Dealing with the Hot Topic of Teen Clothing

Like generations before them, today's teens see the way they dress as an expression of their personality and identity. For many parents whose teens are expressing themselves with too revealing, too casual or otherwise inappropriate clothing, it is a major issue. Understanding some of the reasons teens dress the way they do can help you think of ways to set limits on what they wear.

In many ways, today's teen clothing is a product of the the youth culture of today. Many teens and even younger children are in constant connection with their friends through cell phones, instant messaging and online social networks. Many people feel that since today's youth isn't interacting with older generations, they don't know what is expected of them.

With this in mind, one way you can tackle the issues around inappropriate clothing is to make sure your child learns how they are expected to act and behave in certain situations. What's OK to wear to a party is not OK in the office. Encouraging your child to join a community service group where people of all ages are involved is a good idea. Another idea is to encourage them to get a job, preferably in an office where their co-workers are not fellow teens.

Setting down clear guidelines about teen clothing is another strategy. This has the potential to backfire, especially if your teen faces a lot of peer pressure or has a rebellious nature. Throwing out the offending items is also likely to elevate tensions rather than dissipate them. Your child may see it as a personal attack.

Another approach to teens appreciating their clothes is to have them do fabric science fair projects. Have them find out which fabric holds mositure the most. What fabric is best for whicking. Which is most durable. Which fabric is fire resistant. There are so many fabric experiments kids can do with fabric. There is an NLP saying, "When you change your focus, you change your reality."

If your child depends on an allowance to buy clothing, this is one way to control what they wear. You can go shopping together for teen clothing that you both can agree on. Also, you can let your teen shop online, where you can give your final approval before entering the payment information. It's important to find a way to let your teen express him or herself without wearing the wrong clothing.

There are a lot of very questionable role models out there for young people, especially when it comes to teen clothing. If your child is dressing inappropriately, it's important to not be afraid of having those serious talks about respecting yourself and earning the respect of others. That way, teen clothing problems won't escalate into academic problems or workplace problems somewhere down the road.