Hi Cedars:
Don't you think it's 'parenting by numbers' though? Surely kids and parents can work out clothing issues without requiring an actual worksheet, including questions such as "Is it too trendy?" I just feel it's all going a bit too far, and as has already been commented, it smacks of "micro-managing" on the part of the Society - along similar lines to the "what to wear at bethel" pamphlet.
Well that's a good question re: 'parenting by numbers'. From my own perspective, having worked with families and their new babies for a long time, what I see is that parents actually want some kind of framework for raising their children. I get asked questions ALL the time about the "proper" way [down to the minute details] to bathe a baby, dress the baby, feed the baby, get the baby to go to sleep, how much to feed, what to feed, how to breastfeed, when to go to the doctor. Mostly things that I take for granted as an experienced parent, but things that I learned from observing other parents (including my own) and then put into application when I was a new mother to each of my children. In things like child rearing, a novice parent will seek out the guidance of experienced parents or other authority figures - that's perfectly normal. It isn't normal, and is sometimes a cause for concern, when a new parent doesn't want any guidance or information about child care - someone who claims they've read every book out there, but has never even held an infant before, and resent any 'interference' from us to show them how everyday activities are done.
A lot of us - and I include myself in this - sometimes have an automatic knee-jerk reaction to anything the WTS publishes and refuse to see any potential benefits the information might have. I think this "wardrobe worksheet" is a good example of that. But if you search online, it's pretty much in line with what the general consensus is in terms of negotiating with parents over wardrobe choices. For example: http://www.wikihow.com/Convince-Your-Mom-and-Dad-to-Let-You-Wear-Halter-Tops-and-Tankinis or http://1sttaste.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-negotiate-with-parents-do-not.html
With JWs - even the teenagers - their authority figure of choice is the WTS. They respect what's being taught to them and feel that it's the proper way to do things. So while we laugh at this "wardrobe worksheet" and think it's over the top in terms of micro-management, it's really a decent tool to teach parents and teenagers to come to some middle ground. Don't forget that things have changed from the red Your Youth book that I grew up with in the 70s, to the blue YPA book from the 90s, and now to the current one. There was no real way for teenagers to learn the art of negotiating with their parents when I was growing up - you were expected to do as you were told, even if you didn't like it. Parenting styles have evolved in that time too, and the tool reflects the current thinking of allowing children to have a voice in their personal appearance.
Do I think that there are some people who will use this "wardrobe worksheet" to the extreme of "micro management"? Of course there will be some who do take it super seriously, both parents and kids. I think though, that the average JW teenager will begin to learn the very useful skill of negotiation, which can be applied well beyond their wardrobe and their own parents.
What concerns me about articles like this, though, is that they have the deceptive appearance of presenting the WTS as very middle-ground and mainstream. When a Worldly™ teenager brings a book like this home and the parents see it, there aren't going to be red flags going up with worry that the child is becoming involved with a cult. I think that is the kind of thing that we need to focus on and expose, to prevent young people from becoming ensnared by the WTS.
