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Grow Slow
Clothes Should Promote Playing on Monkey Bars, Not Monkey Business
The Healthtex clothing line is available in sizes up to 14 for girls, and through 7X for boys. The clothes are suited for everyday childhood occasions; playgrounds, recitals, camps and especially in schools, where children's performance – not their clothes – should be measured.
Healthtex, a leading children's clothing designer, and Ipsos North America, a marketing research company, polled 500 parents of children ages 4 to 10 to find out their thoughts on children's clothing.
Here are the highlights:
- Eighty-two percent of parents said children are dressing inappropriately or too provocatively for their age.
- Eighty-seven percent said the age- and school-appropriateness of clothing was very important when shopping for children's clothing.
- Nearly a third of respondents said they have a difficult time finding stylish and fashionable, yet appropriate, children's clothing.
- Eighty-one percent of parents let their children pick out their clothes.
- Eighty-nine percent said they would seek out a specific brand if it provided age- and school-appropriate clothing.
You Are What You Wear
Children face great pressure when it comes to fitting in, expressing themselves and "dressing cool" for school. Unfortunately, many dressing cues come from pop culture and television like MTV. Children can miss the message that school is not the venue for over-the-top styles. Show them they can look good and still wear "in" styles. Clothing affects children's self-esteem, so approach the subject delicately and offer style suggestions rather than negative feedback.
