The ever-changing, fast-paced world we’re living in sometimes pushes us in the direction of some very disturbing developments which simply cannot end well for the overall development of our collective social interactions and the associated benchmarks. In a world which is increasingly measured by which hash tag is trending, what’s hot and what’s not, we as parents have a lot more to deal with in trying to give our children the best upbringing.
The intricacies of growing up already demand a lot of our children and the growing burdens are continuously being added to with every new decade that passes by. Kids today definitely have a lot more to deal with than what the adults of today had to deal with back when they were growing up. It’s a scary thought but one that’s true nonetheless, that things happen much faster nowadays than they used to, because it means that as quickly as your kids can get exposed to some positive and constructive things, some of the really bad things of this world can easily reach them too.
One such development, which can get very disturbing very quickly if kept unchecked, is that of the increasing role fashion is being made to play in children’s lives. Not only can it grow into a financial nightmare for parents, but when children are being made to be conscious of the way they look too early, a very big part of their innocence is being taken away way too soon. Looking good or being fashionable or trendy ultimately has its roots in maintaining status quo and indeed portraying sexual attractiveness, things which kids should never have to contend with. That’s why it’s important to know exactly where to draw the line when it comes to what is disturbingly being referred to as kids’ fashion. The least of your problems is having to deal with the financial implications of a little fashion-forward diva. What is even more worrying is having to manage a child whose growing obsession for looking attractive robs them of the simple pleasures of being a child.
So where exactly do you draw the line then? You can start by not making as big of a deal about dressing up and looking fashionable as the fashion retailers do. They only have one goal in mind, to sell as much as they can and grooming fashionistas while they’re still wet behind the ears suits them only too well, but not you or your child. That can then be reinforced by being very careful with how you approach all the dynamics surrounding situations which necessitate dressing up. For instance when you dress your kids up for special occasions, dress them up well but in a cute, child-like kind of way. Something like these Boots will do the trick, as opposed to some shoes which look like they came straight off a modelling ramp and into an exclusive post-fashion show catalogue.
Let kids be kids and be very careful about allowing them to become conscious about potentially destructive things like how they look, particularly how they look because of what they’re wearing.