Balanced & Beautiful
Dressing for the Glory of God
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WORDS TO THE YOUNG
by Laurel Damsteegt, Part 12
Should adults and children
dress the same way? If we are speaking of principles, then the
answer is yes. Whether a child or an adult, the clothing should
be comfortable, neat, simple, modest, and attractive.
But when it comes to choosing actual clothing styles, there
should be a difference. Children are not miniature adults. What
is appropriate for an adult can look ridiculous on a child, and
vice versa.
As children move into their teens, they begin wanting to look
more like adults. Unfortunately, that line is being pushed back
today. More and more children are wearing high heels, applying
makeup, and choosing decidedly adult fashions. As they do, they
begin copying adult behaviors in other areas.
This is not God’s plan! “The little ones should be educated
in childlike simplicity. . . . The children should not be forced
into a precocious maturity, but should retain as long as
possible the freshness and grace of their early years.”1 The
child who remains a child throughout childhood is truly blessed!
In his book, The Hurried Child, David Elkind explains how dress
affects the maturing process: “Three or four decades ago,
prepubescent boys wore short pants and knickers until they began
to shave; getting a pair of long pants was a true rite of
passage. Girls were not permitted to wear makeup or sheer
stockings until they were in their teens. For both sexes,
clothing set children apart. It signaled adults that these
people were to be treated differently, perhaps indulgently; it
made it easier for children to act as children.”2
Today the fashion industry has targeted children—even
preschoolers. “From overalls to Lacoste shirts to scaled-down
designer fashions, a whole range of adult costumes is available
to children.”3
Most of society thinks this is just “cute.” However,
precocious clothing invites adult ideas and actions. When
children are burdened with the overtones of adult culture, they
are likely to grow up too soon and begin acting in ways that are
beyond their years.
“When children dress like adults, they are more likely to
behave as adults do, to imitate adult actions. It is hard to
walk like an adult male wearing corduroy knickers that make an
awful noise. But boys in long pants can walk like men, and
little girls in tight jeans can walk like women. It is more
difficult today to recognize that children are children and not
miniature adults, because children dress and move like adults.”4
Today many children refuse to wear clothing without the most
popular designer labels. They become so caught up in themselves
and their wants that they do not realize how much strain it puts
on the family budget.
Instead of bowing to fads, children can learn “to distinguish
between that which is sensible and that which is foolish in the
matter of dress. . . . As a people who are preparing for the
soon return of Christ,” they can “give to the world an
example of modest dress in contrast with the prevailing fashion
of the day.”5
How much better to learn to appreciate simple, sensible
clothing! Then we become real individuals, instead of victims of
peer pressure!
Part 1
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1. Ellen White, Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students,
page 142.
2. David Elkind, The Hurried Child, page 8.
3. Ibid. (Note: Lacoste is a designer label.)
4. Ibid., pages 8, 9.
5. White, Child Guidance, pages 424, 425.
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