Is 'kids active wear' a good thing?

River Island have a Children's clothing section which caters for babies, toddlers, children, and teenagers. The clothes they stock for young people are on-trend, and team well with their womenswear, which is perfect for mother and daughter.

There is a trend for young children to wear similar clothing to their parents, but does this mean that a 5-year-old girl should be wearing a crop top with a zip down the middle?

River Island have an active wear for children, and the size of this range starts at age 5–6 years. The range comprises of yoga pants with mesh detailing, hoodies, tracksuit bottoms, and crop tops.

A mum of three from Kent was asked if she would dress her little girl in the crop top in question, and she said, "No way! I don't think they are appropriate for any child! Why on earth is a zip needed there?

"Everything about that is wrong, the fabric, the zip, and the style!"

I also ran a poll on Twitter, and this was the response:

COLLECTING OPINIONS FOR AN ARTICLE IM WRITING...

Would you dress your 5-6 year old little girl in a crop top with a zip down the front?

Feel free to share your opinions with me 😊

— Mollie Munro Quirk (@molliequirk97) February 27, 2019

I do think that a cropped top with a zip on the front is rather weird and makes me question the stylist. I can't imagine anyone wanting their child to wear that as it seems crazy and wrong. I do however, think children should be open to wearing what they like as long as it's ok.

— Cat (@abitofcat) February 27, 2019

I approached the River Island and asked them about this range. I expressed my views on the range being 'too revealing' and my fears that encouraging five-years-olds to go to the gym could impact their mental health and their view on their own body. This is the statement they released to me:

"We feel like kids should be able to wear whatever they like to wear and whatever they feel cute in without appearing too grown up.

"Younger girls especially wear clothes they like and they see on their older sisters or mothers and we are trying to make this possible.

"Regarding promoting self insecurities, we feel like we are promoting the opposite with this clothing range. On one hand we would like to promote sports and a healthy lifestyle and active wear super trendy. A lot of (especially young) people wear active wear throughout their day and to lounge in, since it is so comfortable."