A TIKTOK influencer has suffered an epic fail after her rant about ”inappropriate swimwear” for kids backfired.
Mum Kristina Battaglia sparked backlash after dubbing the cup inserts on her eight-year-old’s bathing suit ”inappropriate”.
The parent has since taken to TikTok to publicly apologise for the video which saw her brand the soft cups ”unnecessary and provocative”.
Although the video appears to have been taken down, it’s sparked huge fury amongst social media users and fellow parents who shared their own versions of what the inserts are for.
One such critic, only known as The Asian Duo, said: ”Those pads are not there to convey any inappropriate meaning or hidden messages at all.
”They’re there for an added layer of protection.”
In her video, the woman explained that some kids develop earlier than others and these insert cups help those who hit puberty before their peers.
”These swimsuits are very thin, and if you wear a very light colored material…
”Things will poke out, and obviously, that’s not appropriate,” the woman said in the clip, which has racked up over a staggering 15million views.
The critic uploaded their response on the platform just a day after the concerned influencer issued an apology for the original video where she called out the tops.
The mum, who did not specify where she had bought the swimming garments, labelled the initial clip a ”mistake” and claimed she made the video after her eight-year-old allegedly asked about the inserts.
At first, Kristina assumed that the soft paddings were there to ”hoist up” the girl’s breasts, immediately deeming them ”unnecessary and provocative”.
In the follow-up video, the mother apologised for the controversy, saying: ”I got my a** handed to me and redirected into the purpose of them, and I feel horrible that I implied otherwise.
”I heartful apologise, especially to any mothers.”
Kristina, who was happy to see that some of the response videos ere educational, said she’d ”learned her lesson”.
Although the majority of girls enter puberty when they’re 8 to 13, in some cases females can begin to go hit the development stage aged seven or younger, depending on genetics.
Experts have revealed some of their top advice for both adults and kids heading to the water this summer:
How to stay safe at the beach
Gareth Morrison, Head of Water Safety at the RNLI said: “If you find yourself being swept out to sea in a rip, try to relax and float until you are free from the rip and you can then swim to safety.
“If you see someone else in danger, alert a lifeguard or call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.”
How to stay safe at the swimming pool
Tiny Hearts Education, former paramedic and CEO Nikki Jurcutz said: “Always put your little one in bright or contrasting colours that would be easy to find in an emergency.
“It only takes 20 seconds to drown, little tips like this could save a life”.
An Auqabliss spokesperson added: “Swimming toys such as noodles, dive rings, floaties and beach balls can be dangerous if left in the pool.
“Children may try to grab these from the pool’s edge and fall in.”
How to stay safe at a waterpark
Ali Beckman, Puddle Ducks Technical Director, said: “Never send a child down the slide on their own, not only are they going to be entering the slide pool area independently, they then have to exit the pool and wait for an adult.
“And wave pools should be avoided until your child is really confident with water going over their faces and you know they are able to regain their feet independently.
“Waterparks are often very busy places and it’s easy to lose sight of a child in a split second.”
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, one of the first signs of puberty for girls is breast development or breast-budding.
While many praised Kristina for taking ”accountability”, others were quick to criticise her conservative stance.
One wrote: ”They’ve circled around to complaining about actual modesty features in swimsuits.”
Someone else wrote: ”I had a C cup by 9. My mum also developed early. I needed padding but couldn’t find it in a bathing suit small enough. This would’ve been amazing for me.”
Another chimed in: ”My sister and I hit puberty at eight and 9-years-old. I wish this existed when I was a child because men, boys, and girls were quick to point out my nipples and could be seen through my bathing suit – I was a child.”
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