I'm ok with two pieces (maybe like a tankini) but the line is at triangle tops.

omg i love this--esp. on little ones! my fave pics from when i was a baby are from my first summer in this itty bitty blue bikini--its hilarious! also, when potty training its SO MUCH easier to have a two piece on a little girl!

i have no probalem whatsoever with bikinis on little ones, i think it's cute! my daughter has worn them since she was a baby. i don't see what the big deal is!

I don't mind them. Actually my 2 year old rarely wears a suit at all. What's the point. My 8 year old wears both, but her dad definitely prefers her to wear a one piece now that she's getting older........I don't know when he'll think it's actually OK for her to wear a 2 piece!

I do LOVE the cute set that the little girl in the picture has on too! Anyone know where it's from?

Not for my kids.

Little bikinis are so adorable! As long as theyre not leopard print or something outrageous I dont see what the big deal is.

i like them on little babies my fiance will not allow my 8 year old daughter wear the ones that show the stomach, she has the ones that the top comes down to the bottom piece

There are little babies and kids. These are the best people to wear a bikni. They have nothing to hide.

I don't mind it to a certain age i think it's cute on little babies and todlers but i doubt BF will feel the same way.

I was always taught there was a difference between bikinis and two-pieces. Bikinis are meant to show cleavage, have lower rises and higher cuts, etc. But that just might be my family's weird way of thinking.

I am all for two pieces on girls. They won't find it sexual at all, its the adults that put the sexuality onto it. Now a bathing suit cut to look like an adult's bikini, I wouldn't do.

I think there's something patently wrong with sexualizing small children. There's nothing sexual about little girls in bathing suits, bikinis, butt naked, etc... Besides, I would never torture my two year old with a one piece that she has to wrestle with to take off just to pee!

I say no triangle tops but tank-like tops are fine. They seriously make some very tiny bathing suits for babies now that I think are a little silly. The two piece makes it easier to change or potty but that doesn't mean the top has to be scandalous! Pretty much if I would feel uncomfortable in it as a swimsuit cut, I am not going to put it on my kid.

I am totally with Jen here - if anyone sees sexuality in a baby wearing a bikini, something's wrong. I had a strawberry-print bikini when I was a wee one, and my mom says I loved it to pieces. Certainly nothing "sexy" about a round tummy and pudgy legs - just adorable!

i dont think it is the parents seeing a baby or a toddler in a two piece sexually, its protecting them from pedophiles that do see babies toddlers children in a sexual manner, at least that is mine and my fiances reasoning

It doesn't get cuter than babies in bikinis!

I don't see what the big deal is about bikinis.

i think they're adorable.... but i'm also the mom of a lil boy who has a pool & isnt going to the beach or public places... it's cute to me... but i think daddy's may have a more "protective" feeling about it. a personal choice i suppose

It'll never happen on my daughter as a tot. I have no specific age, but I doubt it'll be anytime before she's 32. Ok, so maybe sometime in the teens.

My reasoning isn't that I think it's sexualizing the child. I agree with pinkprincess that it protects them from others who see it as sexualizing, but that's still not my main reason. I just don't like it.

Tankinis, I'm all for.

Sexualizes?!?!?!?! What the F*@% is wrong with people? If this is the way that you think, you have serious issues!!! Parents have put their little ones in bikinis for decades, hell our ancestors wore only loin cloths, get over it and get a freakin' life!

There is photographic evidence of me as a baby circa 1968 wearing a (very modest)bikini.

Im all for bikinis on tots, I think its cute. No big deal for me.

I dont like the triangle bikini tops, but other two pieces are okay.

nothing wrong with a bikini on a baby, little girl, teenager, as long as it fits properly.

I prefer one pieces and tankinis on little ones (babies, toddlers, children).

It's not two-pieces I have a problem with. But, I don't little girls should be wearing bikinis. Not with little triangle tops and string sides. It's not that people are looking at children sexually. But I think it sexualizes young girls the same way the "Britney" style of clothing does. Little girls shouldn't be wearing teeny tiny clothes that are meant for adults. Bikinis are meant to show off a body. A little girl doesn't need to be showing off her body. Like I said, though, two-pieces are fine to me. My parents didn't allow me to wear a bikini-style swimsuit (i.e. string sides on the bottom, triangle top) until I was about 15 or 16.

I don't think bikinis sexualize a baby. I do think it's a little much on a girl who is just beginning to develop, say 13 or 14 years old.

No triangle tops, but yeah two pieces I'll probably allow. It would be much easier to have a two piece when trying to potty train or when they have just got the hang of it and have to rush to the bathroom... they don't need another thing impeding their ability to go to the bathroom when they need to go.

I'm not sure where I stand on this issue. Both sides have made some good points.

None of my children wear bikinis -- but I have four boys.

If my daughter had survived her miscarriage, we would not put her in a bikini. (Personal preference, modesty, and the like.) BUT, I have to say that bikinis on teeny little babies do not offend my sensibilities in any way.

I have a strong personal opinion that once a child is a few years old, they should be more covered in their clothing choices. But that's for each family to decide for themselves.

I have no idea what a triangle top bikini is.

I would not put my daughter in a bikini for a looong time.
Maybe, at the most, a cute tankini type thing, but that'd be it.

a nonny mouse,

this is a triangle top:
http://www2.victoriassecret.com/commerce/application/prodDisplay/?namesp...

this is an example of one that isn't:
http://www2.victoriassecret.com/commerce/application/prodDisplay/?namesp...

A bandeau top isn't the only type of top that isn't a triangle top, it is just a good comparison.

a nonny mouse,

i tried to post some links that show the difference between a triangle top and one that isn't... but it flagged me. So hopefully it will show up soon and you can see

i like the 2 pieces that have the t-shirt type style- keeps more sun off their little soft skin!

i remember as kid having to struggle with a wet, sand covered, one-piece when trying to pee- and then that icky feeling you have when you pull it back on? ugh

For the wee little ones it makes it easier to change a diaper or when they are potty training. I look for tops that provide fuller coverage on top, more like a tankini.

I don't think there's any reason to get so vicious, Evalicious.

Potty training/swim diaper changing is why I prefer a tankini to a one-piece. I just don't like the actual two pieces where the top doesn't meet the bottom.

wow I am so shocked to read that there is an issue with this. After I voted I expected to see the results heavy in the all for bikinis spot...but once again, I am out of touch with my fellow countryman. I suppose I am an "elitist SF liberal" (and proud of it!). I lived in Europe for years and spent many a day on the beach with the girls of all ages in just there bottoms. My daughter is only 9 months but this is how she goes to the pool and beach now too. I think it is adorable, not to mention much easier to deal with. My husband put the bikini top on her and it just ended up around her neck because we had to hold her the whole time.

It does really bother me that the only reason the story gives for not using a bikini is sexualizing, rather than understanding that some people simply don't like bikinis.

I don't think a bikini is any different than another kind of swimsuit. And, I wish I wore one more when I was lil as they are NOT flattering on me now!

Thanks kiki -- you're a champ! Those links were very helpful.

Regarding meandtheo's comment: I also do not have any problems with baby girls taking a dip shirtless. It doesn't bother me in the least.

I have an strong internal response to what seems inappropriate for school aged girls, according to my own sensibilities.

If I had a daughter, I would not be comfortable exposing her in a bikini at age nine, eleven, or the like. It's all a bit too revealing for a developing young woman's body (but that is just my opinion, for my own family).

I voted other. I think it depends on the suit. I'm pretty liberal in many of my views but I also don't believe in pushing girls to grow up too fast. I have a 6 year old and don't let her watch High School Musical lol. She hasn't ever asked and I probably would let her but I have problems with such young girls obsessing about it even if they don't get some of the 'older' topics. They will younger than you like if they keep watching. Anyway, on the bathing suits, I don't agree with the triangle ones or the string bikinis. What's the point for young girls? But a sensible bikini is fine and I think rather cute

I just think it's weird, not cute. It's like putting a bra on a baby. I understand a two-piece suit for convenience issues, but a baby in a bikini is just odd.

While I don't prefer it, I don't really have an issue with little little ones wearing one. (I am talking 1 and under) after that, I don't agree.. I noticed a 2 year old wearing one the other day, and it looked weird. She was playing with 2 other little boys, and it just really bothered me.. She looked way too mature for her age.

Just wanted to add that I am referring to triangle tops, or string bikinis.. NOT tankinis.

I have a daughter and I will put her in a bikini every summer until she tells me to do otherwise. My reason for doing so is this: My parents put me in a one piece my whole childhood. As I came into puberty and adulthood, I assumed I "couldn't" wear a bikini because I wasn't "thin enough" or worhty of wearing one. At 17 I was 5'3" and 115 lbs. That is not fat!!! Yet, I swear my body complex came from the fact that while others were donning bikinis, I was put in a one piece. As an adult, I realize this sounds really stupid. But you know how it is, you look back and can remember those subtle cues you read from others that caused you to make decisions about yourself. Anyway, at the age of 23 (at 109 lbs) I finally put a bikini on for the first time at a beach and kept myself covered the whole day. Now, as a 31 year old mother (NO LONGER 109 or 115 lbs, sigh...) I proudly sport my own "kini" (triangle-style, thank you very much) and will encourage my daughter to do the same. It's a fashion. Just like those stupid big stupid sunglasses are. As long as it's within reason, I will support my daughter in any trends that make her feel bautiful and proud of her body...WITHIN REASON!

That picture is adorable. If someone finds something sexy about it the problem is with them, not the bathing suit.

Babies look so adorable in bikinis!!!
I don't really see anything wrong w/ them at that age.

I prefer one-piece for toddlers, but I'm ok with tank tops or halterkinis for older girls.

So cute, I love those tiny bikinis, I was just telling my sister that I want to get one for my 5 month old and she gave me this lecture about the Sun and UV protection and told me to get a rash guard.

Honestly, on toddlers you might as well just let them run around in the bottoms. Most bikinis on children end up everywhere but where they are supposed to be. As for the triangles and strings, they tend to look ridiculous on anyone who doesn't have a chest (myself included). The whole point is sexuality. I tend to prefer tankinis or tank style two pieces for kids.

Where was the naked option? lol