. Walmart is not the only culprit.

Someone else mentioned that we had a similar complaint to this a few
months ago. I wish I knew what the answer was. For some reason
reatilers and merchandisers/marketers seem to think that girl clothing
needs to be trendier and a wider variety than boys clothing. I think
they're wrong - but no one ever listens to what I think!

One good suggestion I was given after my oldest son was born was to
find a resale shop. There is a chain of independently owned
resale/consignment shops called Once Upon a Child. You'd be AMAZED at
the clothes you find there.

They are all in great shape, some still have the tags attached! Even
the really nice clothes are 50-75% off retail or more and every brand
name you can imagine!

See if your town has that - you'll save money and find some really
nice clothes at the same time!

I agree wholeheartedly! I have twin girls that just moved out of the
toddler sizes and into the little girl sizes and I am apalled at what
the buyers at not only Wal Mart but also Target, Macy's and Dillards
have in their little girl departments.
Clearly it is a case of supply & demand because there must be moms
willing to dress their little girls like street walkers. Not this
mom. I have had better luck hitting the catalogs (Lands End, Boden,
Kellys Kids etc). Our kids are being forced to grow up too fast we
shouldn't push them to do so in Kindergarten!

I misread the title of this letter as "Walmart Sells Inappropriate
Clothing for Chickens." So, of course, my first thought was, "There's
such a thing as appropriate clothing for chickens?"

I'd read the rest of this letter to gauge whether the complaint has
merit or not, but now I'm far too busy thinking about chickens wearing
clothes. It makes it far too difficult to concentrate.

They make these clothes for little girls because the girls want to
look like their Slutz, I mean Bratz, dolls.
I agree that little girls' clothes, especially those at large discount
stores such as WalMart, have gotten too "adult". But there ia a lot
more out there making little girls think they want to dress like this.

I'm expecting my first girl (after 3 boys!), and my husband is already
having a coronary over all the skanky stuff marketed toward little
girls.

Bratz are my biggest pet peeve. I work at a daycare 1 day a week, and
I came in one day to find someone had left a Bratz Baby doll. She was
wearing a short denim skirt, low ride so you could see her string
bikini strings and her belly was sticking out. She was also wearing a
sparkly half shirt and makeup. Mind you, this doll is supposed to be a
baby. I would have loved to find out who it belonged to and ask the
parent "Would you let a toddler dress this way?". A lot of the moms
who leave their kids on the day I work were like "Where did THIS come
from?" None of them found the doll to be in good taste at all.

But, the dolls have become a better seller than Barbie lately (ah,
Barbie. She's a teacher. She's a vet. She's not out clubbin' all night
like the Bratz, Lindsay Lohan, and Britney Spears). So long as people
are buying, they'll keep selling. So, I won't buy them, or any clothes
that will make my daughter look like them.

Melissa:

I agree with you 100%. I too have a child but my perspective is a
little bit different. My child is a 13 year old boy. Yes, I know sex
sells. But I truly wonder what does through his underdeveloped
adolescent brain when he reads something like: Let's Download
Something Naughty.

Kids at his age don't have the best judgment and while my son is the
teenaged equivalent of the Forty Year Old Virgin, there are waaaaaay
too many kids out there who are not. Let's face it - puberty has
something to it.

These type of in-your-face messages are unfortunately all too common.
Mostly because there are idiots out there who will purchase them
because they find them funny. But what's funny on an adult is not
necessarily funny on a kid.

I guess some adults don't have very good judgment either.

Sex sells....what a surprise.

I'm surprised you haven't written more companies, like Victoria's
Secret, and every other company that has copied "Pink"

The "Pink" wording is placed low on the butts of girls pants, sweats,
shorts, near....


I dont think its right, but you can't fight capitalism and the free
market.

They use the excuse that they're a "family store" when refusing to
sell certain CDs, DVDs, and such. But I guess it doesn't matter when
it comes to clothing.

You have a brain, now use it and say "Ya know, I dont agree with this
so I wont buy it" wow, how hard was that!

I guess I'm kind of surprised that WalMart would sell something so
controversial at all - after all, weren't they the ones who pulled all
the Tinky Winky dolls and action figures from the shelves because of
what he was "perceived" to stand for?

The saddest part is that they would even market such a slogan to teens
and tweens at all. I hate to blame the brain dead parents for simply
following the trend, but at the end of the day, the only one
responsible for raising my children is me. What I do and don't
condone shapes their values and moral code.

I have to wonder that despite WalMart selling these items (there must
be some incredibly lucrative incentive involved here for them to pimp
out children's wear like that!) have you considered sending this same
letter to the manufacturer? Bottom line, it was their rocket
scientists that came up with this concept - let them explain why they
thought it would be a "good idea."

I'm with you. Some of the clothing being marketed to kids nowadays is
more appropriately used for dust rage, if that!
My son is getting into preschooler sizes now and I went to one
ratailer (to whom I've been very loyal since I started working there
10 years ago!) and I saw t-shirts for boys that say things such as
"Parents For Sale: Buy One Get One Free" and others extolling the
virtues of a smart aleck attitude.
It will be a cold day in you-know-where when I let my 2 year old wear
something so disrespectful!
I must agree, though, that it's worse for girls. grade schoolers do
not need to be flaunting their bodies in such a suggestive way till
they are old enough to fully comprehend what it means. I would hope
that at that age, they're not!!

I agree. I just don't understand some of the slogans that are on
clothing sold to kids. Mostly girls, but I do have issues with boys
clothing, too.

On the other hand, it's up to parents to make decisions and to enforce
rules for their kids. If a parent wants their child to advertise that
they're downloading something naughty, that's the parent's problem.
If the parent finds this inappropriate, the parent should enforce this
with their kids.

I say this, in part, because of the AGE of the kids they sell this
stuff to. Any parent that buys this for the 8 year old is a moron,
plain and simple. (I've seen it, though). But it's the adult's right
to a moron, I guess. And, as much as child protection is a big issue
for me, I'm not convinced that there is a child endangerment issue
here, severe enough, to take kids away from a moron parent that thinks
"Future hooker" is appropriate for an 8 year old.

For a 16 year old, on the other hand, I see this being a different
issue. A 16 year old is still a child, in many ways, but most kids of
this age KNOW what this is about. I do think this is harmful if it's
combined with a lifestyle that matches. The LIFESTYLE is more an
issue than the slogan.

I agree with you on this. While I don't think they appear like
hookers just with words, I do know there are men out there who have
difficulty resisting women or young girls to the point of it being a
problem. Little girls are so naive and helpless. They won't know any
better. All these men have to do is see something suggestive and they
will go after it. If it's suggested, they may not think the shirt is
being worn just for fashion or to be cute but feel it's an open door
for invitation. It will be their excuse to blame the person wearing
it, or the parent who bought it. There are many alternate cute
sayings that can be put on a shirt that is fashionable and more
acceptable.

I agree completely, Melissa. And as for any parent who buys such
clothing for their kid, or allows their kid to wear such clothing,
they should be ashamed of themselves. When I was 14, I bought a
tshirt that said "I never liked flies until I opened one." I didn't
even GET it, but I knew that it was funny in some unknown-to-me adult
way. The minute my mom saw it, she confiscated it and cut it up for
the rag bag. She had every right to do it.

It's not just Wal*Mart that sells these things. I don't shop there but
I have seen similar shirts at Target and Kohl's. And I agree they are
highly inappropriate for the age group they are selling to.

They would probably stop marketing and selling these items if parents
would say NO to their kids and stop buying them. But because some
parents have a hard time doing that and because they want their child
dressed in the latest fashion trends they make more.

I would also like to point out that this is not just marketed for
young girls, it's boys as well. I refuse to purchase any of them for
my kids. Fashionable or not I refuse to let my kids' walk around
looking like they came fresh from the strip joint on a Friday night.

While I agree with you and I would never buy one for my 13yr old
stepdaughter, unfortunately there are a lot of brain dead parents who
will. Since they sell, the stores will carry them.

Saddest thing is the in club to be in in this country for braindead
parent's kids is "Future Hookers of America"

Any parent who buys these shirts for their daughters has no brain and
their child hopefully will overcome their parents lack of brains and
do well in their lives.

But these type of parents are the ones that want to be their child's
best friend not their parent.

Stupid parents. Stupid children.

When I see a girl in these I wonder "Let's see pregnant by 14 or 15?"

I really hate some of the clothes I see for children. I see young
girls wearing outfits that far more adult than I usually wear.

Yet, as many people before me has said before, it's really up to the
parents. These outfits can be bought at many stores, but who's doing
the buying? I never wore such clothing because my mother never bought
them for me. When I was in high school, these short dresses were all
the style. A friend of ours bought one for me. While she thanked our
friend, she told me that we were exchanging the dress. I was 15 or 16
at the time, but I respected my mother enough to do as she said.

These items shouldn't be marketed to children. However, perhaps we're
focused on the wrong people. If Wal-Mart did stop selling these, what
about the other stores? If the companies that makes this clothing are
making money, they aren't going to stop producing it. It's the
consumers who need to stop buying it. That's not really going to
happen because you can't convince everyone of your view. I guess it
all boils down to personal choices.

A lot of stores sell things like these. Do I agree with it? No. Would
I let my fictional child wear them? No. But WalMart has a right to try
and make profit off of parents who would.

It's your child, and your choice to buy something like that. You're
responsible for what they wear, not a clothing company.

http://planetfeedback.typepad.com/mommage/2007/08/choices-in-chil.html


Stop by and take a look, and let us know how you feel about this
matter.

I may take some heat for this, (I do find it distateful and not a big
deal), but honestly, we're talking about two shirts out of a broad
selection.

It all boils down to personal responsibility and freedom of choice. If
something offends me, I don't buy it. Neither do I tell others that my
opinion should affect their choice. A simple "No" on behalf of the
adult should suffice if a child says "Mom, I want THAT". No need to
explain why, the adult has the last word.

As far as "entice a child pornographer" goes, I doubt the choice of
clothes is even an issue with that type of crime. Does this imply the
victim desrves that fate? I'm sorry, I don't buy it.

And the hooker reference just made me laugh. I seriously doubt all
people in that profession dress that way. I've seen very intelligent,
well educated people make poor clothing choices, and I don't extend
their poor decision to apply to all people in that field.

Walmart isn't the only place that sells clothes like this. The sad
thing is.. these sayings on clothes ARE the "in" thing. There was
actually a "speak out" opinion in a little section of our newspaper
(called "speak out") under the teens section, headlined "If you've got
it, flaunt it!". It sickens me how teenage girls these days wear
such.. I'll just say the word... skanky clothes, thinking they have to
wear that to get attention. Although I do think the child pornographer
comment is going a bit too far.

Look around. This same stuff is selling everywhere. It is the "In"
Style right now. There are a loads of parents that want to keep there
kids in the latest fashion. They want there girls to wear what they
are wearing and don't see it wrong to drees little girls like they are
$2 hookers. I started noticing this a few years ago when I was
working in retail. I see it now all the time when I am in the Mall or
just driving around town. Girls that are 10-16 wearing things that
don't cover ANYTHING. Most if the time it is "Mom" that is buying the
clothes that the "Experts" say it is in fashion. Nothing will change
because it is EVERYWHERE in EVERY store. Give it time and the style
will change.

Things like this make me glad I have a boy.

Excellent article at this link:
http://www.etherzone.com/2005/berv020105.shtml
It goes into parental resonsibilites with regrad to this issue.

I agree with you %100.

Some of the clothes made for kids and preteens are disgusting.

You really hit the nail on the head.