Self Branding for Kids

Okay, the word "branding" is not the kind that requires hot steel on skin. I'm talking about Moby, Prince, Madonna, giving yourself a particular identity and saying "I'm me and I'm proud". Perhaps in this day and age it sounds crass, or perhaps it sounds savvy, but I think that one should get cracking on figuring out who one is pretty quick in life. This is "identity" but is otherwise known as "branding". I've got a tattoo on my hand that I wish I had the guts (and parental blessing/encouragement) to put on my hand decades earlier. Whether that means letting a child change her/his name or cut their hair a particular way or buy particular clothes, make it important. Talk about it with them, tell them you support their search for identity and meaning. Get creative. Let them express themselves, and let them know they might change that expression later as they evolve. It could just be showing them their own signature, it could be a tattoo, a particular song that they identify with.