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Is High Fashion Hurting Kids?

Strappy sandals, rhinestone-studded belts, and racerback dresses look great on the catwalk, but wearing them to school could lead to developmental problems, according to a new study.

Fashion-conscious moms, who want their kids to look like they just stepped out of a children’s clothing catalog, could be setting up their offspring for failure in class. According to a recent study, wearing inappropriate outfits has the potential to disrupt the entire class and could seriously compromise a child’s development.

What’s more, researchers note that the children, who are most likely to be scarred by wearing fashionable duds to class, are not teens, but rather, kids in elementary school.

During the study, researchers found that inappropriate dress was a “barrier” to kids’ development of physical coordination and social learning.

Inappropriate clothing included unsuitable footwear such as slippers and sandals in the winter months, a lack of coats and gloves, frilly dresses, super skinny jeans, extra short mini skirts, muscle tees and “nice” or expensive outfits that were “not to be ruined.”

Researches say when children were sent to school wearing fashionable, yet inappropriate clothing they were reluctant to play outside. More over, teachers were unwilling to send underdressed students outdoors for recess, thus restricting physical activity.

Interesting results. However, when it comes to dressing my kindergartener for school, comfort rules. While my daughter looks adorable in sundresses, there’s no way I would send her to class in a sleeveless number in the middle of winter. No matter how much she begged.

In regards to letting my daughter wear designer duds that are “not to be ruined,” unless you consider Carters, OshKosh B’Gosh, and The Children’s Place outfits to be high fashion, there should be no reason for my kid to miss recess.

That being said, I do sympathize with parents whose children are loyal to certain outfits. I have a friend whose 3-year-old daughter lived in a yellow Disney princess dress complete with tulle and jewels forEVER. The kid refused to take off the dress regardless of where she went, including the beach, church, and the supermarket. At the time my friend was dealing with a sick infant and chose not to make an issue of her daughter’s eclectic fashion sense. However, when it came time to start preschool, the dress hit the fan… so to speak. It took weeks of tears, tantrums and threats before my friend’s daughter came to the realization that her Belle dress would not be accepted as her school uniform, and that she would have to wear “real clothes” in the classroom.

What do you make of the study’s results? Do you think inappropriate outfits are a “significant barrier” in a child’s physical development?

Related Articles:

Are you Raising a Mini Fashionista?

Parents As Fashion Police

Do You Let Your Child Run Around Naked in Public?

Kiddie Parties: No Clothes Allowed

This entry was posted in Child Safety Issues and tagged , , , , by Michele Cheplic. Bookmark the permalink.

About Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. She spent the next ten years as a television anchor and reporter at various stations throughout the country (from the CBS affiliate in Honolulu to the NBC affiliate in Green Bay). She has won numerous honors including an Emmy Award and multiple Edward R. Murrow awards honoring outstanding achievements in broadcast journalism. In addition, she has received awards from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association for her reports on air travel and the Wisconsin Education Association Council for her stories on education. Michele has since left television to concentrate on being a mom and freelance writer.