MY daughter is a preteen, but then I also have teenage orphans whom my mother adopted and are all under our care. Recently, when they were going back to school, I asked each one of them to make a list of the essentials they require, and they drafted them so fast. So the next day I took all of them for shopping ready to go to school.

While I was shopping with my lot, a parent came entering with her twin daughters in tow dressed half naked asking the shop attendants to attend to them first since they were in a hurry. Politely I told her that we came first and therefore she should give us the chance to be attended to, she declined and gave me the look of who-told-you-to-give-birth-to-a-basketball-team.

I was not bothered by her look and words but what bothered me was the way she was so blinded by the so called civilisation that she could not see that her teenage daughters were half naked, and if at any time should they risk going anywhere dressed like that without the comfort of their mother’s car, then only heaven knows what would happen to those beautiful girls. Before we left the shop, I walked up to her and advised her on good parenting; one of them was to dress her children decently.

People want to call it civilisation, but I call it something else. Parents now days are so much into western styles that they end up forgetting the good morals that once were the pillar of our society.

Walk around and see our preteen and teenagers half naked, the funny thing is that parents have a big role to play in this; we are the ones who are encouraging our children to walk around indecently by agreeing to buy these shameless clothes for them. If we stand up and say no to them, then rest assured that this lost generation will come back to their senses.

Parents should always pay attention to what other children are wearing. Are they decently dressed or not?

You shouldn’t encourage your children to dress like everyone else or buy anything in the shops just because they are on fashion. Unfortunately some of these fashion magazines confuse us, not knowing that most of the clothes showcased in the fashion magazine have never seen the light of day.

Age of the children should always be considered before buying anything for them. For instance it will be very awkward for me to buy stilettos for my daughter who is only twelve years old, in any case where would a child of twelve go to in stilettos? Parents should be able to set limits and make them clear before you go shopping. Your children should know in advance what is definitely out and you cannot buy for them.

I remember in my younger days going shopping with our mother. We always shopped at one of the best shops in Kenya called Deacons, which had beautiful and trendy cotton clothes, and still has to date, upon entering the doors of Deacons they would show us the new arrivals and my mother would let us go wild in choosing the clothes we want, but before she could pay for any, she made sure that we fitted the clothes and they met her standards, failure to that, she would not pay.

Like my mother, when shopping together with my football team, I always do so with an open mind. That means I don’t instantly dismiss anything they choose, so long as it fits in with the rules.

I also agree with them ahead of time that they will have to try on any item that they chosen before refusing or agreeing. This way all my children know what is expected of them when choosing their clothes.

As much as we want our children to look stylish, let us not forget our moral values and teach our children to look decent at all time, they don’t make the rules we do -this will go a long way into teaching them to be respected and responsible men and women.

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