Vault: Little girl's Halloween costumes are too inappropriate.

Summary

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The Bert Show – "Vault: Little girl's Halloween costumes are too inappropriate."

Date: May 8, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of The Bert Show dives into a lively, sometimes heated conversation about the increasing inappropriateness of Halloween costumes marketed for young girls. The hosts, along with callers, share personal stories and opinions on where the line should be drawn when it comes to children's costumes, expressing shock and concern at revealing or adult-themed options. The discussion covers specific examples they've encountered, how parents navigate costume choices, and broader cultural trends that lead to these situations.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Experiences with Inappropriate Costumes

Timestamps: 01:28–03:17

• Host Carl introduces the topic after seeing multiple concerning costumes during trick-or-treating, including a "three-year-old cheerleader" and a "four or five-year-old witch" whose attire was "just a little bit too high on the booty."

  • "The dresses were just a little bit too high on the booty... And the fishnet stockings and stuff for a five year old." (Carl, 01:39)

• Jamie shares dealing with his own daughter's costume selection, where his 8-year-old wanted a "punk rock" look, but the options presented were too skimpy.

  • "It was a— it had tights... may have come up to right below the crotch area... and the belly button was showing. So I said, no, baby, you can’t have that." (Jamie, 02:31–02:49)

• He also discusses the disappointment and negotiation that resulted in a more age-appropriate Supergirl outfit, illustrating ongoing challenges parents face.

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2. Parental Dilemmas and Boundaries

Timestamps: 03:17–04:13

• Jamie finds himself as the enforcing parent, saying there was no compromise when it came to revealing costumes.

  • "You can be mad at me for the rest of your life." (Carl, 03:06)

• The hosts discuss how young children might not initially understand the implications of what they are wearing, but as they grow, they begin to pick up on the attention these costumes generate.

  • "Because they don’t know any better. But at 8, she's starting to sort of pick up all that stuff and kind of understand... she's gonna get attention for that kind of an outfit." (Shira, 03:52)

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3. Extreme Examples from Callers and Listeners

Timestamps: 04:13–06:41

• Melissa calls in to describe an 8- or 9-year-old girl in Walmart in a vampire costume with a skirt so short "you could see the bottom of her butt cheek."

  • "Are you aware that you can see your daughter’s butt cheeks?" (Melissa, 07:30)

• Another caller, Melissa, recalls seeing an "eight year old Playboy bunny" at a church fall festival. The costume included "stuffed bra," "big old boobs," fishnet stockings, and Playboy bunny ears—shocking both the hosts and listeners.

  • "Her bra was stuffed. She had big old boobs. She was wearing these wide fishnet stockings and the Playboy Bunny ears. It was awful." (Caller Melissa, 06:05)

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4. The Costume Industry and Cultural Trends

Timestamps: 06:41–07:46

• Parents express difficulty finding age-appropriate costumes, as many marketed options are revealing by design—even for young children as young as five.

• One parent recounts buying a Wonder Woman costume for her five-year-old only to find out on Halloween night that it was too short, requiring last-minute additions of shorts and tights.

  • "So I had to put on shorts... she went out looking like a little girl in shorts and pants and tights with high boots that had on a Wonder Woman skirt that didn’t look like Wonder Woman." (Melissa, 07:17)

• Hosts acknowledge that these early costume choices can shape future behavior and attitudes, especially as children become teens.

  • "What do you expect them to do when they’re 16, 17, and 18?" (Jamie, 07:42)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jamie (on parent roles):
  "I don’t care. You can be mad at me for the rest of your life." (03:05)

• Shira (on awareness):
  "At 8, she’s starting to kind of understand what all that things that she’s gonna get attention for... "(03:52)

• Melissa (after confronting a parent):
  "Are you aware that you can see your daughter’s butt cheeks?" (07:30)

• Caller Melissa (on extreme costumes):
  "Her bra was stuffed. She had big old boobs... at a church festival." (06:05, 06:19)

• Jamie (on slippery slope):
  "Next thing you know, sliding down poles. Not in that house. Not in my house." (04:01)

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Important Segment Timestamps

| Segment | Description | Timestamp | |----------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------| | Personal parenting stories | Carl & Jamie share their own dilemmas | 01:28–03:17 | | Philosophy on boundaries | Parental roles, attention, and negotiation | 03:17–04:13 | | Callers' extreme stories | Over-the-top costumes witnessed in public | 04:13–06:41 | | Costume industry issues | Trouble with finding age-appropriate options | 06:41–07:46 |

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Tone and Style

The conversation is authentic, lively, and at times comedic, but there is a persistent tone of frustration and genuine concern. The panel doesn’t shy away from expressing shock and disbelief, often punctuating points with humor to lighten the mood. Callers' stories highlight just how widespread the issue is, adding a sense of urgency to the problem.

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Summary

This episode of The Bert Show puts a spotlight on the ongoing debate surrounding Halloween costumes for young girls. Parents and hosts alike recall real-life examples of inappropriately revealing costumes, reflecting a larger issue within both the costume industry and cultural trends. Amid laughter and relatable anecdotes, the hosts stress the importance of parental boundaries and challenge the normalization of sexualized costumes for children, urging vigilance and responsibility in guiding kids' choices. It’s a conversation many parents will recognize as all too real, blending humor, shock, and a bit of exasperation without losing sight of the underlying seriousness of the topic.

Transcript

[Host 1]

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[Host 3]

This is the bird show.

[Carl]

I gotta back Carl off on something. Carl and I were talking about this like last week or two weeks ago and Carl's got young daughters, right?

[Melissa]

Mm.

[Jamie]

Have an 8 year old and 3 year old daughter and a 6 year old dude.

[Carl]

Because I saw this at least twice trick or treating over the weekend and I'm not sure where you crossed the line on it, but I saw one cheerleader, she was probably three years old and I saw one witch girl that was about four or five years old. And I know it's supposed to be cute and all, but the dresses were just a little bit too high on the booty.

[Jamie]

Exactly.

[Carl]

And the fishnet stockings and stuff for

[Shira]

a five year old.

[Jamie]

Right?

[Shira]

Really?

[Carl]

You can't believe that.

[Jamie]

No way, no how.

[Melissa]

Uh huh.

[Jamie]

I mean not even for my daughter. My 8 year old daughter, she wanted to be some sort of like punk rock type of rock star, but the costume was, was real skimpy and I told her, I said nah babe, you can't have it. We Was out, you know, searching for costumes. I said, nah, baby, you can't have it.

[Carl]

What it looked like though? Like, give us a description.

[Jamie]

It was a. It was, it had tights and it was. It may have come up to right below the. The crotch area, like right below it. I'm like, man, why, why would they even make a costume like that for a kid?

[Shira]

Like a skirt, like a leather skirt

[Jamie]

or something like that.

[Shira]

A skirt.

[Jamie]

Tights in a real tight, like, I don't know what you call it.

[Melissa]

Top. A midriff top.

[Jamie]

Yeah.

[Carl]

So her whole stomach was showing.

[Jamie]

Exactly the stomach and the belly button was showing. So I said, no, baby, you can't have that. And so she searched around. How about this one? The same type of skimpy outfit. No, you can't have that either. So my thing was, my wife was. I don't know. Actually, dad, hands down, no, I don't care.

[Carl]

You can be mad at me for

[Jamie]

the rest of your life.

[Carl]

I'm surprised that your mom, that your wife was giving it the okay.

[Jamie]

She didn't give it the okay.

[Carl]

She knew that you were going to say no.

[Host 2]

That's what it is.

[Jamie]

So she's like, ask your dad. Smart, right?

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Carl]

So what was the compromise on it?

[Jamie]

There wasn't a compromise. The only compromise was that she chose well. She ended up choosing a Supergirl outfit that had stockings and the skirt came down to her knees. So I said, baby, as long as it comes down to past your thighs, at least to your knees, I guess. But it was a Supergirl. So I'm like, okay, maybe we can halfway work with that.

[Carl]

It gets to a point. I mean, some of them are so young and the costumes are so like inappropriate, but they're on such a young girl that it isn't inappropriate.

[Jamie]

Right.

[Carl]

Do you know what I'm saying?

[Jamie]

Like a two year old cheerleader.

[Carl]

Like a one year old Britney Spears is funny.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Carl]

And she didn't. I don't know.

[Shira]

Because they don't know any better. But at 8, she's starting to sort of pick up all that stuff and kind of understand what all that things that she's gonna get attention for that kind of an outfit.

[Jamie]

Right, Exactly. Next thing you know, she may catch wind of a video. Next thing you know, sliding down poles. Not in that house. Not in my house.

[Carl]

Hey, Shira.

[Jamie]

Good morning.

[Carl]

You're on G100.

[Melissa]

Good morning. How are you guys?

[Carl]

Good, thank you.

[Melissa]

Love the show.

[Carl]

Thank you.

[Melissa]

I have a comment. I work at Arby's and I was dealing with a customer and she came in her daughter. I'm not too sure what her outfit was or whatever, but she came in this little girl. I'm telling. She had makeup on. The makeup was so dark, it was like purplish black. Almost ridiculous. It really was.

[Carl]

I was like, what's wrong with the makeup? I don't understand what the makeup is.

[Shira]

Like eight or nine. Like a girl who's eight or nine to be over made up. Kind of like that JonBenet type of thing. Whatever. It just does seem odd to have young girls with adult female makeup on.

[Carl]

Okay.

[Jamie]

I was thinking kind of like that gothic look. Like I wouldn't want my daughter. I mean, the makeup, first of all. Yes, but the gothic look. She's too young to go gothic.

[Melissa]

So dark.

[Jamie]

That's what I was thinking. Yeah.

[Carl]

Really?

[Jamie]

That's what I was thinking.

[Carl]

Good morning, Melissa, you're on Q100. Hi.

[Melissa]

Hi. How are you? I just wanted to say I was at the Walmart the night after Halloween and there was a girl, she was probably about 8 or 9 years old. And she. I guess she was a vampire, but she was wearing a skirt. The skirt was so short, I swear you could see the bottom of her butt cheek.

[Carl]

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. This little cheerleader too.

[Shira]

Yeah.

[Melissa]

And I actually said something to the mom.

[Shira]

What'd you say?

[Melissa]

Are you aware that you can see your daughter's butt cheeks? And she made a very rude comment that I wasn't the one that bought the outfit. It was really none of my business.

[Carl]

Oh, wow.

[Melissa]

This was a child.

[Jamie]

Wow.

[Shira]

Well, even if it is a teenager. Yeah.

[Carl]

Unreal. Maybe they were headed over to compound to win that five grand.

[Melissa]

That's disgusting.

[Carl]

Hey, Jamie, you're on Q100. Good morning.

[Melissa]

Hey. We were at a fall festival at a church and there was an eight year old Playboy bunny.

[Carl]

No way.

[Melissa]

You are kidding me.

[Carl]

That's not cool.

[Melissa]

Her bra was stuffed. She had big old boobs. She was wearing these wide fishnet stockings and the Playboy Bunny ears. It was awful. We were.

[Shira]

It was a church festival and it

[Carl]

was a church festival also. That's funny.

[Melissa]

Wow. Wow.

[Carl]

That would be pure shock value in your house. Imagine your wife coming up and even suggesting that to you.

[Jamie]

Oh, man, that would be crazy. I couldn't even imagine that.

[Melissa]

Hey, listen, honey, you were going to stuff her bra and it'd be really, really fun.

[Jamie]

Come on, that's ridiculous.

[Carl]

At the ch. Wow.

[Jamie]

I don't even want my daughter wearing a training bra right now. A lot of stuffed bra.

[Carl]

Wow. We could probably do this for days, y'.

[Melissa]

All.

[Carl]

Good morning. Q100 yellow. Good morning, Kristen. Yes, go ahead.

[Melissa]

Hi. I was shopping with my husband for my daughter, my five year old daughter's costume and immediately all of them were, no, no, no. Well, we found one that was Wonder Woman and we got her a size 6, 7. We didn't try this one on because we were really pressed for time. Get home. Halloween night we're dressing up and her butt shows.

[Shira]

Oh, really?

[Melissa]

Five years old. So I had to put on shorts and she's mommy, Mommy. This doesn't look like Wonder Woman. So she went out looking like a little girl in shorts and pants and tights with high boots that had on a Wonder Woman skirt that didn't look like Wonder Woman.

[Carl]

And that's fine. She's got just as much candy in that costume as she would have any other one. One woman's niece was wearing lace and fishnets. Jeez, it's too soon, man.

[Jamie]

What do you expect? What do you expect them to do when they're 16, 17 and 18, right.

[Carl]

If you're dressing them that way at 7 or 8, sure.

[Host 3]

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