By Curt Williams, Founder & Executive Director
The second of the Five Things You Owe Your Kids is clothing. Do you realize that the government mandates only a few key provisions that parents must make to meet the needs of their children? Last month, we discussed food, the first of the five, and as we discuss clothing, it is imperative that we first define the baseline. Clothing must be size, weather, and age-appropriate. Kids must also have one complete change of clothes, so they have a set of clothing to wear when their other clothes are being laundered.
Yet it is easy to go overboard when it comes to kids’ clothing. My wife and I were amazed at how fast our children outgrew clothing, and decided early on that name brands and silly extras would not be a part of our children’s wardrobes. Today I meet kids who are dressed in ways that hide their lack of character. In other words, they have a semblance of class or good taste while lacking a sense of honor and demonstrating a poor work ethic. In today’s culture, it also seems like girls and young women are often competing to see how little they can wear.
As a parent, you have the golden opportunity to set the pace when it comes to clothing. How you dress your kids matters in more than one way. Do you view clothing as a status symbol? Is it important to you that your children be seen in trendy labels and clothed in the latest fashions? If so, you are teaching a superficial set of values. Spending a lot of money on a certain look betrays a misguided value system when character, demeanor, personal responsibility and self-control mean so much more.
As we further explore a strategy to raise extraordinary kids by countering the culture, let’s have the courage to do the hard things. You will never regret investing depth and perspective into your children.
