Kids! Tuned In Or Tuned Out?
Here's a riddle: what can be seen
wearing Capri pants or bohemian skirts
and is often sporting an iPod or a designer
cell phone? If you pictured
a supermodel or celebrity, you
guessed wrong. Today's kids
aren't exactly the same
generation that grew up
wearing OshKosh B'Gosh
and who thought that
Atari was the epitome
of cool. More and more
kids have to compete
with the latest technology
and style trends, often
to the complete dismay of
their parents.
Venture into a kids' clothing store today and it's a mini mock up of their older teenage counterparts. Perhaps that's the point: to appear as old as possible. The kids aren't really thinking of it that way, though. Nine-year-old Marissa Hudnall, of Winfield, says, "I really like shirts with Capri pants or a tank top. Pants that have holes in them are cool, too. I saw a pair in a catalog and liked them a lot, but [mom] said she didn't like them because of the holes." She brings up an important point. Just what do parents think of these trendy-and often expensive- styles? Marissa's mother, Jenny, thinks that such outfits are trashy. "I know it's the fashion in some places, but I don't like it," she says. "Teens might be able to wear something like that, but I wouldn't let anyone below 9 wear it." Boys, who don't often get targeted in clothing disputes, aren't exempt. Popular styles today mimic "extreme" lifestyles-skateboarding, skulls and rock and roll symbols populate almost every shirt in boys' department stores.
Laura Booth, who has a 9- year-old son Nathan, has been fighting the trend. "He won' t wear shorts unless they're below his knees and he won't wear nice tshirts. It has to have some sports logo. We struggle if he's going to wear something nice. I didn't realize it started this young.I don't mind it, though," says Laura, who lives in Huntington.
Sarcasm also infiltrates children's clothing today. Parents have a hard time dealing with a generation of kids who think it's okay to proclaim their distaste for education ("home+ work--words that should never be together" as one boy's shirt says) or their blatant materialism ("Cha-ching!" a girl's shirt exclaims). Since when did it become okay for children to proudly display such negative qualities? Parents duke it out daily with their children in malls and at home over their child's desire to wear such clothing and the parent's need to keep it out of the house.
It's an increasingly difficult battle for parents to win. The "tween" market (kids ages 9- 13) has become a target point for advertisers, who capitalize on the influence kids have on their parents. Who can blame the kids for wanting the coolest clothes or newest gadget when peer pressure is so great? Marissa says having the hippest clothes is impor tant "so everyone won't make fun of us." Her mother agrees it's tough. "It's what her friends and everyone are wearing. She just wants to be like her friends."
The problem doesn't only affect younger kids, however. Continually, high schools have to fight with students about the dress code or technology policy. Winfield High School teacher Susan Kritchbaum says clothing styles have transitioned from being purely functional to more of an individual statement. "Revealing clothing harms already hormone-overloaded individuals. It's distracting for them.It's interesting, because when I first started teaching, the reasons for letting students wear shorts was because there was no air-conditioning in some of the buildings!"
However, she believes clothing is a smaller scale problem than the technology onslaught kids face. "We've had a lot of difficulties with text messaging on cell phones because they're used to cheat on tests. It's become quite a problem."
Cell phones and other high-tech items are working their way down to the younger markets. Walk into popular girls' clothing store Limited Too and there is a constant barrage of shirts proclaiming sassy slogans, including a young girl's shirt that asks the viewer to, "TXT Me ;o)." The dilemma is whether kids that young should be text messaging back and forth. Recently, Oprah featured a 5-year-old cell phone owner on her show. It opens up a whole new world of problems and dangers. "Kids at that age aren't necessarily going to choose what's best for their future. In a perfect world, my solution would be for them to choose their own path and if they mess up, it'll only affect themselves. But that's not how it's going to work," Susan says.
Marissa even admits that her elementary school teachers are chastising students because of what they're bringing in the classroom. "My friend has a cell phone and she brings it to school. I bring my Gameboy while other kids bring CD players." She adds, "Once I got in trouble and lost my play time for two days because I was playing Gameboy during class. Other kids get in trouble for it, too."
Marissa's mother agrees it's a problem. "I don't think kids should get a cell phone until they're at least driving age. It's good to have one for an emergency, but it's silly to call someone across the yard. Why not walk? My first cell phone was a track phone with set minutes. It was for emergencies-not to play with." It does present an interesting question: where is a 10-year-old going to be that their parent doesn't already know about? "What do they need an iPod for? There's not really a need for a 9-year-old to have an iPod," Laura says.
Marissa thinks there is; her 13-year-old friend has both an iPod and a cell phone. "I want an iPod. No kids in my class have one yet.that's why I want it." Laura consents that parents have to compromise, but says that children that young aren't responsible enough for the expensive gadgets. "[Nathan] was the last one of his friends to get a Gameboy. Now there's the PSP. I'm thinking, 'Gosh, those are expensive.'"
As school reconvenes, Bohemian styles for girls are widely popular including flowing skirts and dresses with earth tones pervading throughout. Boys' clothes continue to lean towards the "extreme" lifestyle. Superheroes, thanks to recent movies, are also popular. Jeans and pants with holes are becoming increasingly popular with both genders. iPods and cell phones are also high on the "gimmie" list in addition to the handheld game systems, such as Sony PSP and Nintendo DS.
Kids will continue to be kids, though. When asked if she could pick one thing to impress her friends the most, Marissa doesn't pick any technological gadget at all. "Long fingernails!" she giggles, waving her fingers.
