Hallowe’En Costumes: What To Do When Your Teen Wants To Look Like A Tramp By Jordan Marston At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

As Mean Girls put it, "In Girl World, Halloween is the one night a year when a girl can dress like a total slut, and no other girls can say anything about it. The hardcore girls just wear lingerie and some form of animal ears." What should you do when your daughter wants to imitate the worst of Lindsay Lohan?

Don’t be confrontational

If you simply refuse to let your daughter wear her Hallowe’en costume, it will cause a big scene. And more than likely, even if she tells you that she won’t go out in the clothes you prohibit, there is nothing to stop her from changing at a friends house before heading to her party.

Instead of starting a shouting match, why not discuss why she wants to dress like this. If she says that she wants boys attention, you could explain to her that she doesn’t want boys attention for those reasons: she wants to stand out for being self-confident. And wearing revealing clothes doesn’t show self-confidence. It shows that you need someone else to boost your self-esteem.

“All the other kids are doing it”

All the other kids might be doing it, but that’s all the more reason to rebel. She doesn’t have to wear a full on nun’s habit (though the pregnant nun is always a funny costume), she just has to wear something that she feels comfortable in and that you feel comfortable with her in.

Explain the reason for your concerns. Are you worried about her safety? Are you worried that she will damage her reputation? Are you worried that she will send the wrong messages to boys? Do you think she’ll catch a cold and then miss an important track meet? If you reason with your child, you can help her understand and make her own informed decision. Guide her, but don’t force her.

Help her find a good costume

Maybe you don’t approve of the lingerie and bunny-ears approach. However, if your daughter wants to be a butterfly, there’s probably not much reason that she can’t wear her dance leotard, black leggings, and wings. Think of it in terms of a dance costume if that helps you: would you let her wear it on stage? Would it be something a dance studio would ask her to wear? (Check out www.theguideto-costumes.com for some costume ideas.)

It can be fun

Hallowe’en can be a time to be a bit more revealing, or a bit funny. You could help her find a costume that is both. One of my favourites is going as a Freudian slip: wearing a slip over beige pants. These costumes could be reasonable (depending on the slip, of course) or unreasonable. Let her keep the same subject for her costume if you can help her find more covering or practical items to wear.

Even the classic Wonder Woman costume seems a bit revealing now. But with your help, your daughter can become a Wonder Woman with class. That way you won’t need a lasso of truth to find out what happened when she comes home. Send your daughter out dressed appropriately, yet. But more importantly, send your daughter out with self-confidence. Help her think through her night so that you know that she will make the right decisions.

In the meantime, try not to eat too much Hallowe’en candy when you’re sitting at home. Your baby girl has grown up.

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