When I was in Young Women, I remember studying the standards in the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet. They told us that we needed to learn the standards for dating early, and that if we made the decision young, it would be easy to choose when we were actually confronted with it later down the road. We were taught not to date until we were 16, and to not get too physically involved, etc, etc. Those are some choices that, if made in the moment, are difficult to do what's right. However, if made in advance, virtually no thought has to be put into it, and doing the right thing is almost easy.
Some may call me extreme, but when it comes to modesty, I believe in starting early. As in, the beginning. Since day one of my baby girl's life, she has been modest. Although it's summer and she has a lot of cute little sleeveless tops, I always put a onesie underneath and make sure she's covered up.
You may say that she won't even remember wearing this stuff, and surely it won't make a difference until later, but I say baloney. No, she won't remember it, but where do you draw the line? To me it's the same as the concept of modesty before entering the temple for the first time. It's no good to return from that first trip to the temple and have to clean out your wardrobe of all the stuff that's not up to par any more. In that same train of thought, when is it the "right" time to clean out your daughter's wardrobe? I say keep it clean from the start.
So many girls these days dress like they are trying to sell their bodies, and the saddest part is that it's at the encouragement of their own parents. (Hey, they don't buy that stuff themselves.) So, while they are young, and you can choose their clothing for them, choose modesty. A five year-old won't understand why it was okay to wear such-and-such last week, but now it isn't. Changing standards part-way through childhood really doesn't work. Be firm. Be consistent. Don't wait.
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