Teen bras are rarely designed for girls. Many products are 'sized down' from women's bras, which means they don't have the structure and support teen girls need. This is one of the most common reasons Moms tell us they've struggled to help their daughters find a bra they love, and something we can help fix!
While we’ve often spoken about why cheap training bras can cost you more in the long run, a low-quality and poorly fitting bra can also irritate skin and contribute to chest pain. We've compiled the five problems we frequently encounter to share some insights into why your daughter might be complaining about her bra or feel reluctant to wear one at all.
1. Your Teen’s Bra Isn’t Supportive and Is Causing Pain
Insufficient support, especially when girls’ bodies are developing, can lead to pain and soreness because an unstructured training bra doesn't protect against friction and movement. This is far from uncommon, and if we consider what pediatric research says about breast health during puberty, there is solid evidence that low support is an issue that affects a huge number of teens.
Researchers found that, when studying girls and women right from age eleven to sixty-four, 27.4% have experienced issues with bra support that have affected their ability to participate in activities.
2. The Straps on Your Daughter's Bra Are Too Loose or Too Tight
We’ve all tried on a bra to find the straps cut into our shoulders or fall to the side, which negates the benefits of wearing a quality bra. This can cause rubbing and blisters on our shoulders, or having to continually pull the straps back up!
Many training bras are made from one-size fabric and don't have adjustable straps and variable clasps, which teens need to customize their bra to fit their exact body shape.
3. The Bra Has Underwire or Fixed Padding
Underwire and padding in women’s bras are there for extra lift, and they’re unnecessary for teens and widely seen as inappropriate for girls. These features can also cause discomfort, as they cannot stretch to fit your daughter's skin, leading to constricted movement.
4. Your Daughter’s Bra Has a Stiff Elastic Band Around the Ribs
To compensate for thinner fabrics, some manufacturers rely on thick bands of elastic, which run along the base of the bra. They replicate the structure of a sports bra, but can't be loosened or adjusted, which can mean constant pressure on the ribs.
In a worst-case scenario, this compression can make it hard to take a deep breath and much harder to be active or join in with sports.
5. The Sizing of Your Teen’s Bra Is Incorrect
Our fifth reason your daughter might hate her bra is also the most prevalent problem, as a separate project on female health and poor bra fit revealed that nearly half, or 49%, of participants couldn't say they had a bra that fit them perfectly.
The clothing world often relies on generic sizes that don't account for the millions of body shapes and heights out there, which means buying a bra in an age-range size, or based on a standard clothes size, has about a 50/50 chance of being correct!
We'd always recommend parents consider buying a premium quality bra created specifically for teens. With a balance of support, adjustability, and comfy organic fabrics, once you try a Yellowberry bra, you may find your daughter's concerns become an annoyance of the past.
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