Aunt finds out her 9-year-old niece bought a thong and doesn’t know what to do

This is an awkward one to handle.

Are kids these days growing up before their time? You can never manage what kids will talk about in school or out with friends but we can monitor as closely as we can. However, this woman has a problem. She is looking after her 9-year-old niece while her parents are away on holiday. The child went shopping after school one day with a friend and came back with a thong... and now the aunt doesn't know how to handle the situation. She said:

"Niece (age 9) is staying with us for 2 weeks while my brother and SIL are abroad. After school yesterday she went straight to our local town to go shopping with a friend. I met her off the bus and waited in Costa while they did some shopping. "She showed off her purchases when she returned but I knew there was something in one of the bags she hadn’t shown us- and she had brought a thong. I’ve taken it off her and explained she’s not old enough to wear it and I’ll be returning it today. "Am I bonkers or am I right in thinking who the f*ck would sell a young girl (it’s not like she looks a couple years older) a f*cking thong?"

There was a great debate in the comments section, with some saying to kick up a fuss in the shop she bought it in, while others said that the situation is one for her parents to handle when they return. One user said:

"I would definitely complain when you take it back. You're right, they shouldn't have sold it to her."

While another wrote:

"While I agree with you, I don’t think it’s really your decision and you’d be over stepping the line by taking it back. Whether it’s appropriate or not is her parents’ decision. If it were me I’d hand it over to them on their return and let them deal with it."