All military children are not sweet little babies clutching miniature American flags in their adorable fists. At a recent SpouseBuzz LIVE even in San Diego, CA, a group of moms reminded us that one in five military kids are teenagers. And parenting those teenagers during deployment is making these moms crazy before their time.
Inspired by our What Not To Wear To A Military Ball list, these moms put together a What Not To Wear list for their slightly exasperating teenage daughters.
1. If the heels of your shoes can be used as a weapon, they shouldn’t be worn to school.
2. The only cheeks showing should be the ones on your face, Sweetheart. Really.
3. If you are showing more than 80% of your skin, you should be at the beach, the beach and only the beach.
3. Look in the mirror and ask yourself: Would you wear that to Grandma’s house?
4. I see London, I see France, I don’t want to see your underpants.
5. Bras belong under clothes, hence the reason they are sold in the “underwear” section of the store.
6. Unless starring in a movie by Tim Burton, use make-up sparingly.
7. The phrase ‘less is more’ does not actually apply to a teen’s wardrobe.
8. If you want me to take you shopping and help you pick out everything you own right down to your Smurf-themed high-rise briefs, keep buying that too-sexy stuff when I’m not around.
9. Unless you are actually a dead ringer for Catherine Bach circa 1979, avoid Daisy Dukes. Trust me on this. I know.
10. You are the most beautiful girl in the world. You live in a time where sexiness on the outside is equated with worth on the inside. Your dad and I think you are so much more than that. And we always will.
Editor’s Note: SpouseBuzz LIVE participants Shan Tyson, Isabel Antinarelli, Maria Labastida, Barb Stewart, and Claudia Boyer contributed to this post. BTW all of them were smart, gorgeous, younger-looking-than-their-years and clearly loved their daughters completely.
About Jacey Eckhart
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In this house, 3 of the six military kids are teens…and one of those is male. The male version should cover things like not wanting to see the underwear, that the WAISTBAND of pants was designed to go at the WAIST, not halfway down the thighs, that belts help accomplish this, as does acquiring pants in the correct size, that "wife-beaters" are not appropriate attire, EVER….
For the females in the house, you've covered most of the points very well….
Great pos
What I meant to say was….Great post!!!
I think #10 should be #1 with all others following that. My wife and I rasied 1 boy and 2 girls. One of the girls pushed our buttons and the limits, but we never bought or allowed her to buy clothes that exposed more than it should. They did have a few skirts just above the knee and we even let them wear short shorts (so long as the wrong cheeks didnt show) and we or they were going to be somewhere appropriate like the beach and such. As parents it was OUR responsibility to ensure they dressed appropriately. I know at times our kids resented us and were even dare I say mad at us. However, my wife and I were not trying to be their best friend, we were trying to be the best PARENTS we could be. The fact that we were friends with our children was a bonus.
I once remember attending a parent meeting at the beggining of the school year where the dress code was covered. One of the parents got up and asked who determines a violation (indicating the teacher should not have that power). The administration replied the student would be sent to the office and the principal would make the determination. My thought was it is YOUR responsibility NOT the school!!! YOU the PARENT know the rules, so YOUR child should not leave the house dressed wrong.
A parent can make sure the kid leaves the house dressed appropriately, but often the kid changes on the way to a destination or at the destination. I had told my daughter that she is not to wear spaghetti strap tops with bra straps and the tops of the bra cups showing while she is in public and if I catch her like that I will throw away the spaghetti strap tops. I showed up at her outdoor marching band practice and she had taken off her t-shirt and was in the inappropriate clothing. When we got home I immediately found the offending tops and threw them in the garbage. She was shocked that I followed through with it, but she loves to keep pushing the limits and sometimes it takes something drastic to get the point across. It baffles me that she would think that walking around like that looks appealing or sexy.
Been there did that. Grounding her from attending something she had been planning for months had quite the impact. I was public enemy #1, but she learned that her actions had consequences. Overall, even my "challenging" daughter was not all that bad. We had our conflicts but my wife and I remained consistent with our love and punishment for rules broken. Ensuring they know they are loved and setting boundaries begins at an early age. I remember once when we grounded my 16 year old son from attending a concert with his girlfriend he was so upset. He came into the living room and stated "I will never treat my kids the way you treat me". My wife and I almost fell in the floor laughing. He is now married with his own children and well…..ummm…errr….. he has had to eat his words. He has called numerous times to tell us thanks and let us know what our angelic grandchildren have done "this time" ;-)
I can't wait until she has a daughter like her. I know my mom is holding back the laughs when I tell her about the latest WTF moments I have when dealing with my daughter.
Her first is due in April :-)
You mean "Top Ten Female Teen What Not to Wear", because yet again we are strictly focusing on female bodies as worthy of censure and not male bodies.