The Ruling on Short Clothing for Children

Question : May Allah reward you, Shaykh Muhammad. Finally, the questioner is with us on the line, inquiring about short clothing for children, and whether this is based on the child's body size, Shaykh?

Answer : In any case, the scholars say that there is no ruling regarding the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) of a child under seven. However, in reality, it is subject to the child's growth. Some children grow quickly, so perhaps when they reach seven, they are like those who are ten. Others are the opposite. But here is something that must be noted. Yes.
And that is that if a girl is accustomed to short clothing until the age of nine or ten, for example, she becomes used to this clothing. Then, her modesty disappears because she feels that the end of her thigh and her leg are not 'awrah, so it remains easy for her to leave them open and exposed, and she settles into this. Perhaps that will lead her to use it when she grows up. This is one of the matters to be wary of. The important thing is that the stronger the motive for people's negligence regarding clothing, the stricter the prohibition of it must be, in order to stay away from fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) and its causes.