BENDIGO retail stores have been accused of pushing adult concepts onto children too soon via some of the clothes they sell.
A quick visit to two of the city’s largest clothing retail stores uncovered a series of clothing that has been labelled as inappropriate.
In one store alone, the Bendigo Weekly found a tiny pink bikini and two bras, made for two year olds.
Another retail outlet prominently displayed tops with ‘Lock up your Daughters/Sons’ written on them.
A triple-0 sized t-shirt also had ‘I’m a tits man’ written on it.
The investigation was sparked after a parent commented she had seen a pair of young girls undies at a popular retail outlet with a dollar sign printed on the crutch.
Australian Childhood Foundation chief executive officer Joe Tucci said the clothes were symptomatic of a societal problem.
“The companies who are providing and marketing this stuff to children have it all wrong,” he said.
“They are not thinking of the consequences and impact these things have on kids.
“They are profiting at the expense of children’s development.”
Dr Tucci said messages used to sell such products were becoming worse.
“They are aware of it and they are using messages that are far beyond what the child understands,” he said.
“The outcome is they are pushing kids into an adult world and exposing them to adult concepts at a younger and younger age.”
Dr Tucci said the consequences of that could be devastating.
“As a result of these and other things kids are exposed to, we are making childhood a shorter and shorter period of time,” he said.
“I think that will have an impact on the behaviour and mental health of children over the next 10 years.”