Strapless Dress for 5Th Grader

I have an 11 year old and 5th grade is a CRAZY time. Lots of growth, but struggling to let go of childhood things. My daughter loves Josh Hutcherson, but still wants to play barbies in her room privately. Strapless dress...no way. I have seen it in the stores though. Doesn't mean I am going to allow my child to wear it. There is way too much sexuallizing of children these days. This year, in her 5th grade class, they had a big problem of sexting. I am a "friend" of some of her friends on FB and the things that they post! She is not allowed to have a FB account. We just had this discussion recently, where kids her age want to act more grown up, but do not have the reasoning ability to emotionally handle what those "grown up" behaviors mean. Fortunately, my daughter is very modest....almost too much. She doesn't even like to wear a spaghetti strap tank top...her preference.

Hi K.
I 'm not comfortable with young girls dressing older than their years.
It brings a sensuality aspect where it has no place.The young children are innocent to this.
Parents should take responsibility to protect and not expose them to the world unnecessarily.
B. k

I think that even if it IS the norm, it doesn't need to be your child's norm. I would not allow my 10/11 yr old to wear a strapless dress, let alone one to her graduation. When my SD graduated 8th grade some of the dresses were way over the top for 13 yr old girls. Some of these kids are trying to grow up way too fast and their parents are letting them.

I have boys too but I think it's crazy to put a girl that age in a strapless cocktail dress!!!

They make gravity defying dress tops now?!

I was 19 and a full D cup and had a heck of a time keeping the top up of my banquet gown up and that had straps! I can't imagine how they managed to keep their tops up. Double sided tape?

Even if it is fashion standard it doesn't mean it has to be your standard and since you have boys, not really an issue. Personally, I would think it inappropriate.

I have a 10yr old girl and will NEVER allow her to wear a strapless dress at such a young age. I also have a 16 yr old step daughter (lives with her mom in another state) and when she comes to visit us...I just want to cover her up. She wears strapless dresses and her shorts are too short in my opinion. It is our jobs as parents...especially mothers to teach our daughter modesty. They can be modest and still dress very trendy and with the times.

Sorry...I'll hop off my soap box now...lol! ;)

I don't know...and since my daughter is 7, I'm not even going to try to answer this yet. But she is not allowed to have/wear anything that shows her belly or her back.

And boy did I have a fit when her A. sent her a "halter top" (the kind that ties around the neck but goes to mid back! That sucker disappeared...

Personally I don't see the big deal about strapless. UNLESS it is low cut and showing cleavage (do 11 year old have cleavage?) I mean all that it is exposing is their shoulders.

My daughter is going to be in 5th grade.
Even in 4th grade, some of the girls were wearing, those strapless tops.
Or backless tops. Or short shorts.
My daughter does not.
She doesn't like it.
She is modest and still a kid.
But some girls this age, like to dress as a Teen.

I wouldn't put my daughter in a strapless "cocktail" dress.
But my daughter wouldn't want to be in one, anyway.

It may be a regional thing/fashion/what girls were there, kind of thing.

K.,

I do not think it is ok. In fact, I think it is sad !

I did not let my daughter wear a strapless dress in Gr. 5. I would have never let her wear a short dress (either) in Gr. 5. All of her dresses that year were below the knee.

I would not allow it personally, but many people do, many people allow their girls to wear them. I will be honest that many of the avail dresses are strapless, so it is what it is.

Not in my home. My granddaughter has more formals than the average girl. I work in a clothing store inside a dance studio and gymnastics business. We sell girls formals at somewhat good prices. When one goes on sale I try to think ahead to see if it's something we might use for a daddy daughter dance or just to church.

The owner of the business will get clothes I don't always think are the most modest but she would not put kids in strapless.

this is nuts and no not the norm. unless it is one of those sundresses with the stretchy gathered elastic top and even that is really not appropriate for that age. no way would I allow my granddaughter out of the house in it and she is a 4th grader

Strapless doesn't necessarily mean inappropriate. As long as it's not too tight, too short and it fits well across the top (meaning that it's not sliding down) then I wouldn't have a problem with it.
Someone posted a question not too long ago about girls wearing shorter dresses to their prom, and how she thought the school should require longer ones. But I have seem some SKANKY long prom dresses (cut out sides, backs cut down to the rear) that I would never want my daughter to wear.
So yes, these dresses are out there and quite popular right now. Hopefully the girls you saw were wearing ones that are tasteful and provide a level of age appropriate modesty.

Strapless and short? Yep, that is indeed a cocktail dress as you put it.

The fact that such a dress even exists in a size wearable by a fifth grade child is perfect evidence that clothing firms are marketing adult-style clothing to children. And that sexualizes them too soon. The girls themselves may not see it as sexualizing them, but it does, just as super-short shorts cut to show backside do, and just as t-shirts with "Juicy" and worse scrawled over the breasts do (and shorts with the same crud scrawled over the backside). Yep, this was a "nice, dressy" dress and not Juicy shorts. But it's the same message in a different package: Show skin so the boys'll think you're cool and the other girls will too.

Just because the dress exists and an 11-year-old girl WANTS it is no reason why she should get what she wants. The mom could have exercised a good old fashioned "No."

5th grade is generally the beginning of puberty. Girls start wanting to dress like ladies.

its for the graduation seremony not everyday wearing. it will probably be used in special occaisions. shoot you should see things girls wear to prom! i dont see an issue with it as long as its in good taste.