Dealing with Your Teenager and the Latest Fashion Trends

Are you the parent of a teenager?  If you are, you likely already know that many teens want to look their best, at least fashion wise. For that reason, many teens keep up on the latest fashion tends and use them. While this is okay in some aspects, it can result in your teenager wearing baggy pants showing their boxers or revealing shirts that show off too much cleavage.  While these do seem to be popular fashion trends, do you really want your child displaying them?  If not, you may be wondering what you should do.

When it comes to your teenager and fashion trends that you may not necessarily approve of, your first thought may be to lay down the law.  As a parent, this is your right to do, but did you know that you may actually end up causing more damage?  Do you remember what it was like being a teenager?  If you were like most teenagers, there was a good chance that the last thing you wanted was to be told how to dress by your parents and the same is likely so for your own teen. That is why you may want to think about taking a different approach.

One of the many instances where you should speak to your child about their fashions is if it may end up causing them some harm. As previously mentioned, many of the latest fashion trends for women and for girls are low cut shirts and low rise pants.  This often ends up leaving a good portion of the body exposed.  In today’s society, you always need to be on the lookout for sexual predators. While your teenager may not necessarily be interested in someone, someone may actually end up getting that type feeling from them.  This could put your teenager in a weird and possibly dangerous situation.  If that is the case, you may want to take the time to explain that, as it may sink in better than if you were just to say “change your clothes; you can’t wear that.”

It is also important that both you and your teenager remember that fashion trends regularly change.  It is not uncommon for a fashion trend to only last a few months.  If you are not happy with the current fashion trends, but your teenagers are, you may want to encourage them to explore other options. There are a number of fashion magazines and online fashion websites that have a large number of fashion trends and information on those trends.  Not all fashion trends require the wearing of “skimpy,” clothing. For that reason, you may want to explore other options.  If your teenager is a girl, it could actually turn into a neat mother daughter bonding experience between the two of you.

Something else that you may not necessarily think about, but should, is if your child goes to high school.  Many high schools have dress codes and these dress codes often prohibit the wearing of revealing clothing.  While not all schools actively enforce their dress codes, many out there do.  Like with being told not wear certain clothes by their parents, many teenagers may feel angered being told by school officials.  For that reason, you may want to take action before anything serious happens that could seriously jeopardize your child and their school records.  It is not uncommon to hear of instances where children are suspended from school due to not following the school’s dress code.  

In short, teenagers and fashion are something that just seems to click together. While it is important for your teenager to fit in with others and be popular at school, they do not necessarily have to be wearing the “hottest,” clothes or fashion accessories to do so.  They may not necessarily understand it at the time, but as a parent it is your job to help them and keep them safe.

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