Shopping with Tween Girls: Tips for Moms

If you are like many moms, one of your first thoughts that ran through your mind when you learned you were having a little baby girl was what fun the two of you would have shopping together. Perhaps you thought about how cute you would dress her, and you likely did dress her in the most adorable outfits in her younger years. Now, however, your little bundle of joy has grown up, and your tween no longer thinks your sense of style is cool.

Those shopping trips that you once enjoyed with your daughter have turned into a veritable nightmare. Not only does she not like anything you pick out, but it’s hard to find anything she actually does like. Further, many tweens have developing bodies. Clothes in the kid section don’t seem to fit right, but your daughter isn’t quite ready to hit the teen section either.

Before you throw in the towel entirely and give up on ever shopping with your daughter again, consider some of these tips to make shopping with your tween a bit easier:

Shop Online First. Many moms of tweens are weary of making online purchases because of the unique in-between shape of their developing daughter. You do want to ensure clothes fit right before you buy them, and you have probably seen your daughter try on enough clothes to know that most things don’t fit right. You can save time shopping from store to store, however, by spending time shopping online with your tween to check out which stores have styles she is actually interested in. You know you are going to spend a lot of time in the dressing room, so this first step can help to decrease the time you spend walking or driving from store to store.

Let Your Daughter Browse On Her Own. If your daughter is like most tween girls, she will immediately disregard most of the suggestions you make. When this happens, most mothers simply try harder, and before long, your daughter has said “no” to every item in the store. Rather than offer suggestion after suggestion, head off to a corner of the store to look on your own and give your daughter free reign to browse the selections. Many tweens will pick up a few items to try on on their own when you simply back off a bit and don’t offer your own opinions on the items.

Shop With a Friend. You are not the only mom who is having trouble shopping with your tween. You may find the whole experience of shopping with your daughter to be more enjoyable by inviting one of her good friends and her friend’s mother to come along with you. The girls can then hash out what outfits look great while you observe and offer your own two cents from time to time. Just be sure that you shop with a friend whose taste you like.

Shopping with tweens is difficult enough because many girls this age are at that in-between stage when teen clothes aren’t right but kids clothes aren’t right either. This, along with your child’s own developing sense of style, and your child’s desire to separate from you a bit all makes shopping more of a chore than a fun experience for the two of you. Consider some of these tips to make your shopping trips with your tween more successful and enjoyable.

Here are a few other articles written by this author:

How Positive is Your Parenting?
Helping Your Kids Through Fights with Friends

Kids and Friend Drama: When to Step In


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