Pimlico - in answer to your question, yes veiling a child is a form of abuse. Human beings were meant to feel the sun on their skin, the wind and rain too. Veiling causes rickets. It cut's down vision considerably, it's unbearably hot in warm seasons and it probably makes the wearer go boss-eyed before long.
Leaving aside the health issues, it's a way of branding property. If the veil was fair, men of the same faith would be compelled or encouraged to wear it. Until they do, I remain 100 per cent convinced that the veil/burkha/niqab is a nasty, sinister garment. Contrary to deluded opinion, the veil does neither prevent rape nor lessen the chances of it. Rape is about power as much as anything else and the women forced into the hideous garments of Afghanistan weren't even safe from being selected as sex slaves by the same Taliban who forced them to cover.
If an idiot over 18 wants to veil, let her, unless she wishes to enter a public building or board transport. But a child should never be veiled. There is no such thing as a 4 year old Marxist or a 4 year old Capitalist. Therefore there is no such thing as a 4 year old Muslim or Christian.