Shopping with Teenagers

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Jane, how do you feel about shopping for clothes with your teenage children? My sons want to be totally independent and buy everything themselves, but I believe that sometimes they need my advice. What do you think? Well, recently I heard a journalist who said that parents should stay outside the changing room door rather than act as stylists. I agree, as I'm not a fan of teenage shops. Most of them play deafening music and have very bright lights, and that's why I can't stand them. So it's one of the reasons why I let my kids shop on their own. That's true. These shops are not parent friendly, and I believe it's done on purpose. The shops don't want sensible adults inside them. They want teenagers to shop there on their own so that they could sell the teens as much as possible. That's exactly the reason why I often insist on going. I don't want my children to spend money on expensive products. I want them to be reasonable with money, not to be manipulated, though I can't say I enjoy it. Mmm, I've never thought of it like that. Actually, I once went into a shop that was almost dark. My son loved it. He thought it was really exciting, but I couldn't even see the clothes or prices properly. I was exhausted after fifteen minutes in that shop. Now I think it was done to discourage me from shopping there in the first place. Clever, wasn't it? Yes, but I still believe that we must give our teenage children some freedom, perhaps at the same time keeping an eye on their shopping habits. This leads to greater trust and understanding between children and parents. You're right, Rob. To change the subject, I just thought that it would be lovely to have shopping centres without teenagers around. It would be much quieter. I think it would inspire me to go shopping more often. Imagine all that peace and quiet in the shops. It would be great. In fact, I read about a shopping centre in Birmingham in England which plays only classical music. Apparently there are a few teenagers around. What a brilliant idea!