Me, I might say something to her own PT, and maybe as part of that conversation suggest that the PT invite the mother in to observe the session, and position her so that she can "discover" the issue for herself.

But, I am daily astounded at how much of their bodies people are unafraid of sharing.

I might say something to the PT, just as you have described it here, and let that person handle it.

Her PT is well aware. He is one of those that turns his head.

Maybe mention to the PT that you notice that the professionals are turning their heads but the patients are not.

I go to physio when I damage my ankle running and I would talk to the PT. I wouldn't talk to the mom.

Heaven's no, don't say a word to her PT. It would be an embarrassment that'd last a life time if he was the one who talks to her. I would probably tell the girl when the PT isn't looking and tell her YOU were able to get a large peek and you don't think the guys noticed, but they will eventually.

If you don't feel comfortable with that, tell the mom but I wouldn't tell her how the guys averted their eye's. Mom would tell her daughter and she'd not want to go back there.

Be extremely discreet in how you word the trip through France. Unless either mom or daughter blows you off, then tell them all about your trip. :)

OTOH, do you think she's doing it on purpose? That's when those hormones awaken. lol

PT should talk to the mom.

I would say something to the girl quietly and let her know she is showing a lot when bending over and some of the male patients are looking and hope she would stop wearing such short shorts. Id find it a bit hard to believe she doesnt know what she is doing but at least you could feel like you tried.

I agree it’s the responsibility of the PT.

That's a tough call. I'd probably mention something to the mother. Say something like maybe she ought to wear some leggings or something under her shorts because when she beds over, she's really exposed and there are male patients that don't look away.

I probably wouldn't say anything to the PT because I don't think it'd be his call to tell a patient how to dress for therapy. Unfortunately, cheerleaders wear get ups that show a lot too-maybe the mother doesn't care as long as her kid is wearing underpants?

I wouldn’t say anything.

If I was the mom, I'd want to know. I'd probably just say, "I thought you would want to know this. I couldn't help but notice that some of the exercises your daughter is doing make her shorts ride up to an immodest level. I don't think she knows and I didn't want to embarrass her by mentioning it to her."

If the PT is a male, and let's say he's good looking and the girl really has no idea how much skin she exposes, I'm putting myself in the girl's situation. If my PT told me I was exposing myself, that means he saw me, and I would simply die from humiliation. Plus he'd probably tell her other people/men saw her. The girl is at the age where the littlest things embarrass her.

This is a woman thing, keep all men out of it.

OTOH pudgeder, I do have a question. If you don't mind sharing a bit more info, was it only her panties exposed, if she was wearing any, or her lady parts? I ask because if it was the latter, she knew exactly what she was doing because we can feel air hit our exposed skin. If she's not wearing undies, her mother needs to know. Mom may be appalled at DD by not having a clue what her daughter is up to.

I remember when I turned 12, the tomboy left and I swear every hormone kicked in and I turned boy crazy.

I do have to say, this is one of the more interesting WWYD topics. lol

If the PT is a woman, then I would find a time to talk privately to her and explain what you have noticed.

As a mom of two daughters, I might be inclined to talk to the mom. I would say to her, " Forgive me if I am being out of line, but as a mom I know I would want to know this: your daughter's shorts are way to short for her to be doing all the bending over required in her PT sessions."

I am starting to think there is something wrong with me. Maybe I am imagining the setting all wrong.

I cant imagine myself giving a second thought to saying to the girl or her mom, basically whichever I was in private/alone with, you/your daughter should wear leggings to PT when you stretch your shorts ride up too much. But then again I have walked up to complete strangers and said excuse me you have a spider in your hair can I take it out.

It must be the small town, kids raised in a village, in me. Where I grew up any mom in town could correct me, or if they could get the message to me privately, it would be passed along. Eventually I’d hear “Mrs A said you and Josie were fooling around after 10 behind the market last Friday when you were spending the night at Josie’s.”

I think it's the responsibilty of the PT facility to ensure that patients dress appropriately for the process, and would think the mother and girl would be more receptive to a word from the professional(s) the girl is there to see than a stranger. I would speak my concern to someone in managememt capacity. I wouldn't jump to conclusions as to why the girl is dressed as she is though. There is no way of knowing that.

A preteen or teen girl in shorts is/should be fully aware of how much exposure she has. It’s my opinion the girl knows and takes this into consideration in making her wardrobe choice. If she did it just once and then changed to more modest clothing the next time she had to go to PT and stand in a compromising position, I wouldn’t think that.

I would tell the mom. It’s not the PT’s job to dress their patients.

Again, mom to mom. As Oakley said, directly to the girl has huge embarrassment potential at that pre-teen-ish age. Beyond suggesting that patients not wear restrictive clothing or something so loose and flowing that it could get caught it in a machine or underfoot, IMO it's not the responsibility of the PT or the facility to suggest clothing and I would bet it' isn't something they want to take on.

localeater there is nothing wrong with you! I'd have talked to the mom without a second thought.

Chances are that the PT personnel are very use to seeing more then they wish to see. It’s the view to the other clients that would be alarming. (In PT I once sat across from a guy who was commando under his shorts - saw way too much.)

I would probably say something to the mother, as kindly as possible. I wouldn’t want the child to feel so uncomfortable she wouldn’t fully participate in her PT exercises.

Is embarrassing a teen really 'wrong'? Can't it be done kindly? Don't teens need to learn how to overcome life's embarrassing moments? Isnt that why we share with our kids our own embarrassing moments, so that they, hopefully, don't repeat them. They get to create their own!!

• Diving into a pool, losing your bikini top.
• Getting a perm.
• Getting pulled over when your girlfriends are in a car
• Crying in public
• Toilet paper on shoe
• Zipper down
• T-shirts and Nipples

I wouldn't say anything because how a fellow patient is dressed is not my concern AT ALL, regardless of what I think about their attire choices.

I'm with localeater - I would not have to think twice about saying something to the girl's mother. Keep in mind, lakeaffect, the patient is an underage child, not an adult.

Local, there are certain types of embarrassment. Like the time I fell inside a water meter walking home from school in Jr. High with a hot boy watching, then laughing. Then there's the type where all these men can see my privates and a man of all people tells me weeks later. That's jumping into the water meter and putting the lid on top of you kind of embarrassment. :)

At that age both girls and boys are at the height of easily getting embarrassed especially when it has to do with a body part. I'd die if my PT told me and I would never go back.

Mom to mom, or maybe a female employee can take her aside. Just.not.a.man.

Jen's right, the facility should have a dress code because patients have to get in all kinds of positions. Frankly I'm surprised she hasn't been told by now. I raise my eyebrows at that.

I don't care what age the patient is, it's still not my concern how someone else, or their children, are dressed.

Is the OP a man?

OK, I didnt know that. That changes my opinion. (And the fact that it changes my opinion causes me concern, but that's probably fodder for a different thread).

I do think it would be inappropriate for a man to mention this to a woman. Woman to woman is just 'sister- i got your back' kind of thing.

Maybe the therapist should position the client so there is no audience.

I am the OP and I am a female.

I don't think she's intentionally dressing this way. Yes, for the brief moment I was flashed, (before I looked away ASAP) I could see she had on underpants. LOL

It's summer and it is beyond hot here. If I had the legs, I'd wear shorts too. LOL!!!!!

IMHO, I simply think she's unaware.

I'm the "takes a village" type. If it were my DD, I'd want to know, and frankly so would she. This is my 2nd time to attend this PT facility and I've never been given any kind of information regarding how to dress. So I'm thinking they may assume people will use common sense.

...........if there is such a thing anymore...........

If they are there today, I'll see if there's an opportunity to mention it privately, to the mom.

Let us know how it goes if you have an opportunity to speak to someone, pudgeder. It is clear to me that your heart is in the right place.

We recently flew overseas via connecting flights and while sitting in crowded Boston Logan, I saw a young couple (they really had a look of honeymooners about them), and my eyes went to them because they were both dressed somewhat skimpily, as though they had just returned from a tropical destination, and I compared that with the way we were dressed, bound for Iceland. The young woman had on a short black sundress, and she bent over while standing in the line to board her plane to retrieve something from her bag. When she did, the already-short dress rode up and exposed a completely bare behind. I suppose she could have been wearing a thong, but from where I sat, it was a full-on FULL MOON view, and it was all skin. I wondered what would happen if an airline agent or flight attendant were to see that, as they've been known to kick people off flights for lesser offenses than that. I was taken aback and asked DH if he'd seen (his response? "Darn! I missed it!" ;-)), and then wondered how the young woman's husband/partner had not seen it at least once during their travels and TOLD HER that she was showing her entire rear end to the world.

I would not say anything. How others dress is not my concern. In a medical treatment setting, patients should be able to wear whatever attire is most comfortable for their treatment.

"for the brief moment ... I could see she had on underpants"

From that description, it does not sound like any private parts were completely exposed. I think the PT could and should use more discretion (as suggested above) to position the client so that they do not receive an audience. As long as genitals are covered, it sounds like a non-issue.

How could mom not be aware her daughter is wearing extra short shorts and what the consequences might be?

It seems if the girl is made aware--it is waaaay too late to save her from her embarrassment. There is no easy way to make mom or the girls aware at this point. It is unfortunate the PT didn't say something at the first sign of the shorts being inappropriate for the exercises she would be doing. So do you allow the show to continue or move forward with the inevitable? Is there a female PT/nurse in the place you could speak to and let them handle it?

Would gently talk directly to the girl (treating her, like you'd want to be treated, if the situation were reversed). "Not sure you realize when you bend over you are exposing your underware."

I would gently tell the parent. I doubt she is aware, and daughter may not be either. It would be awkward for staff to have this discussion, as I'm sure they are working with the young girl at an angle that may prevent them from seeing what you do, and the mother may get defensive as to why the staff would be noticing her "crotch". There are just too many pedophiles amongst us to let something like this go. If the OP saw it, another patient probably has too. Perhaps someone with a cell phone. I work in this field, and you would amazed at what goes on. The most vulnerable groups are preteens and early teens. Please say something to the mother. If it was my daughter, I would want to know. Thank you for caring.

Prickly, if the girl was in a private room, then yeah, keep the short shorts. But she's around other patients and some of those places are quite full. Apparently other men had to turn their heads too, so she was obviously showing more than what Pudge saw.

Plus the girl is at the age where she needs to learn how to dress appropriately, no matter where she goes. Maybe her mom really doesn't care?

She definitely needs to be aware-through mom is my preference. Years ago when I was a mail carrier I wore shorts. When loading up my vehicle I'd bend over to pick up my boxes of mail; I wasn't aware that I was exposing so much when I bent over until one day I heard a male coworker say "Pink" when I walked past him. A couple days later he said "Yellow" and later it occurred to me he was commenting on the color of my underwear. He and a few other creeps would purposely stand behind me as I packed up things and would check me out.

That girl doesn't need to be ogled like that.

I think I would tell the girl very gently something along the line of " when you bend over, your underwear shows" or something similar very brief and direct.

Preteens & teens like, and often respond better, when they are treated like adults.

Assume this child is capable of and dresses herself, it is likely she makes her own clothing choices, talking directly to her is respectful of that level of maturity.

Talking to a parent or staff member "makes a big deal" about something.

Agree with Mdln. And I would probably phrase it in the context of 'today'. "Hey! When you were doing your stretches today I happened to notice those shorts ride up quite a bit. Just wanted to let you know."

It's the same thing you would do for a fellow woman co-worker in the ladies room. "Hey just wanted to let you know the button that closes the pleat on your skirt is dangling."

Done, period, end of story. It's not a big deal. You are in the gym, she is in the gym. You notice her. She notices you. It's a small world.

I agree just tell her point-blank if you close enough to be able to do so. I would say something like;

Hey just wanted you to let you know that your shorts are riding up and showing way too much /probably more than you would like to show. Just thought you should know.

The thing that would worry me is that somebody might pull out their cell phone as said above! All of the sudden you've got a person taking a picture and perhaps even making a video and somebody shows it to somebody Etc.

I think I would speak to management. They should have a policy that they both have posted and inform the patients/parents of before they show up. It should be something like: shorts must be X number of inches long or worn over leggings.

Further, I can't believe the mother isn't aware! That would be something I'd check for before buying or allowing the child to keep if she bought them on her own.

If it were truly a spectacle I would not hesitate to say something. I would either just talk to her directly or if that seems uncomfortable.... then I would say something to her mom.

The only way I would feel comfortable talking directly to a pre teen in this situation is if I had a camaraderie already established. A nod, or a hello, I am waiting for a turn on the mat after her etc. In other words if she "knew" me. Sorry, but you really need to be careful nowadays, sad, but true.

Young girls walk around in those gym shorts all the time. I honestly believe the mom doesn't realize the extend of what is going on. She might envision a certain amount of privacy, in a corner of the room perhaps.

And now that I think about it, if the PT was aware, isn't it just as easy to have the young girl bend over facing a wall rather than the open gym area?

I've reread this thread a couple of times, and am now a bit confused. What exactly was exposed when the girl's shorts rode up?The OP stated that she had underwear on, but also stated you could see "far more than france" and that the male staff averted their eyes. Were parts of her genitals exposed? Was the underwear extremely delicate? If so, then I absolutely feel that the mother should be told. If not by another patient, then perhaps by a female receptionist or staff. I've done a lot of professional work in child exploitation and trafficking. Pictures get taken. While the subject of the photo may be safe, the photos are distributed in ways that put other more vulnerable children at great risk of harm. We all need to work together to protect children.