Taking a Mature Approach to Clothes Shopping With Your Teen

Buying outfits for yourself is tough enough, but one of the toughest parts of being a parent of a teenager is when you get to the point where you’ve got no choice but to start taking them shopping.

Whether you’ve got to get them new clothes or they have come to you for your almighty wisdom (i.e. your money), how do we take a mature approach to clothes shopping with our teens?

Shop Online Where You Can

We don’t necessarily have to drag them around the malls if there’s plenty we can find online. You can easily find men’s crop pants for your growing teenage son, and when you are ordering items online, at least it gets the process done and dusted quickly. This may save a lot of embarrassment on their part (and frustration on yours).

Let Them Lead the Way

They will want to wear certain things, and you may think that it’s not suitable for them at all, but you’ve got to remember they are finding their feet in this world. It’s so hard for us to think back to when we were teenagers and we were kicking against our parents, but you’ve now got to remember that, while you are trying to help them, the fact is that they will want to start wearing things that you think look hideous on them, it’s their choice. If there are things you need to buy for them, such as formal clothes, you can come to a compromise where you choose the formal clothes and they pick the stuff they want.

Don’t Roll Your Eyes!

They may roll their eyes at you, but if you are trying to not embarrass your teen, you’ve got to bite your tongue. Tutting at everything they pick off the clothes hanger is only going to result in arguments and is going to prolong the process. For the benefit of both of you, you need to get it done as quickly as possible, so do your best to stick it out.

Stick to a Budget

The cost of teen clothes has increased everywhere, and sometimes we can not afford everything they want. You could come to an agreement with your teenager and show them that you’ve got a specific budget that you need to stick to, which means they need to come to a few simple decisions and research the clothes that they need versus the things they want. This agreement upfront will save a lot of arguments when it comes to paying.

Be Prepared for Trends

Whether your teen wants to embrace geek chic or they are wearing hoodies that cover up half their face, you’ve got to make peace with the fact that these trends are going to come and go. You might know that it will go out of fashion in a year, but this is what eBay and clothes banks are really for! They will want to go with the trends and you could argue until you’re blue in the face, but you’re far better off letting them choose.