One common thing that many young women struggle with is dressing modestly. Often this is based more on a desire to fit in with the mold, then anything else. It is important to help your young woman realize the importance of dressing appropriately and treating her body respectfully. Here are five tips on helping your young woman with modesty.
1) It is important to begin young. If your daughter understands that she should not wear sleeveless dresses and tops at four, then it will be easier to enforce at fourteen. Also it is hard to set forth an arbitrary date that your child needs to start dressing modestly and expect her to willingly comply with it.
2) It is important that your daughter be happy with what she is wearing. Your daughter’s self esteem is very fragile. There are many stores and resources that supply clothing that are still in style without being immodest. You can shop online or order from catalogues. You do not need to limit yourself to LDS clothing sites (though these are a great resource). I know someone who orders the majority of the clothing for her daughter through Lands’ End.
3) It is important that you set the example for your daughter. Teenagers are very aware of double standards, so you should make sure that you are dressing modestly. This can include tight fitting clothes and other aspects mentioned in the For the Strength of Youth manual.
4) It is also important that your daughter realizes why she should dress modestly. This is actually the most important thing you can do to ensure that your daughter will dress modestly. If she understands and agrees with the reasons why, then she will choose to dress modestly on her own. You may want to have a family home evening lesson it.
5) You can refrain from buying your daughter immodest clothing. This is important. However, once she gets a job she may purchase her own clothing. You may need to set up guidelines on things that are absolutely unacceptable in your home. This is something you will have to decide on your own.
Related Articles:
Looking for Modest Clothes?
Family Home Evening: Dress and Appearance