Why Do We Need Clothes? Ways to Answer this Question for Your Inquisitive Child

Children are the most high-functioning and curious group in every society. The perspective and the imagination of children are a lot different from adults. Now, the question, “why do we need clothes?” feels like a dumb question to adults because we know why we need clothes. But as said earlier children’s perspective is different, they would need an answer.

If your kid asks why do we need clothes, have you ever thought about what would be your answer? And how can you give them a satisfactory answer? Only in rare cases would you be able to give them a convincing answer, so it is a tough one. So here we are enlisting some reasons and answers for why do we need to wear clean clothes every day. You can read the blog thoroughly, and then you could provide an answer to your children.

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#1. Protection

Clothes have been worn since ancient times by humans across the globe. The foremost reason to wear clothes is to keep the human body protected from harsh weather conditions. We humans cannot live with a bare body. Direct contact with changing weather conditions can harm our skin. Like direct exposure of our skin to cold weather can make it dry, cracked, and itchy. At the same time, direct exposure to the sun can lead to skin pigmentation changes, early ageing and lower immunity level.

The clothes act as a shield for our bodies and protect us from such harmful conditions. The clothes also protect our bodies from sudden chills, scratches, accidental burns, and other injuries. The clothes are worn according to the weather conditions, like people living in extremely cold temperatures wear warm clothing and heavy coats made of fur to keep them warm. And the nomads of the desert don headdresses and long robes to protect them from the scorching heat and dehydrating.

#2. Uniforms

Uniforms are an integral part of different social groups or institutions as they help us identify who is who and give a sense of belonging. Uniform clothes are worn by all across the globe for their specific occupation or to mark some special occasion. The students of a school wear a similar uniform that helps in distinguishing them from the students of other schools. Teams in sports like cricket, football, hockey, basketball, and others wear similar uniforms to differentiate themselves from other teams, for example, the blue coloured uniform of the Indian cricket team.

Some occupations demand wearing a specific uniform like police officers, army personnel, an airline crew, a restaurant or hotel staff, and others. Such uniforms for the employees and workers makes them easily identifiable by the customers and creates an image in their eyes.

#3. Cultural Expression

It is integral for every individual to express their culture through their clothes. With the way an individual wears clothes, we can figure out what community or culture they belong to. Especially in India, a nation where people from multiple cultures live together, what can be a better way to flaunt cultural diversity than wearing ethnic clothes conforming to one’s cultural identity?

The same saree is draped differently in Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. This adds colour and charm to a country’s diverse demography. So wearing clothes also helps an individual to express their specific culture.

#4. Sanitation

People from specific professions wear clothes for sanitisation. They wear specific clothes to keep themselves and the things surrounding them clean. A chef in a restaurant wears an apron, a hat, and a pair of gloves sometimes to keep the food hygienic and uncontaminated. Likewise, surgeons wear masks, disposable gloves, caps, and aprons to avoid contamination while operating.

Even employees in the food factories are told to follow some dressing instructions. They are instructed to wear a specific dress to keep the food from being contaminated and keep its hygiene intact. And now, you can even witness that due to the pandemic, special PPE(Personal Protective Equipment) kits are worn to keep yourself and others safe from the disease.

#5. Beautification

People always like to get ready and look the best for every occasion. This is what even kids like to do. They want to look the best. People make their appearance beautiful by wearing certain clothes styles with jewellery, making their face appear glorifying by applying cosmetics, and with some cool accessories like watches or goggles. Wearing all these things makes the appearance of an individual a lot appealing.

So there are clothes that people wear daily, and clothes which they select and keep for special occasions. Nice clothes make them look beautiful, just like kids are dressed up for special occasions in school or on their birthdays.

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#6. Public Image

Public figures and celebrities have the onus on their shoulders to dress in a certain manner to live up to their brand image in the eyes of the general public. It is essential for entrepreneurs, movie actors, ministers, sportspersons, and other public figures to dress according to their public image and profession. In the olden times, the royalty had a different way of dressing than the others, which made them easily recognisable as the royals.

In the modern world, people wear suits and coats to look professional and elegant in the workplace. They also take good care to accessorise accordingly. In the word of non-verbal communication, this dressing skill to communicate your brand through what you wear and accessorise with is called object language.

#7. Modesty

More important than identifying and representing something with clothes is being modest. An individual should know what to wear at what place. When going to a funeral or mourning, people in the western countries wear black and in India wear white, but no one wears colourful or fancy clothes. Colourful and fancy clothes are supposed to be worn for occasions of celebrations.

Modesty, in simple words, is the way an individual thinks is the right and decent way to dress and blend in. Every group follows a different kind of modesty in clothing; Indians have a different modesty in clothes compared to people who live in America.

Conclusion

The answer to the question of why do we need clothes is simple — it’s about expressing, and identifying ourselves. Help your children find answers to other questions related to sustainability which make clothes an essential item, not for apparel but other use cases too. Make sure you help your kids learn about why do we need cloth bags and how plastic is causing pollution to better understand the importance of cloth as a material in general.

To give your child a brighter future, ensure to check out the online classes of Real School Of Montessori for a better learning experience. Their state-of-the-art teaching methods combine education with enjoyment and target the holistic development of your kids. You can check more about the Real School Of Montessori on their official website.