Stop Stuffing Your Teenager Into A Box!
STOP STUFFING YOUR TEENAGER INTO A BOX!
By the end of the year, everyone is busy celebrating Christmas and preparing to usher in the new Lunar calendar. As we set foot into a new year, we will also begin to chart our New Year resolutions and goals. Habitually, at the end of every year, we will repeat the same process. With such an annual plan, how many goals have you achieved? For me, beginning this year 2014, one of my goals is to inspire teenagers to find their authentic self.
I have trained together with SWET Team for corporations and individuals since 2007. It never crossed my mind to design an image program especially for teenagers. At the end of 2013, I went for my Image update with an International Image Consultant, Carla Mathis. In one of her sessions, she asked us to think of an outfit that we loved the most. Every participant had a different answer. I remember I like to use a blanket to wrap myself up and drop the blanket to my shoulder to make it looked like an off-shoulder dress. Then I will perform a cat walk in front of the mirror. Looking back, I find that to be hilariously silly, but that is my true self. I love fashion and it could be a dramatic style.
When I started my career in Image Consultancy, I thought Image is just to look good. Easy, we just make someone beautiful and that’s the end of the job. I was wrong. Every participant who attends our program, we work with them to have the transformation to look and feel extraordinary. In recent years, I discover that Image is more than looking good. I realise that your style speaks about your personality too. By using the right color, it can influence mood, which means when you are moody, pick up happier colors and it would enhance your mood. By dressing right, you can attract the customers and businesses that you want.
I ask myself one day: Then why not we educate teenagers about having the right image? Wouldn’t it be good to start them young? There are doubts, however, as I put this suggestion to parents.
Isn’t it true that, for their age, they can wear anything and be comfortable with it? If we were to teach them what to wear, are we imposing our will on them? These are the few questions I received when I introduce “Teen Out of The Box” to people around me.
Why I designed “Teen Out of the Box”?
There are a few points I would like to share:
- Firstly, parents are more affluent and they want their children to have the best even the ways they dress. But I realize a lot of parents decide what to wear for their children until a point that children are not allowed to wear what they like. Would these decisions suppress the children’s authentic style?
- Secondly, most of the parents focus on their children’s academic achievements. Nowadays, children can speak fluently and they master a wide range of words in their vocabulary. But do they know how to communicate and express themselves correctly? Are they choosing the right words to express themselves so that they be heard?
- Thirdly, children are exposed to a lot of their parents’ friends through gathering and functions. Are they carrying themselves with the right poise and posture, using the cutlery with confident at the dining table?
I was not taught all the above when I was a child. I wore what my mother chose for me. She didn’t know what I wanted, and I didn’t have the ability to tell her what I wanted to wear. I hope that with my experience and knowledge in Image Consultancy, “Teen Out of the Box” can help teenagers to carry themselves with confidence, to express and discover their authentic self. When I was a teenager, I wish I wore a fitted T-shirt and shorts with a nice pair of sport shoes instead of the ones my mum got for me, a loose pass-me-down T-shirt, baggy jeans and slippers.
Check out our program “Teen Out of the Box” where teens will learn :
- Poise and Deportment
- Social Graces
- Basic Grooming
- Basic Etiquette
- Dining Etiquette
- Skincare and Hygiene
Our next intake, only limited to 12 pax each group.