Mother asks if she’s overreacting as she questions appropriateness of Target dress for young girls

‘I completely agree. My daughter is 4 and is in a 6/7. Absolutely inappropriate,’ one fellow mom says

A mother’s concerns about a dress she found at Target has sparked a widespread debate over the appropriateness of the attire for young girls.

On 25 February, Meghan Mayer posted a video on TikTok of her shopping through the spring clothing collection at Target. The Detroit-based teacher questioned whether she was “overreacting” after she was left shocked by the style of one dress she found.

“My oldest daughter and I are at Target and there’s some cute spring stuff,” Mayer started. “I am a little bit more conservative when it comes to my kids’ clothes. So, maybe I’m overreacting, but let me know what you think of these dresses.”

Mayer flips the camera to reveal a rack full of pink and blue babydoll dresses with a gingham-like print. At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be anything unique about the clothing. However, Mayer then zoomed in to show her viewers the little cutouts on the sides of the garments.

“So, this is the kids’ section... for reference, these are kids’ sizes,” the parent proclaimed. “Look at these little slits on the sides of these dresses, right at the hips on all these dresses.”

Mayer’s original thought, before she noticed the cutouts, was that the dress would be perfect for her younger daughter on Easter.

“And then I see the little slit on the side,” she confessed. In her opinion, the open fabric might be appropriate for a 12-year-old to wear, but for a six-year-old or a seven-year-old, the style wasn’t suitable.

“Like I said I know I’m a little bit more conservative. I don’t usually even let my girls wear bikinis, but maybe I’m overreacting, I don’t know,” Mayer admitted. “Thoughts?”

Mayer’s video attracted 1.2 million views and over 16,100 comments. Fellow parents chimed in to share their opinions. Some agreed with her, while others refuted her thoughts.

“I completely agree. My daughter is four and is in a 6/7. Absolutely inappropriate,” one mother said, while another wrote: “You’re not overreacting. You’re parenting properly.”

A third remarked: “No, no. There is no reason for those holes to be there. They should have pockets! Not holes!”

“I think retailers are trying to mature our kids too fast. I agree with mom,” one woman proclaimed.

“I don’t think they are too revealing, but I do think the holes are ugly,” another TikTok user argued.

One mother who bought the dress for her daughters wrote: “Overreacting. Both my girls have the blue and white, you can’t even tell much, it’s not that big of a hole. The dresses are so cute.”

“Overreaction for sure. It’s super cute! Now if it was super short or low cut I would 100 per cent get where you’re coming from,” another individual noted.

The Independent has contacted Mayer and Target for comment.