My Daughter’s Store?
I was shopping with my 15-year-old daughter recently at a well known “young people’s store.” Rather unexpectedly, I found a great outfit that I thought would be perfect for me for our neighborhood block party.
My happiness was short lived. I proudly showed the outfit to my daughter and she replied “Oh, my God…….. You are not buying that, are you?” Then with a roll of her eyes and the “tch” of her tongue she added, “Please do not embarrass me! Go shop at your own store.”
I always thought my daughter was proud that I wore fashionable, stylish clothes. I thought the parents that embarrassed their kids were the ones who showed up in outdated, old fashioned clothes. Apparently, I was wrong.
So, should I completely change my style to please my daughter?
Wouldn’t that be giving in to peer pressure? Of course, she is your daughter, but doing anything because of what someone else thinks is just as bad, regardless of how we are connected to them. Sure, everyone wants to have some measure of modernity and “coolness,” but changing your whole style because of a comment your daughter made is not a good idea.
Clothes are a means of self-expression. There is nothing wrong with being yourself and wearing what you like, even if your daughter thinks differently. However, if you truly feel like you should make a change, your daughter is old enough to talk about exactly what it is that she finds so embarrassing about you shopping in the same stores that she does. (Just because she doesn’t see you shopping in one store, doesn’t mean you can’t shop in another store that carries the same styles of clothing either.)