Who does not like to have a sense of style? All of us do. But more than anything if fashion icons are moving around us, they are our children. Yes, children's choices towards clothes can pleasantly surprise you and make you see a side of them that you haven’t seen before. And a child as young as seven can develop a sense of style, however, mum and dad's role is important too! Read ahead to know how you can help.
However, for them to develop their style they need time-to-time tips, advice, and encouragement from you. If you are confused or unsure on how to go about this, this article should help give you the clarity and advice you need to help your child develop his or her unique sense of style!
Can my child even be interested in clothing?
Of course! It is an absolute known fact that children are always in the mood to explore and learn more. They are looking to understand and grasp all the information around them so that they can then use it to express themselves.
Research claims that children as young as seven can develop their fashion sense! This is not hard to believe. Children are capable of grasping so much information during the initial years of their life which is why parents are encouraged to teach them instruments and languages from this age because they tend to grasp it quicker and easier.
If we look around, we will find very young math geniuses, spelling bee champions, pianists, violinists, and more. If this is possible then having a very young child fashion stylist with a great sense of style is possible too!
What can I do to help my kids understand their style?
If you are continuing to read this, it is great that you have decided to help your child learn their style! Parental support and advice are everything for children and when they watch you standing by their side with an appreciative nod and an excited expression, they get all the encouragement they need to start learning even more about themselves.
What is important for you to understand is the fact that no two styles are the same. No rule book says follow step A to make your child choose a classy look or follow step B for a sassy look.
Every child perceives color, material, sizes, and clothes differently. There is no hard and fast rule on how quickly your child can discover their style or if they will even stay with the same sense of style forever.
One day your girl may like to dress up in a princess outfit but a couple of months later they might want to dress up in a smart hip-hop-inspired outfit with a cap on. This is going to be a time of utterly bizarre and unexpected choices of dressing.
Of course, if your child is wearing something that is completely off then as a parent you will want to step in to make sure that a line is not crossed. However, the chance of that happening is very little.
As you stand back and watch your child experiment with their clothes, you need to give them a quick crash course on how they can go about understanding how clothes work. Your job is to teach them the basics well so they can spend the rest of their time with experimentation and figuring out what kind of style works best for them.
Here are some useful pointers you must teach your child:
Make it a colorful affair
Teach your child about all sorts of colors. Children are usually introduced to basic colors but there is no rule saying that you cannot teach them more.
Help them explore colors that perhaps even you have not heard of so they can make mental notes on what colors they like and look out for those specifically when they go out shopping with you next.
Encourage them to mix and match
Don’t let your child settle for one color palette. Encourage them to break monotony so they start understanding which colors they like on themselves and which colors they would like to avoid.
If they settle on one set of colors soon, they will stop themselves from exploring and stay in their comfort zones. They have a lot to explore so keep on giving them small nudges when you feel like they are not mixing and matching anymore.
Comfort is priority number 1
A lot of times we as adults too compromise comfort because the outfit we chose looked nice or our friend/spouse/parent liked it and you did not want to let them down. This is a complete no-no. Teach your child to ask themselves three questions when they choose clothes.
· Can I breathe in this?
· Can I jump and dance freely in this?
· Does this outfit make me happy?
If the answer is yes to all three questions, then they should give themselves the green signal they need to wear it happily. Doing this not only ensures that your child is happy, but it teaches them the importance of putting their comfort and opinion first.
Keep size in check
They do not joke when they say that kids grow up too soon. Today they are your little angels and before you know it they are off to college. This is why so often you buy clothes for your baby, and they end up outgrowing them so soon that it leaves your mind spinning.
While this can be an additional cost on your pocket, you must keep your baby's clothing size in check. Not just that, it is important to teach your child to let you know when they feel like their size is a bit off.
Children will develop a sense of attachment towards certain clothes irrespective of whether or not they will fit them which is why you must keep a check and teach your child to let you know when size does not fit.
It is okay to hold onto a few items to look at and reminisce later on, but you need to teach your child to understand when they have outgrown something and when to let go so they can bring in new clothes. You are not only helping them understand clothing better but also teaching them the importance of letting go to make way for new things in life.
With great clothes, comes greater responsibility
As your children pick up clothes that appeal to them, take a moment to tell them about how they need to take care of them too. It is important to teach children to respect and care for the clothes they wear. Building this during the early years will count later on.
Of course, your child will not be able to take complete responsibility and you will help lead the course of how to clean and maintain, but you need to make it look like the onus is on them. As they slowly understand what kind of material takes what kind of effort, this too will affect how they choose clothes in the future.
Dress up whenever, wherever
Usually, we are taught to dress well only for important events. This is not a very good idea to suggest to a child.
They would eventually process and conclude that they are not important enough or a big enough reason to dress well and won’t bother to do anything until an important event comes up. There is no harm in being well dressed all day every day.
Occasion or no occasion, give your child complete freedom to dress up in fancy ways irrespective of where they are. Of course, you wouldn’t want to encourage your child to let them wear their swimming trunks to bed, but if your child is showing interest in being fancy at night too, along with slipping into their favorite night suits or pajamas, encouraging them to indulge in a few extra steps before going to bed which would help them look and feel better is no harm.
It could be something as simple as teaching them to take extra time every night to moisturize and cleanse themselves a certain way, or perhaps tie their hair a certain way before going to bed so they look presentable even then.
As parents, all we can do is give our little angels a slight nudge in the right direction. It is crucial to let them learn the rest and put their little minds to use and let their creativity shine. There is nothing better than a parent’s approval and support to help encourage a child to allow themselves to understand themselves better.
Using these small but helpful tricks will help awaken the fashionista and give the right growth for your child to develop their sense of style in no time!Want to start right away? Check out these cool baby outfits and find out which clothes appeal to your baby.
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