Tween Scene – No More Kids Clothes?

Related Links

Informative Articles

A Double Whammy
Use your spare bedroom to start your own preseason indoor greenhouse and teach your teen that living space is a valuable commodity! A Double Whammy: Use Your Spare Bedroom to Start Your Own Preseason Indoor Greenhouse and Teach Your Teen that...

Cute Cat Names ... And How To Find Them
Cute cat names? Max is popular, Lady a favorite for queens. If you want your cat to have a more original name, you have to use your imagination. Or get some expert help. ‘Muffin. Kitty. Snowball. All stupid names that no self...

Make Gift Wrapping Paper With Kids
Making your own wrapping paper is a fun activity that children or adults can do. With some creativity you can create gift wrap that is unique and different – everyone will know the gift is from you! When making gift wrap with children you will...

Mr. Smith Goes To Texas
Mr. Smith Goes to Texas John Cali My first real flying job was managing a small airport in West Texas. I was sort of a jack-of-all-trades -- manager, flight instructor, charter pilot, bookkeeper, etc. You name it, and I did it. In my role as...

What You Need To Know About House Slippers
Do you have any idea of what house slipper is? Well…if you look around there are some slippers available, and this slipper is just one of it. There are also bedroom slippers, basement slippers, the slippers you wear when you go out to get the...

How-what-who | Aqua | Acne

Web	www.poombatta.com

Tween Scene – No More Kids Clothes?

Shopping for kids clothes is, if not fun, at least a relatively painless parental task. All a parent needs to know to buy clothes is the child’s age and favorite over-commercialized cartoon character. He then need only buy something with that age printed on the tag – 2T for a two-year old, 6X for a tall six-year old – bearing the appropriate Elmo or Dora the Explorer images. Not a flawless system, but one that has stood the transition from shopping moms to shopping, clueless dads like me. However, this system starts to unravel as your child approaches the tween years – generally recognized as the ages between nine and twelve. The tween years are similar to the toddler years in that your child feels the need to assert independence, test limits, and even push a few buttons. But there is the added confusion of raging hormones causing body changes, mood swings, and occasional fits of pique. At this age, clothing not only fits differently due to growth (and those darn hormones), but your young person begins to have a sense of his own style, or at least a sense of what his peers are wearing. No more Rugrats, Blue’s Clues, or Barbie clothing themes. No more kids clothes.

What will my kids want to wear?

Tweens begin feeling the need to express their independence from their parents by emulating their peers. It’s the prelude to full-blown teenager-hood, and as such, fashion plays a role. However, fashion and popular culture should never override parental wisdom, or common sense. Do we really need to see an eleven-year-old boy’s boxers billowing out of his low-slung pants like the braking chute on a drag racer? Should we really know what color underwear a ten year old girl is wearing as it climbs over the top of her jeans? Tweens will look to teens, and teen pop icons, for what’s “cool” to wear, and in so doing will see a proliferation of skin and undergarments. Leaving aside the issue of whether this attire is appropriate for anyone, these are definitely not kids clothes. Yet they may very possibly be the clothes your kids will want to wear.

No kids clothes? What should I buy?

Fear not, all is not lost! The aware parent can be fashion-forward and still lose the “babyish” kids clothes. Today’s tween/teen fashion seems to be centered on baggy and low slung, with an eye to 80’s Prep. Plain white tee shirts are popular for both boys and girls, as are polo shirts (yes, the collars are back up!). Loose fitting cargo pants, jeans, khakis and chinos are also worn by both girls and boys. Many of today’s jeans are low-rise, which means parents need to keep an eye out for peeping underwear and “plumber’s cleavage,” but the right fit can be found. As silk scarf belts

are in for girls, obtaining this accessory for your daughter might help keep the jeans up at their proper height. Popular with boys is the silk (or silk-like) shirt over that white tee. Untucked, this also can help disguise pants that seem to be hanging at knee level.
One way young ladies can be “skin-fashionable” without being inappropriate is by wearing Capri pants coupled with the ped-like “no-see” socks that don’t rise above the tops of the sneaker. Showing a little ankle may have been risqué in Queen Victoria’s day, but in today’s Britney Spears boobs-and-bellies world, the ankle is an easy compromise. These socks are also worn by boys, so stock up.

What’s this going to cost me?

Let’s face it - fashion can be expensive. And if my tween is going to be growing out of her clothes in three months, outfitting her could become prohibitively expensive. Fortunately, part of the problem is solved by the fashion itself. White tees, ankle-height socks, and even polo shirts are relatively inexpensive, and can be purchased at Target or Wal-Mart. However, some of the retailers that are offering these trendy kids clothes are on the higher end of the pricing scale. Abercrombie, American Eagle, Old Navy, and Gap are on the frontlines of kids clothes fashion, and are more expensive. It’s best for the budget-conscious parent to pick a few pieces of “anchor” clothing from these places that can be accessorized or added to from discount stores.

Remember: You are the parent

As your child grows out of her kids clothes and into tween clothes, remember who is in charge. A tween is yet a child, and needs parental guidance and supervision. You decide what is or is not appropriate attire. And, unless your tween has a high-end, low-carb, no-sugar lemonade bar, you are probably the one paying for the clothes. You can allow your young person to grow and express herself within your parameters, and make the transition out of kids clothes a smooth one.

There are many resources for parents to communicate with and help each other through each stage of child development. One such is the Parents.com website, which has message boards and forums for each age group. Check the tweens board to see what other parents are thinking of doing regarding their tweens.

About the author:
Albert Medinas has developed and maintains the website Kids Clothes and More!, which answers the most common questions parents have about Kids Clothes. Please visit us at today.