The Worst Things You Can Say As A Kid Develops Their Own Sense Of Style

Every morning, my almost 5-year-old daughter stomps her feet while announcing, “Today, I’m wearing pink.”

Despite my confusion about her propensity for the color given my own reluctance to ever wear pink (I’m more of a yellow kind of gal) and my annoyance at having to obey a semi-toddler’s demands while trying to get her to school on time, I must admit that I admire Giordana’s complete devotion to a specific look.

Given her age and my motherly sense of overwhelmedness (basically, a perennial state of being), I, in fact, have not done much to foster her sense of fashion throughout her short life. I simply pick the clothes I buy for her and her siblings based on my own likes, price points, their needs and what I have come to notice looks most fitting on them.

And yet, Giordana’s daily demands have me wondering: Should I be letting her choose which pants and shirts to purchase to begin with? Is it normal for her to have such strong preferences at the age of 4? Am I to explain to her that wearing the same exact thing every day is not socially acceptable, let alone possible given our current laundry schedule?

It turns out that, according to experts, it’s never too early to start giving out proper style etiquette lessons to your offspring and it’s certainly always the right time to allow them to discover their own fashion-related dispositions.

Allowing your child to find their own style is easier said than done.

“Helping your child to find their own fashion style is a commitment that parents and caregivers have to intentionally make because it requires them to give up some of their control as their child develops their own sense of style,” said clinical child psychologist Tasha M. Brown.

The idea is that the more leeway