Picking out clothes for your kids when they’re toddlers can be so much fun. You get to go to the store, browse all the miniature little clothing pieces, and buy whatever you think would be comfortable for your child and also look cute. While it’s normal (and necessary) to pick out clothes for your young children, the distinction of how much control you should have over your child’s clothing gets blurrier as they enter their tween years.
As a parent of a tween, if you feel overwhelmed with the decision of continuing to choose your child’s clothes or giving them the freedom to create their own outfits, know that you are not alone. Based on a 2018 survey, there is clearly no one right answer as to when you should let your kid start choosing their own clothes. The results of this survey show that approximately 15% of moms let their kids start choosing their clothes at age five, 12% at eight, and 10% at ten.
Each mom has had to decide for themselves when is the best time to give their kids fashion freedom. The early tween years are a great time to give your kid the freedom to choose their outfits, and we’re going to tell you five reasons why that is today. By the end of this article, you’ll be ready to stop buying clothes of your choosing for them and give them the freedom to choose their own shoes, tops, leggings for tweens, and you name it. To see why fashion freedom is necessary for tweens, keep on reading.
Teaches Them Responsibility
A crucial lesson for any tween to learn before they enter their middle school and high school years is how to be mature and take responsibility for their own decisions. However, you can’t just throw them into a scenario that requires a high amount of maturity and expect them to be okay. The better idea is to slowly introduce them to the concept of taking responsibility for themselves, and a simple, safe way to introduce this is by giving them the freedom to choose their own clothes. By allowing them to pick out their outfits on their own, you are communicating to your child that you recognize they are getting more mature and want to offer them more opportunities to display their maturity.
Express Their Personal Style
The tween years are all about identity formation, and a lot of people express their personalities and style through the clothes they wear. As your tween starts to become more independent, they’ll want to be able to express themselves. Choosing their own clothes is a great way to let them express themselves freely.
Every now and then, you might need to reel them in a little bit if they are expressing themselves in a way that you, in your parental wisdom, don’t think is very appropriate. Either way, just by giving your tween the opportunity to choose their own clothes, they’ll feel excited to be themselves in the way they dress.
They’ll Be More Confident
People are their most confident when they are themselves, not trying to be like anyone else. Therefore, going off the previous point, your tween will become more confident when they have fashion freedom and get to choose their own clothes. One can only imagine the insecurity a child feels when they are asked to wear clothes that don’t reflect who they are inside. When they choose the clothes they wear, their self-confidence will skyrocket, and who doesn’t want their tween to be happy and confident in themselves?
They’ll Actually Wear Their Clothes
This fourth reason why you should give your tween fashion freedom is especially applicable to any parent who has ever bought clothes for their tween and has never seen their kid wear those clothes. When you give your tween a choice to pick out their own clothes at the store, they’ll actually wear the clothes. Unlike clothes you chose for them that were only worn once or twice, your tween will want to wear the clothes that they picked again and again.
Fashion Freedom is Fun
Lastly, you should consider giving your tween the freedom to choose their own clothes because fashion freedom is a lot of fun. Instead of wearing clothes that were chosen for them, they have the fun opportunity to wear some leggings for tweens that they saw on the rack at Target that made their eyes widen. Picking out clothes is fun, so allow your child to enjoy the pleasure of choosing their own clothes.
Conclusion
In summary, here are the five reasons you should give your tween fashion freedom:
- Teaches them responsibility
- Express their personal style
- They’ll be more confident
- They’ll actually wear their clothes
- Fashion freedom is fun
We hope this article has inspired you to give your tween fashion freedom. Parenting is a lifelong process, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you feel like you are messing up. Instead, take it slow, and know your kids love you. We are here to support you as you navigate the murky waters of giving your kid freedom over their clothes.
