Guest post: Raising bargain princesses

I’m running a series of guest posts while I work on a textbook chapter I was asked to co-write.

Today, we have some great parenting advice for those who are raising daughters, thanks to Rebecca. Rebecca also writes one of my favourite blogs, The Space Between My Peers.

If you’d like to be a guest Bargain Queen, send me an email.

Parents: begin early in teaching your daughters to shop sensibly, and when they are teens you’ll still be able to afford clothes for yourself!

Here’s what you can do for your daughters to raise sensible shoppers with great style.

From birth to age 8

• Here’s looking at you, Mom. You are the role model.
• Taking into consideration your child’s likes and dislikes, provide a functional wardrobe.
• Encourage her to select her own outfits.
• Garage sales and thrift stores are generally kid-friendly places. Frequent them.

Around the age of 9

• Teach artistic principles and apply them to selecting clothes. Color harmony, scale, proportion, all these principles apply to putting together an outfit.
• Begin to look for your child’s fashion personality. Help her discover her individual style idiom.

From 10 through mid-teens

• Rather than giving your child an allowance to be spent on luxuries, how about giving her a clothing allowance?

clothing allowance = money + responsibility

• This is your opportunity to teach basic budgeting skills.
• At this age, she still needs you to drive her to the store, making you an advisor, and you are the parent, so you have veto power.
• You may also serve as safety net. I recommend gifts, though, rather than loans, if you do need to step in.
• Continue coaching for individual style and artistic presentation.
• Make it fun! Go shopping together. Enjoy each other.

By the time your princess is ready to drive herself to the mall, you should enjoy seeing her coach her friends in frugal style.

Way to go, Mom!

You can read more from Rebecca at her fantastic blog, The Space Between My Peers.

If you’d like to write a guest post for The Bargain Queen as well, find out how here.