ATLANTA — Should little girls wear padded push-up bikini tops and have baby dolls that mimic breast feeding? Those are the new products, meant for girls as young as 7 years old, creating a firestorm of controversy.
Abercrombie Kids recently started marketing a variety of padded push-up bikini tops to their youngest clientele who are typically between 7 and 14 year old. After receiving a backlash of negative media attention, the company quickly changed the description of the tops from "the push-up triangle" to "lightly lined triangle." The name changed, but the size of the pad in the top did not.
The other product raising eyebrows is the "Breast Milk Baby." Berjuan Toys has already made the doll available for children in Europe, but it recently hit store shelves in the United States.
For a little under $100 your little girl could start breast feeding training. Breast Milk Baby comes with a special halter top with sensors in the area of the nipple. When the doll is placed near the sensors, the doll looks and sounds like it is nursing. The doll will even cry if it is not burped.
"A little girl who plays with a Breast Milk Baby now will think breast-feeding is the normal way to feed a baby," said Dennis Lewis, a U.S spokesman for the company.
While the company says on their website the Breast Milk Baby lets girls express their love and affection in the most natural way, Lewis said the company has heard complaints from parents loud and clear.
"There have been people who have called us pedophiles. They've called us perverts. They've said we're endangering the innocence of little girls."
What do you think? Would you buy these products for your little girl?