Revealing Clothing on Children is a Trend that Must Stop

By Melanie Sanchez

Children every day are being taken and sold into sex trafficking rings. Hundreds upon thousands of children have been pronounced missing after being abducted. Many families have no idea or closure about what has happened to their children. Despite this scary reality, many parents still dress their little girls in clothing that would be seen on a teenager and that reveals the child’s body to the public.

Many children these days are seen in crop tops, belly shirts, sports bras, strapless shirts, low-cut shirts, short shorts, mini skirts, skinny jeans, tight leggings, and many more articles of revealing clothing. While some outfits are deemed as “cute,” how far is too far when it comes to this subject? A child does not need to wear revealing clothing to stay cool. They can wear a T-shirt made of light material and shorts that reach their knees. There is no excuse for a child to be in a crop top and shorts that do not even reach their fingertips. These revealing outfits make them an easier target for predators. They are showcasing their body to potential predators and drawing the gaze of many other dangerous people. Every 40 seconds, a child goes missing. It is estimated that 2,300 American children go missing every day. It has also been stated that about 460,000 children go missing every year. With statistics that high, parents should have an incentive to keep their young children safe and minimize the chances of their child being the next child that is taken. However, with children dressed provocatively, they are putting their children right in harm’s way, allowing them to become easier targets for child predators.

Parents who dress their children in provocative clothing fail to realize that they are a part of the problem. Many young parents are guilty of dressing their kids in this fashion. Many fast fashion websites, such as Shien, Amazon, and Temu, sell Mommy and Me outfits, which dress the child like the mother. These outfits are always too revealing for a child to be wearing, especially since these outfits are made for children who are still in toddlers’ clothing. There is no reason that a mother should be dressing their small child in clothes that expose most of their body. There is no excuse as to why a mother buys these clothes for young children. No child needs a shirt that barely covers their stomach. The first parents to shout “Save Our Children” are also the same parents who dress their children in outfits that make them the most susceptible to predators.

Clothing companies and social media fashion trends are also to blame for the rise of children wearing revealing clothing. They manufacture and make clothing that is trending on social media for children in order to make profits. Children do not need to be dressed like the latest TikTok sensation. These girls get famous for dancing in provocative clothing, which is not something small children should be looking up to. Trending clothes for teenagers do not need to be replicated for children under the age of 13. It creates negative outlooks for children and their bodies.

Dressing your children like this could also cause serious mental problems. Children who dress like this at a younger age tend to grow up too fast. This can cause them to be more promiscuous at a young age because the clothing they wear also makes them feel like a grown-up. This could lead to children not abstaining from sexual activities and possibly partaking in such activities with older individuals. They could also get into drugs, alcohol, and other harmful substances at a younger age as they have a false sense of being grown up. This could also lead to depression as the child matures because they realize they never got to be a child as they were trying to grow up too fast.

In conclusion, dressing children like they are teenagers is a terrible idea. It makes them an easy target for predators and ruins their mental health. There is no reason for a two-year-old to be dressed in short shorts. There is no excuse as to why a six-year-old should wear a crop top out in public. If we are trying to save our children, let us start by making them less of a target for the predators that live amongst us.

Melanie Sanchez is a high school junior in Spring Hill.