by Francis Harris

Created on: August 26, 2010

Dressing a child, like everything else about their upbringing, is an educational process more than an end in itself. When dressing a child think "their educational process" more than "fulfilling mommy's needs". Dressing with style is no different. Empower them to make their choices, form their cultural opinions and grow in personal independence and autonomy. How?

1. Don't make choices for them. Allow the child to experiment with their choice in clothes - for dressing in style as well as playing in the garden. You may want to limit their choices to certain options that are appropriate for the weather, the occasion and your budget, but empower them to make choice.

2. Educate them about fashion. As your child grows teach them what impression certain looks and styles convey. Explain how a fashion look can help them get a job, or make them be a target for crime. Help them think about what they wear, when and why. What goes together and what looks bad (at least in today's styles). Show them fashion from different eras to raise their awareness of contemporary culture's preferences.

3. Help them learn about budget. Dressing a child with style needs to be an opportunity for them to learn about budget. Clothes may be important but they are just part of a bigger picture. Help the child think about whether it is appropriate to use 50% of their income on outfits, or whether there are other necessities.

4. Help them learn about priorities. Your child also needs to learn to be critical of surrounding cultural priorities. There are times when it is important to dress in style to be taken seriously in your culture, but there are also other priorities like dressing down to make sure you have money to donate to charity and worthwhile causes.

5. Teach them some basic sewing skills to add personal flair. The child can learn to turn an ordinary outfit into a stylish creation through adding some personal touches - whether this is an iron-on cloth badge, or some sew on sequins. As they get older and more skilled they will be able to tackle making pieces of some of their own outfits to create a truly unique style. Whether the material is cheaper or not is not the question - it is that they are creating a stylish outfit that they may not be able to buy anywhere.

6. Give them plenty of "old clothes". Children have a habit of not being careful with clothes. Help them learn to be careful with their stylish clothes by always changing out of them when they have finished their occasion and don their "play clothes" once again.

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