From ABCs to DDs: Padded bras for 7-year-olds?

They sure do grow up fast across the pond. First, it was the pole dancing kit for kids that was removed from the shelves after parents complained. Now European supermarket behemoth Tesco has to answer for a padded bra geared to the 7- and 8-year-old demo. Um, when did 7-year-olds start needing support anyway? The bra itself is padded and designed in a low-cut shape for girls who prefer plunging necklines -- again, sadly inappropriate. (This shot from "Taxi Driver" -- with Jodie Foster playing a teen prostitute -- suddenly seems prescient.) The Telegraph reports that a Tesco official said: "It is a product designed for girls at that self-conscious age when they are just developing." Developing what? A taste for cleavage and lascivious stares from perverts?

Photo: Columbia TriStar

Comments

[Angela]

I was surprised when my 9 year old niece visited a few weeks ago and was wearing a bra. Her mother, who is usually pretty conservative about letting her daughter grow up too fast, said that the girls at school all wear them and she was the only one who didn't. It wasn't for support and they were pastel stripes and polka dots. Still, seems very grown up to me but my mom didn't let me get my ears pierced until I was 12 and I only got to wear light pink lip gloss between then and high school.

[rob]

A few years ago I saw thong underwear for 8-year olds right at the front door. What adult male is going to see these worn - her FATHER! Now who is the pedophile!

[anoan]

In the Great Crash 2.0, children will have to work to help support their families.