To not buy branded clothes for my children unless it's a birthday or Christmas?

[thewemb]

I have 2 DC one is 13 and one is 10. Apparently I'm really mean and "don't understand" that everyone else has the "in things". Is this true? 13 year old wants a tshirt that is a YouTube's merch which costs £20. The 10 year old wants hype clothes at £20 +. I've said only for birthday. They usually have Tesco or equivalent. I'm not a mean mum am I???

Why not give them pocketmoney? They can then save for branded stuff between birthdays etc.

I let my 11 year old put some money towards branded items. For instance my DD wanted branded (bloody awful nylon) tracksuit bottoms. I was prepared to pay 20 (in Scandinavia tax on children's clothes) the ones she wanted were 40. She added saved pocket money. DS needed a new rucksack for school - he wanted one for 50 I said that was too much but would put up 25 if he put the rest in. Uncanny, he found he liked just as much for 18 and scored a baseball hat too. If you ask them them to chip in for the branded items you get to see hiw much they really want it.

If you object to branded names, only the cost, have a look on eBay too.

ASOS is pretty good for reasonably priced " cool" clothes

Pocket money seems like the best idea. Do they get pocket money at the moment?

I don’t think £20 for t shirt is particularly expensive, it’s hardly a designer label. But I would want it to be good quality which I doubt YouTube merch is.

Compromise needed OP. I like setting a budget eg you have £50 for a hoody and joggers what are you going to get? Then they work out what is priority.

14 yr old will go straight to TKMaxx as he's adult medium size now ( I have trained him well) or searches on line for discounts. He also spends his own pocket/ birthday money on the brands he likes. He knows compromise e.g 2nd hand drum kit for birthday meant money spare for shopping. I also second H&M / Primark for jeans, socks , jammies and anything very fashion led.

12 year old doesn't care a jot. He'll wear anything ( although his North Face jacket he jngerited from his brother is a favourite!)

My worry would be that if they have branded clothes all the time it won't feel special when the don't get them at birthdays or Christmas. My other concern would be that they will think that money can be thrown at branded items. And as with any family money isn't easy to have.

So If I was you I wouldn't not buy branded. But it would only be as a treat they will learn how to appreciate if it isn't given to often.

I would also make them learn to save money. That way they learn the value of things 💰

Trainers are a no compromise for them.both, but lucky to be near two large TK Maxx - where I've found many a bargain- and a huge Nike outlet. M&M sports online is also excellent for trainers.

My teen son only wears labels but if you shop around you can get stuff really cheaply. JD Sports sale, TK Maxx, Next Clearance, Get the Label, M&M direct and Ralph Lauren outlet are brilliant for cutting the costs. I've got him T-shirts between £5 and £10 - including Ralph Lauren stuff in our local outlet.

I begrudge paying high prices on clothing- especially on growing teens - but would rather my son feels happy in what he wears.

I would only buy them for birthdays or Christmas. They could save up pocket money for them too, pay the difference if they already needed clothing.

That is if you don't buy more than they need though. If you think about it and it turns out that they don't actually need the number of items you were willing to buy, then you could buy fewer clothes but let them choose to buy branded items with any money you save.

I've got teen daughter's, I usually buy cheap fashion stuff for them e.g. new look, h and m, Primark, and on birthdays and Christmas they get what ever it is they want e.g. adidas/nike/converse clothes or from dearer shops such as top shop, oasis etc , I always get them a proper make of trainers and half decent shoes though

My DM pointed out repeatedly when we were children that she didn't understand branded clothes because companies usually pay for advertising so they should pay you to walk around covered in their logo rather than the customer paying extra for the privilege. It worked fairly well on us; we all only buy expensive branded items if they're actually better quality / value / don't have a generic equivalent.

YANBU! I’m the same with my two - ds1 is nearly 13 and I’ve just bought him jeans from Primark for £10 each as they look no different from any others, and I’ll buy plain t-shirts and the Nike/Adidas ones that are 2 for £20...anything more ‘branded’ he has as presents or uses his own money.

He accepts this and saved hard for a pair of £80 trainers that he really wanted - I ended up paying half because I was impressed at his saving (and because he did actually need new trainers). I also went halves with him on Adidas shorts and sliders in the summer. My rule is I’ll pay the amount that I think is reasonable and he makes up the difference for the ‘label’. Perhaps you could try this so he’s not always having to wait for birthday / Christmas?

I do the same @mamaduckbone - I pay what I think is a fair amount for an item then expect DS to chip in the rest. So for example, I would expect to pay £50 for a pair of trainers so anything more he has to save for

Remember buying gym shoes from Poundstrecher, wouldn't countenance them 🤨

I sympathise with your DC because I do remember being that age and how targeted people were for their trainers in particular. If you had anything other than Nike or Adidas you’d be ripped apart, especially in secondary school. To go as a 13 year old in supermarket specials would have been social suicide.

However I am now an adult and mother so sympathise with you too. It’s a tricky balance but I would suggest giving an allowance each week for good behaviour and helping around the house. They can then save up for expensive items they really long for. It’s a long time to wait until birthdays and Christmas for something you really, really want at that age.

OutPinked Is that still the case in secondary schools today though? My 12 year old hasn't had an issue with £15 Sports Direct Karrimor trainers.