Would you try to control your kid's clothing?

Question

Would you try to control how your child dresses? Do you? (If you do, how old are they?)
What if they dressed like this?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woesinger/1141654819/
Just totally freaky and punk-ish. Would you interfere? Why/Why not?

So your answer should be like this.

Whether you would or wouldn't try to control the way they dress-their age if you would try to.
Whether you would try to stop them from dressing like...well, you know. And why or why not.

It doesn't have to be in those words, of course. :)

joeybowiesmom: If your last line was directed at me, then I feel obliged to tell you that I'm not a parent...

njmizerny: So you think someone dressed like that is more likely to snort cocaine and take heroin than someone who's not? Personally, I don't think clothing=behavior., but that's just my opinion.

Answer 1

Not even close to being acceptable in my home.
yes, I am in my kids business and I always look at what she is wearing before she leaves my house.

Answer 2

I don't think someone dressed like these kids are more likely to snort cocaine or become a drug addict than the anyone else.

I'm not real thrilled about the colorful hair, but to each his or her own. If my daughter or son were dressed so their body was hanging out all over the place, i would have ISSUES! but if their hair was bright orange with pink polka dots? If they want to look nuts, whatever! it's their hair!

i was a teen in the '70's.. have you seen what kids looked like in the '70's? LOL! ok so i can't say much about the way people dress today, can i?

and i grew up in the era of sex, drugs, and rock and roll.. need i say more?

take care.

Answer 3

That is not even close to be acceptable in my family. My son is 17 and he wears a nice American eagle shirt almost every day and jeans or slacks. Then my 16 year old daughter wears a nice blouse and jeans. Then my 13 year old wears a collar shirt and shorts ever day. Then my other 4 kids are all under the age of 3 so i doesn't matter.

Answer 4

To an extent, I would.

As for that photo - no way in hell would I ever allow my daughter to wear that. I would never allow my son to dress in that style either.

No freaky hair with black and neon colored clothes. When it comes to that, it isn't just about the clothes, but more about what they represent.

Daughter:
modest. However a little bit of skin won't bother me - slightly low cut blouses - but no cleavage. Finger tip length skirts. No middrifts.

Son:
No baggy pants. No underwear hanging out of the pants. No obscene messaged shirts. And no long shirts.

They can wear what ever clothes they want if they fit into those guidelines. I will not tell them what to wear.

Answer 5

Yes I will control the way my child dresses. She would never be allowed to dress like that. I'm a former teacher and my husband is a police officer and former Marine, so we are kinda strict. I want my child to look presentable and respectable. She will get to choose her clothes, to a certain respect. I'm talking like she can choose from different choices that I approve of. I want her to look like a nice young lady. I also want her to be taken seriously someday for college and a job.

Answer 6

Ahh... no way in *ell would any of my daughters leave the house even beginning to look like that unless they were on their way to a Halloween party!!

I sure do control what my girls wear....I BUY THE CLOTHES! As long as they live in MY house they follow MY rules...and they have to look like respectable young women at all times.

Yes, they have rock band t-shirts. Yes, they own stuff from Hot Topic. Yes they use black eye liner and I do let them color their hair....I am pretty cool about frayed jeans (did it myself) and hair over the eyes....I listen to Hinder, AFI, Nickleback, Greenday, Good Charlotte and the Hush Sound to name a few...but even I have my limits!!

Answer 7

Yes to an extent i mean you dont want your 14 year old dressing like someone who is 18 thats how so many girls get into trouble with older guys and get pregnant....usually anyway. Let them have freedom but make the lines be known

Answer 8

I think all three of these kids are quite well dressed. They don't look like they are trying to look like prostitutes or sex dancers. Yes, the clothes are 'weird' and THAT is 'perfectly normal' for teenagers to do ... they WANT to be 'rebellious' and dressing it the fastest and easiest way to do that and get their parents 'up in arms' about how BAD the kids are. I have news for most parents ... try finding the 'weird clothes' acceptable, and don't pay ANY attention to your child at the least, or try getting the kid some new 'funky clothes' in the same fashion (be SURE you get the 'real thing' though or it could backfire) ... I did this with my teens, and their 'dressing weird' and behaving badly didn't last very long at all. One day, my second son shouted at me "I hate you." I looked at him and said "I'm doing my job right, then. Thank you for the compliment." and went on with what I was doing (cleaning the dining room. That was the LAST TIME a child said that to me, and the child who had done it hugged me and kissed me and said I was a really great mom in about four hours. My 'biggest shock' was when my 16 year old son and I were both at the grocery store ... I was headed home, he was headed out for an evening with his friends. At the check-stand, he gave me a wonderful kiss, said "I'll see you by 11, Mom, and don't worry about me, because I'll be with the 'little kids'" and took off. I knew what he meant (he had a whole group of 12-15 year olds who were headed to jail and he was straightening them out in his own way ... one actually became a cop!) but was very shocked at the kiss and nice goodbye in public. Everyone stared and several people asked me what I had done different to get such a WONDERFUL SON. I just looked at them and said "I go along with EVERYTHING they try to be 'rebellious about' so the only rebellion left is for them to be GOOD KIDS, I guess." It was true, and now that the kids are all grown and having their own kids, they are raising their kids in the same way ... with the same results, so far. So ... don't 'try to stop them' but accept and love them ... they'll be okay and your life will be much better in the end, too.

Answer 9

I'll answer this is a very simple manner... No, my children would never dress themselves that way because they don't want to look like freaks. When my kids see that sort of thing, they ask me and my husband why people dress like that. (They're 8 1/2 and 5 1/2.) They see it as silly looking, and my husband and I see it as plain stupid.
My kids like to look like normal human beings. :) I like for my kids to look normal as well. For Halloween, sure... but for any other day... nahhh.

Answer 10

Some of that outfit might be ok, but for most girls the way you dress equal your behavior I would control some of what was worn by them.

Answer 11

I would try to steer them into wearing more 'normal' clothing. I think that for people to dress like that sends a message that they arn't necessarily 'normal' and that they are odd. No pun intended. I think that tight jeans, OK, band shirts, OK, but then when they start to dress freaky, that is how they are remembered by, first impressions mean the most. Also, it looks as if they are into trouble making and then other trouble makers may try and become friends and together start trouble.. LOL :) Hope that I have helped.