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Well-known makeup artist Natasha Ali Lakhani — who also happens to be the granddaughter of the late singer Noor Jehan — recently shared her thoughts on social media about children wearing designer clothes. She believes that kids should not be dressed in luxury brands to prevent them from being “conscious of wealth” at an early age.

A user asked Lakhani if she buys designer wear for her daughter, Shahnoor, on Instagram. In response, Lakhani had a lot to say. She shared her response on Instagram in a detailed post on Thursday, writing, “[I] always love sharing from my Insta story Q & A’s on my feed as well, especially topics that are important & this one right here had to be said.”

She emphasised the importance of not “falling into the trap” and becoming part of “the rat race”. If forcing kids to become adults at an early age worked then the world would not have so many adults suffering from various mental health issues because they were robbed of having a childhood, according to her.

“Let me dream, explore and navigate through life gently. All is well. No boat meant for any adult or child will be missed. They are being guided by a higher power. We cannot control our children, we can love them, encourage them, support them and cheer them on their journey through life but with empathy & softness. May we all learn & grow to be better parents as we raise our children,” wrote the makeup artist.

We could not agree more with her. Kids should be allowed to be kids. Period. They should not be rushed into doing anything before they are ‘mature’ and ‘wise’ enough to choose whether they would like to do it or not.

“So the single most ridiculous thing to me is seeing little children in designer wear. You are already setting a precedent for your child which they shall imbibe. My mother never spoilt us. The first designer thing I bought was from my own paycheck. Children should not be aware of such foolishness so early in life. It creates disparity and makes them conscious of wealth too young,” she said.

“Both Ali [her husband] and I want Shahnoor to have her feet planted firmly on the ground. I never want her to feel privileged over another. My mom always reminded us growing up that all blessings we have must be thanked for and never taken for granted. We always were taught to work hard as we always saw our elders doing so,” said Lakhani.

Think about it for a second. As grown, relatively mature, and informed adults, we sometimes feel lacking simply because we cannot afford certain things. Even though we know and realise that material things shouldn’t matter and the phrase “money can’t buy happiness” is embedded into our brains from all sides, we still fall into the trap of confusing what we buy, what we wear, what we eat, where we eat, etc with WHO we are.

Now imagine a kid exposed to such a mindset from an early age. They wouldn’t even have the tools to cope with such feelings. Feeling inadequate because they can’t afford a luxury brand or feeling superior over others because they can afford it would permanently affect the way their outlook in life and the way they would treat people later in life.

We really appreciated how Lakhani started a very important conversation that people don’t talk about enough. Your baby does not need Gucci shoes or a Ralph Lauren shirt because they are going to outgrow that in months. There’s no need to drop hundreds of dollars on something that your child won’t be able to use very soon. Sure, it’s cute to see them all dolled up, but they can be equally cute in something way cheaper — and made for children.

Parents need to be cognisant of the message they’re giving their children. We don’t want to tell you how to parent, but we do want to caution you about the perils of letting kids become entitled. Designer wear is a luxury that should best be left to adults.