Green Hair is Fine
I’ve had plenty of arguments with my teenaged children, but never about clothing. That’s because I have only one clothing rule for them—well, actually it only applies to my daughter, not my son. The purpose of the rule is to keep her safe and it is this—she cannot wear anything that I decide is too skimpy.
Having only one rule means that a) I can never be accused of being overly restrictive (at least in this arena), and b) my kids get to learn what styles they like and dislike. I do offer my opinion about quality and fit, but my kids are entitled to ignore me if they want to.
I’m relaxed about their clothing choices partly because the majority of what they wear comes from thrift stores and costs next to nothing, but also because there are so many other battles that are so much more important. They pick out something made out of cheap material? The price is three dollars, so who cares? They’ll learn something about fabric when it develops pills after they wear it two times. They want to wear only black? Gee, so do a majority of women who work in the fashion industry. They’re drawn to a pair of pants that I think is unflattering? Why is this my business?
Teens need to make good choices about things that matter like sex and drugs. They won’t learn how to best decide the important stuff if they aren’t allowed to choose the inconsequential stuff. The clothes just don’t matter.