Saturday, June 30, 2007
Modest Clothing for Babies
Here is a question for all you moms with little girls and anyone that has an opinion about this subject. So, I was just wondering what you all think about letting your little girls wear sleevless shirts or dresses? Do you feel that they should be modest from day one or do you think there is a time when it should be implemented? I ask this because I have a 22 month old and haven't thought too much about it. I have bought plenty of sleevless dresses and shirts because it is soo hot here in Michigan. I guess what I've always thought is that I'll start making her dress modest when she is a little older and understands being modest or even a little sooner. I was thinking around age 4. It has never bothered me to see babies or toddlers in little sundresses. However, lately I've been getting some comments by women that think you should dress them modest at a young age to teach them early on. Do you think by letting her wear it now that she'll look back at pictures and ask why she could wear it then? I just want to get your opinions. Maybe I should start dressing her in modest clothing now.
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18 comments:
My mom put me in little sleeveless sun dresses when I was little, I even wore tank tops. I had sleeveless clothes until I was about 4 or 5. I don't look back at pictures and question it. I was a baby and little kid. Although, thinking about it now I don't remember any pictures of me wearing sleeveless clothes to church after I was a toddler. I don't think infants can be immodest ... unless we're carrying them around naked and then it's our fault. If I ever have a little girl I will let her have some sleeveless dresses or tank tops until she's 4 or 5 like I was. I don't remember my mom ever telling me about modesty when I was that young but she probably did and I probably got the idea when she didn't let me wear sleeveless things anymore. I believe that one reason women should be modest is to help men. Baby/toddler girls don't have baby/toddler boys looking at them going "What a babe!". I hope that made sense and wasn't a huge jumble.
I don't think that there is anything wrong with sleevless on a little girl. I am not to fond of spagetti strap cloths, but if it has a high neckline I don't really see a problem. However, I really do not like little bikinis on babies. Just my opinion. As for people telling you to dress your baby more modest, it is not any of there business. YOU ARE THE MOM, NOT THEM. Of course, I don't have any little girls only boys.
My baby wears sleeveless sundresses and such. I agree with what has been said. I do remember once when I was working at a day camp, there was a 5 year old girl with like a haltar string bikini and it wasn't covering her nipples for barely a moment once she was running around in the pool. I thought that was ridiculous. Even though I'm okay with sleeveless and stuff for my girl, I'm already an anti-Bratz doll mom. I don't look forward to when my little girl asks me for one of those.
I think we're all on the same page. My little one wears sleeveless stuff, and I plan to let her for a few more years. I kind of think of it as, if she's young enough that she could run around in her diaper on a hot day and it wouldn't be inappropriate, than how can it be inappropriate to wear something sleevless???
p.s. What's a bratz doll? Am I out of the loop?!
I put my 22 month old daughter in sleeveless dresses and when I was young I know I wore sunsuits that just tied over my shoulder. I never had a problem with modesty as I got older. I actually just got a really cute little flower-girl type dress for my daughter for my little sister's wedding and it is sleeveless but so adorable. I asked one of my sister's if she wanted to get the dresses to match because she has a 6 year old girl and a two year old girl. She said she wouldn't let her older daughter wear sleeveless things now because she was too old and too aware to wear sleeveless things. For young kids I don't think it is a problem at all until they're in school probably.
I'm a little more conservative, I guess. It's hard to find dresses with sleeves for little girls. I searched everywhere for an Easter dress this year! But I feel pretty strongly that those habits start young, maybe even before school. My little one is 17 mos and she has some sleeveless things but if the strap is a string, it gets a onesie underneath it. I don't like belly baring swimsuits even on babies. And I actually think there's a difference between running around in a diaper to stay cool and running around in a revealing outfit, even at a really young age. But I also came from a family where tank tops were not allowed from that very young age. I don't want my girls looking back and wondering why I won't let them wear them anymore. I had friends in college who had such a hard transition to wearing garments because they were so used to wearing tank tops and short shorts and I think you can avoid a lot of that by starting young.
I tend to agree with Liz&Meg on this one. I don't have a girl right now, so maybe it's none of my business yet, but I think when I have one I will try to dress her in sleeves as much as possible. It's not that I think babies are immodest in sleeveless clothes, but I like Liz&Meg's comment about starting good habits as early as possible. I mean, my son can't understand when I read scriptures to him yet, but I still feel like I should read them with him anyway, you know?
As a youth, my mom did not like tank tops, but I remember wearing sleeveless stuff. It was just not spagetti strap. All of my formal dresses in high school were sleeveless, but they came to the edge of my shoulder. Personally I did not view these as immodest. My mother is a VERY modest person and she personally allowed me to wear these "to the shoulder dresses". I know that some people have a hard time with the transition to wearing garments, I do not think that I was one of them. Even though, I occasionally wore tank tops. I understood the importance of them and that was that.
But, like I said before you are the mom and you do what you feel is comfortable for your child. If you feel uncomfortable with how a outfit looks, put something over or under it.
I didn't grow up in the church, and therefore wore many not-so-modest clothes. I was baptized when I was 18, and immediately started weeding out my immodest clothing a little at a time so that once I went to the temple my wardrobe wouldn't require a full replacement. I don't think the transition was difficult, but I guess that could be because I was a convert. I guess my opinion would be that once a child is accountable, they should be dressing modestly. Of course, you should be teaching them the principle as soon as they are old enough to understand. For instance, do you make your baby/toddler fast? No, probably not. Do you teach them about fasting? Probably. I think there is a major difference between dressing a baby/toddler in a sleeveless top and dressing them immodestly. Obviously dressing your child in a string bikini or something risqué is inappropriate. Also, there are many forms of immodesty, not just sleeveless tops. If a baby shouldn't be in sleeveless tops, then they probably shouldn't be in short skirts/shorts or in just a onesie. If the shoulder is considered too revealing as a baby/toddler, then the thigh should be too.
Steph, Bratz are like for school-aged girls and they are belly-bearing and such.
good discussion ladies! i like hearing everyone's opinions and experiences!
and Linz, I don't like Bratz either!!! I already avoid that aisle in Target because Meg gets excited over every "baby" doll! :)
I apologize for getting off the main subject. I don't have a daughter myself but I've seen commercials for the "bratz" dolls and they're scary looking. Have you seen their eyes? They're huge. Plus, all the disgusting "make-up" they wear...I think it sets a very bad example for beauty. There's nothing wrong with make-up but one should only wear so much. And they're clothing is not modest.
1. There is a difference between skimpy halter tops and sleeveless...I wore sleeveless until the day before I was endowed. You can wear non-g clothing and still look non-hoochy. So, instead of g-covering clothes, you could have a rule of non-hoochy. A big indication of the hoochy-level is the way your daughter behaves/acts while in the clothes. Even some of the most modest clothing my daughter has, affect the way she acts while wearing them(she's 5).
2. Bratz. I too judged bratz quite harshly at first. However, Barbie has just as much hoochy-level as far as boobs and fashion. I would say Barbie has more plastic surgery and Bratz more tattooed-on face makeup.
When my daughter expressed interest in bratz, after several months of begging, I agreed to buy her one if it was dressed modestly. So, we have snowboarder bratz, camping bratz, and genie bratz. And if there is an extra outfit included that isn't modest, we get rid of it.
I feel that making this compromise was good because it forced her to look at the dolls, and recognize the difference between the hooshies and the non hoochies, and she can then have that dialogue with friends later in life....
camping bratz
Glad there's some modest Bratz out there.
Love the point about hoochie vs. non-hoochie. I too wore sleeveless before I was endowed and had no problem with the transition--you just do it, ya know?
Kage, thanks for pointing that out. I did judge too harshly. I really like that you talked about it with your daughter so she'll understand the difference between modest and immodest. Not that you need my approval but way to go! I'll remember that for the day I have a daughter.
I like the comment about choosing the bratz dolls - and the discussion it leads to. My son is only 3 months and I am already scared to let him grow up in this world! There are so many things in the world that go against gospel standards. I figure that sooner or later my children will be exposed to these things -hopefully not at home but somewhere else. I want them to know how to judge things against gospel standards.
My 26month old daughter doesn't have anything that is a "small" version of stuff you find for teenagers or adults. I try hard to keep her in tees (cap sleeves) or sleeveless shirts (you know the covering the shoulder kind) during the summer. she does lots of dresses (always with shorts under them). I want to make it a way of life for her to cover parts of her body. I too try to set a good example, not always the best (having large breasts makes it difficult sometimes), but I try. My husband agrees, we do not want our daughter to have a self-image that she must show off parts of her body to garner attention. We'd do the same with our son. And absolutely NO two piece bathing suits that show the belly--bikinis and the like are meant to be sexy and a toddler is not supposed to be sexy. She does have two piece bathing suits but has the surfer tee shirt style top with bikini bottoms (with potty training it makes it easier to get them on and off if you know what I mean).
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