Tips for shopping with your tween or teen

Have you ever gone shopping with your tween or teen and found it way too overwhelming and frustrating to enjoy? If so, you are not alone. Going clothes shopping with your child can be really stressful for any number of reasons, so don’t blame yourself if you have been dreading going to the mall with your teen to get them some new clothes. Today, we’re going to help make the adventure of going shopping with your teen easier and less intimidating. In no time at all, you’ll be able to go shopping for tops and leggings for tweens like it’s nothing. To learn how to make the most out of shopping with your kids, keep on reading. 

Double check school dress code 

First and foremost, you and your teen have to have an understanding of what kind of clothes they can wear to school. Most middle and high schools have some sort of dress code, so before you go shopping with your teen, look over the dress code to make sure you don’t buy anything they won’t be able to wear to school. Do this yourself, too; your teen either might not know the extent of the dress code or even tell a fib to get some other clothes. By doing this simple tip, you can make sure your teen will get the most out of your shopping trip. 

Make a list 

Once you’ve double-checked the dress code, the next thing you and your tween have to do is make a list. Are they in need of more shirts or leggings for tweens? Do they need a certain type of bottoms for PE? Sit down together, and write a list of the exact items you’ll plan on getting when you go shopping. This will help you focus and not get too distracted when you go to the store, and it will also prevent you from forgetting anything important. 

Make a budget 

After the list comes the step that ensures you won’t blow way too much money on your teen’s clothes: make a budget. Calculate the maximum amount you can spend on each item and add those figures together to create your budget. The budget should depend on what stores you plan on going to. The nicer the store, the more expensive you can expect each item to be. A pair of leggings for tweens might be $5 at Walmart or $50 at Lululemon, so plan your budget based on what stores you want to go to. 

Check for sales 

We all love a good sale, so to make sure that you get the most out of your local mall’s promotions, check online for sales and discounts before you go shopping. Keep an eye out for any promotions you might notice, and plan to go shopping with your teen when those sales are taking place. This will help save you a lot of money, and who doesn’t love that?

Head straight to the teens’ section 

Let’s move on from the prior planning for going shopping with your teen to the actual process of going shopping. When you get to the store, make a beeline for the teens’ clothes section. If you linger around other parts of the store, they might be tempted to look at other types of clothes and then be unsatisfied with the clothes in the teens’ section. If you want to look around for yourself, remind yourself that you are here to shop for your teen and not yourself, and if you go looking at other clothing sections, they’ll want to go with you. Go right to the teens’ section to avoid this fiasco. 

Let your tween or teen lead 

No one likes being forced to wear something they don’t like or don’t think expresses their personal style well. The same applies to your kids. When you go shopping with them, you should let them lead the way. You might think that darker colors look good with their skin tone, but if they’re drawn to lighter colors, give them full freedom to choose what they want. It’s especially important to remember to refrain from giving your opinion (unless the clothes they pick out are absolutely inappropriate). By telling your teen they look better in darker colors than lighter ones, they might start to feel insecure, and obviously, we don’t want that to happen, so it’s safer to keep your thoughts to yourself. 

Make sure they try it on

Lastly, it is of the utmost importance that your teen tries on any clothes they are interested in buying. To save time, your teen – and maybe even you as the parent – might be tempted to hold it up in the mirror and guesstimate the fit, but avoid doing this at all costs. When your teen tries on the clothes, they might realize they don’t like the fit or how it looks on them. Similarly, they might try something they didn’t think would fit that turns out to be perfect. The key to a stress-free shopping trip with your teen is frequent trips to the fitting rooms. 

Conclusion 

We hope this article has shown you that shopping with your tween or teen doesn’t have to be stressful, but it can be a great bonding experience. By following these tips, you won’t dread shopping trips with your kids anymore but actually, look forward to them.