#114 Norbert and #115 Ray. My comments were for adults I don’t use words like that with my kids. Many parents have lamented over the last ten or so years the shrinking availability of truly childlike fashion for children. A lot of the fashion for little girls are not age appropriate. Conversely adults will take children’s styles and make them seductive. This is all a part of sexualizing children. For me, I think that dressing children like children is modesty.

I have a newsflash for you.

When our daughters were small, we made a point of dressing them “modestly.” No sundresses. No short skirts. No tank tops. We wanted them to be accustomed to clothing that was compatable with the temple garment when they got older.

Now they are in their teenage years. They buy their own clothes. Guess what? They wear sundresses, tank tops, and short skirts, especially when the weather is hot.

Dressing your kids like they wear garments when they are young does not ensure that they will keep dressing that way when they are older. If anything, it may very well incline them the other way.

We try to use that standard as a springboard into discussions about chastity, etc.

Yes, so do we. We had a discussion about this just the other day when our youngest asked (and I quote), “Mom, why do you wear that stupid-looking underwear?”

A reply to # 13, cowboy:

The fact that the temple garments were once to the wrists and ankles back in the day to me is not relavent. I live in the hear an now. For the most part, clothes which can be worn without modifying the garment will be modest. There has been some discussion regarding tight fitting clothing to which I would agree that this can be just as provocative as other styles. But, the use of the garment as a standard is still a very good starting point. I believe that the temple is the symbol of our membership, and becoming and/or remaining worthy of a recommend is something that Latter-day Saints should aspire too. One interpretation of the section on Dress and Appearance in For the Strength of Youth says as much, specifically where it states:

Someday you will receive your endowment in the temple. Your dress and behavior should help you prepare for that sacred time.

Martin #16:

I apply those same principles to my son as well. It is just as important for him to be modest as it is for my daughters (and to encourage the young women with whom he will associate with to be modest as well). He is only 4 years old, so we have not many discussions about this. When the time comes, however, I will encourage him to work in the yard with a t-shirt (for modesty reasons as well as medical reasons too–he is fair skinned and childhood sunburns are the number one risk factor for melanoma and other skin cancers). If he plays a pick-up game of basketball where it is shirts and skins, and he is picked as a skin, I think it that is OK. There are many “what if” situations that could be brought up. In each, I (as do others on this board) will try to follow the spirit in applying the principles we have been taught.