Children's bras

I think the main reason the children's bras are padded are for the same reasons that adult bras, making those shapes that look like breast plates with just one piece of fabric stretched over them is much cheaper than making a properly shaped bra, with its many different sized fabric pieces.

DGD, aged 12, and quie well formed already, just wears those simple cotton bras that look like a short crop top. and rely on stretch for fit.

My 14 year old daughter is in a GG cup already and would never have been in these pre teen sizes.
I have to say she prefers a lightly padded bra to hide nipples and that has always been the case.
If ONLY I could buy her a £12 M&S bra! I’m forking out upwards of £30 for her bras - and sports bras can be double that! ?‍♀️

I agree. They should not sell padded childrens bras. Totally unacceptable. As are any clothes (usually for girls) that make a child seem like an adult

These bras are a mini adaptation of adults bras, including straps to hitch the 'breasts' up. I still feel it's a rather creepy concept.

I was a late developer, so when I got my Berlie (?) I think it was 28aa bra at age 14 I would have loved it to be padded! I got a blue and white checked one and a mauve and white checked one in some sort of stiff nylon.
On the other hand it must be comforting to developing girls to be able to cover their sore protruding nipples with abit of soft padding as they grow into breasts, in private!

Boys have nipples too.

NotSpaghetti I'd forgotten that! I knew there was a controversy.

Is the grammar school co-ed Coolgran?
Surely the changing rooms are separate?

The very title made my blood run cold. The sexualisation of children is bad when pornographers do it but that children be made sexual objects in ordinary shops is appalling.

I needed a bra at 11. I certainly never needed to pad it out!
I agree that girls are scared their nipples will show through a shirt so I see no problem with bras for pre- teens if they are anxious.

Crop tops for girls with developing breasts are absolutely fine - just because they weren't around for us. Times change, and if a cropped top helps the self-esteem of a 12-year old with a little more than a flat chest, then there's no problem. In fact, its's a responsible action, as it begins to instil some ideas of modesty. One minute we're complaining about teens showing all, and the next about them preparing themselves mentally. As for the padded issue - most bras in most stores are made in the Far East where females are smaller than in the West, and where breasts are not as big as most females would wish (as a result of looking at us fatter people in the West). A walk around any Hong Kong department store or market will reveal that bras without padding are not found. So we have a culture change coming in here as a result of mass production in a country many thousands of miles away. Personally, I hate padded bras, as in fact they provide an impression of a maturity not possessed by the young wearer and can bring unwanted attention. But cropped tops are absolutely fine in my view until a bra becomes necessary to properly support the growing tissue.

I would have been delighted to find a 28AA when I was 13 and had started growing. I was always absolutely tiny back then and it was hard to find anything less than 32A.

I don’t think tiny bras of any sort, are needed or appropriate. Its just another way to make money I’m sure, and another way to erode childhood.

Was all set to be annoyed at the idea of padded bras for youngsters until some of you explained about the nipple embarrassment.

Sometimes a young girl is embarrassed by the thought her nipples might show through her clothes as they develop, and often they are quite sensitive and sore. Mine were. A padded bra can help with these worries.

I too remember stuffing toilet roll in my bra! My younger sister was much more well endowed and needed a bra but of course being the eldest I couldn’t be left behind!
Got the last laugh though, my sister hates her bust to this day whereas mine doesn’t bother me!

gagsville

When I was 11 my Mum bought me my first 28AA un-padded bra. I stuffed a load of toilet roll in the cups to make my boobs look bigger. My brother said in a load voice at the breakfast table "why has Frankie got toilet paper stuffed down her shirt?" I was mortified. By the time I was 14 I was a size 36c and would give anything to have small boobs (and still would)

Really? 36C would be my dream size - I think it’s the perfect bust.

My daughter shares my opinion that my 8 (almost 9) yr old gd doesn't need a crop top or padded bra despite her protestations she does!!
When she is ready she will get a non padded bra befitting the child she is, not the teenager she wants to be......

The same reason that DD+ bras are often padded - nipples!

Yes, Callistemon - but they were bra-tops with adjustable bra type straps for 6-8 year olds!

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7718560/MandS-apologises-for-selling-bra-tops-to-girls-aged-six.html

When I was 11 my Mum bought me my first 28AA un-padded bra. I stuffed a load of toilet roll in the cups to make my boobs look bigger. My brother said in a load voice at the breakfast table "why has Frankie got toilet paper stuffed down her shirt?" I was mortified. By the time I was 14 I was a size 36c and would give anything to have small boobs (and still would).

Weren't there some complaints years ago when M&S and other stores started stocking these 'bras' for children?

Parents said that they were sexualising young girls and I think M&S stopped selling them.

I was always behind hand in needing a bra as I was flat as a pancake. Remember in the first year at grammar school another girl who really needed a bra said her mother felt you should learn to support your own muscles!!!
I ended up wearing one of my older sister’s outgrown bras, didn’t fit at all but felt one of the crowd.
Glad that my two grand daughters have mums who are more switched on than my own dear mum.
BTW, even though I have never been well endowed, never felt the need to wear a padded bra.

My dh is near!y 12 and just started grammar school thus experiencing communal changing etc. She doesn't need any support but does wear a little crop vest top. It makes her feel more comfortable and less exposed. Important also at that age not to feel different or be seen as different.

No it’s not sad, that is the explanation we are reading into it they are not worn to fill them out they are worn because the girls are embarrassed at their nips showing through, which they can do with thin bras most kids will be wearing a bra by 10/11 I certainly was by 11

The little 'fake' sports bras are quite good at that age. Nice and comfy and nothing on view

when girls are changing for PE etc, if they are slower or faster than average to develop they are extremely self-conscious. I’d think virtually all girls age 10/11 would have one simply to fit in. If you can think back to your own “gym” days I expect you wanted to appear to be “normal”, well it’s almost certainly the same now.
As others say, light padding will conceal nipples!