I never wore anything on top until I developed. Then suddenly I was 10 and can remember boys being like "Why are you wearing a top- you didn't used to!-Hey, you grew boobs!" and how shy I felt about that when I was clearly a C cup all of a sudden.

Now living in the US, I have no idea why it's the standard here, but it is, so we follow it when we are out in the US, but not when we are at home. Plus, public is different- you never want to unknowingly provide photo-ops for pedophiles. Though I never felt unwanted attention until I developed...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't have an issue with the butt display but I'm now appalled a parent would let their kid get that tanned. I'm in my 50s and sun damage has caught up with me. My kids are teenagers and I constantly harp to my kids about using sunscreen to avoid getting tanned.

Some kids just get tan, even with tons of sunscreen. My daughter and I can go outside slathered in SPF60, reapply every hour, and still tan.

I'm actually worried about this. My kids are getting really dark. I lived up north as a kid. This southern sun is very powerful no matter how much sunblock we use. They wear hats and rash guards until they take them off at camp. Their legs, though. What do I do?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The one with the toddler having her swimsuit pulled down revealing a white rear end against tan skin? I always thought the ad was really cute, but would the general public react that way if the ad were coming out now?

no because we now know the perils of too much sun.

How do people get this far off topic? The premise of this question wasn’t about the public’s current attitude about letting a toddler get tan, but the public’s attitude towards seeing an ad showing a toddler’s naked rear end.

This was the OP:
Could the coppertone baby ad be made today? The one with the toddler having her swimsuit pulled down revealing a white rear end against tan skin? I always thought the ad was really cute, but would the general public react that way if the ad were coming out now?

There's nothing in it that indicating discussion should be limited to seeing a toddler's naked rear end. It was an open ended question and, based on posts, people have few problems with toddler tush than they do with toddler tanning.

Anonymous wrote:Wait, I let my 7yo go topless all the time with swim bottoms on. Some how a bikini tops seem worse to me. Are you all suggesting this isn't ok? My sons do it, why not her as well. They have the exact same chest.

At a public beach or pool? I wouldn’t let my kids do it, but wouldn’t complain about your kids. Why aren’t all your kids wearing rash guards? I don’t let my sons be topless because of sun damage and selfishly it’s less for me to sunscreen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, I let my 7yo go topless all the time with swim bottoms on. Some how a bikini tops seem worse to me. Are you all suggesting this isn't ok? My sons do it, why not her as well. They have the exact same chest.

In public? Of course it’s not OK.

Why isn’t this okay? Country girl here. I ran around topless in the summer. No one batted an eye.

It's not ok because at public pools in the US we follow general standards and norms. Girls who aren't toddlers wear bathing suit tops. That is all.

First pp, your 7 year old will get other kids staring at her and making comments and asking her questions. To pretend you don't know typical US societal norms will cause your child to be picked in for no good reason.

Anonymous wrote:Wow, political correctness sure has taken over everything these days.

I honestly thought the ad was adorable and truthfully NEVER noticed how certain things could be offensive to some.

Offensive? No. It's outdated but not because we're offended. It's outdated because we now know tan skin is bad for us. Also because (hopefully) we now know that displaying a child's bare butt in advertising materials and products is tacky and tone deaf.

No way could the ad be made today.

I grew up in Eastern Europe in the 80s/90s and did not wear a swim top until I started getting breast buds. That was the norm then and based on kid pics my friends from back home post, it's still the norm there now. Many babies are completely naked at the beaches.

I don't do it here because of judgment from other parents. I find it silly and puritanical (covering up the spot where potential future breasts will emerge many years from now... how shocking!) but we belong to the neighborhood pool,my kids are or will be going to school with a lot of these kids, and I don't want to stand out and invite gossip.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Toddler girl topless.

Toddler girl without hat and sunglasses.

Severely tanned or sunburned.

Off leash dog pulling at her swimsuit bottom.

No tags on dog. Stray or unregistered dog.

Unsupervised little girl on the beach.

So many things wrong with this drawing.

- pretend social justice warrior with an ax to grind

This is another thing that has changed. My mother says she used to play in the front yard topless, until about the age of five. This was in the early 50's.

My friend married into a family where her FiL is from Spain. Immigrated here 40+ years ago.
The family in Spain, and their family exchange visits often. Visiting Spain, or the Spanish family visits the US.

My friend has little little kids, and said they were going to the splash pad. The older intl kids wanted to go along. One is 11. They arrived at the splash pad the 11 had not brought a swim top.

My friend explained to her hat not wearing a top wouldn’t work here in the US. I have met his girl, and she is just a little kid. But yeah, no. If it were a 4yo, maybe people at the park could somewhat be OK with a cultural diff, but not that old.

Anyway, US culture has changed. No the coppertone girl couldn’t happen today. But we don’t need to act like it was super wrong or something back then.

Anonymous wrote:Wait, I let my 7yo go topless all the time with swim bottoms on. Some how a bikini tops seem worse to me. Are you all suggesting this isn't ok? My sons do it, why not her as well. They have the exact same chest.

It’s okay and I’ve seen girls with bottoms only on. Personally, my son and daughter both do the opposite and wear rash guards. I like them to limit sun exposure and this is the easiest way. Neither like sunscreen and don’t mind the shirts. Even though I limit sin exposure that old Coppertone ad is adorable. It couldn’t be a serious advertisement today unless it was - Don’t let your baby be this child.

Anonymous wrote:I don't have an issue with the butt display but I'm now appalled a parent would let their kid get that tanned. I'm in my 50s and sun damage has caught up with me. My kids are teenagers and I constantly harp to my kids about using sunscreen to avoid getting tanned.

Some kids just get tan, even with tons of sunscreen. My daughter and I can go outside slathered in SPF60, reapply every hour, and still tan.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The one with the toddler having her swimsuit pulled down revealing a white rear end against tan skin? I always thought the ad was really cute, but would the general public react that way if the ad were coming out now?

no because we now know the perils of too much sun.

How do people get this far off topic? The premise of this question wasn’t about the public’s current attitude about letting a toddler get tan, but the public’s attitude towards seeing an ad showing a toddler’s naked rear end.

Perception of child public "nudity" has changed, too. I know from photos that I ran around in my yard and visited public beaches "topless" in the early 70s as a toddler until I was about 6. The copper tone ad little girl is of the era when little girls would swim and play in little sun suits (shorts overalls without a top under) or just swim bottoms or underpants.

I'd be surprised to see this now and maybe a bit concerned. Mom of 2 teen girls and can't recall having them "topless" so yes this gets back to sun exposure and sun damage and societal mores.

My cousin just posted her DDs (4 and 7) European vacation pics. Girls are in shorts only on a boat.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The one with the toddler having her swimsuit pulled down revealing a white rear end against tan skin? I always thought the ad was really cute, but would the general public react that way if the ad were coming out now?

no because we now know the perils of too much sun.

How do people get this far off topic? The premise of this question wasn’t about the public’s current attitude about letting a toddler get tan, but the public’s attitude towards seeing an ad showing a toddler’s naked rear end.

Anonymous wrote:I don't have an issue with the butt display but I'm now appalled a parent would let their kid get that tanned. I'm in my 50s and sun damage has caught up with me. My kids are teenagers and I constantly harp to my kids about using sunscreen to avoid getting tanned.

I put sunblock on my kids and they still get really dark. They only way they would not tan is if I were to be 100% covered in clothing. They never burn but they get really dark. If they go outside on the first days of summer even for 30 min at recess without sunblock they get tan. Some people just tan.

Anonymous wrote:Consider that circa 1953-1980s, a tan was considered healthy.

My big sister was a preemie born in 1967. Once released from the hospital (at 5 pounds), Mum was told to make certain the baby had lots of sun exposure to prevent jaundice and help with growth. We lived in Alabama. Sister's baby book is filled with photos of bald, blue eyed, fair skinned naked baby "sunbathing."

Um, that's still the protocol for babies born with high bilirubin levels. I mean, only for a few weeks, but if the baby is kept in the hospital they would just be put under UV lights there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, I let my 7yo go topless all the time with swim bottoms on. Some how a bikini tops seem worse to me. Are you all suggesting this isn't ok? My sons do it, why not her as well. They have the exact same chest.

In public? Of course it’s not OK.

Why isn’t this okay? Country girl here. I ran around topless in the summer. No one batted an eye.