Children who enjoy science more than most of their same-age friends are usually labeled nerds or geeks, translating into a relatively tougher childhood than usual. This difficult atmosphere in school means that, if they were to survive with their morale intact, they need the acceptance and understanding of people at home, especially their parents. This is usually easy when the one or both the mother and father are also scientifically inclined, such as those who are doctors and researchers, and in the easiest scenario, scientists and inventors themselves. However, for parents who have absolutely no interest or patience for countless experiments, whines for kid’s lab coats will usually wind up ignored, if not reprimanded.

What are kid’s lab coats for, anyway? On the very basic, lab coats are used to protect one’s skin from harmful chemicals during serious experiments, such as in the chemistry laboratory in high school. They are also used in hospitals by medical technologists and those who handle dangerous substances. This makes the idea of buying a lab coat for a young child absurd for most parents. No mother in her right mind would even allow her child to touch the bottle of bathroom disinfectant or floor cleanser, why in the world would she let him tinker with liquids that can burn his skin.

This basic premise of a child’s safety is what mostly keeps mothers from giving in to requests to buy kids lab coats. Of course, it may seem like a contradiction, because the coat is supposed to be there for protection. The underlying meaning of parents’ refusal to provide this necessary lab gear is that, in reality, they do not want the child to pursue the scientific experiments for one reason or another. It may be for the child’s safety, an unspoken signal to make sure he does not in any way think of handling harmful chemicals. Or, more often than not, it may also be because the parents feel helpless sin guiding the child, from lack of science knowledge themselves.

In any case, this sends strong signals of disapproval to a child at a young age who thinks the world of his parents. More important to a kid is not the actual purchase of an object, but rather knowing that his folks understand his interests and are there to support him. The lab coat then becomes a visual reminder of the kind of acceptance that his parents wish to give him. This explains why children who have been given a certain level of freedom in exploration usually grow up to be more successful at creative problem solving.

A recent cartoon movie entitled “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” demonstrates this principle in a very vivid way. At the beginning of the story, the main character, a boy named Flint, comes home crying when all his classmates made fun of an invention he had so proudly displayed at Show and Tell. While he is crying into his pillow in his room, his mom, and dad try desperately to comfort him through the closed door. Their words fall on deaf, despairing ears, until finally the mom has an idea. Coming into the room, she talks to him gently, but the highlight of it all is when she presents him with an advanced birthday present: his very own lab coat!

The result is dramatic. The boy forgets his tears and jumps up in excitement at the sight of the coat. Of course, in the story, the coat is in adult size, but it does not matter to Flint, he sees it as an encouragement to his dreams of becoming a scientist one day. Moreover, all the way to the end of the story, a beautiful glimpse of his thoughts shows him remembering the way his mother understood his love of science.

This may have been a made-up story, but this story happens in one form or another, everyday, in countless families across the world. Now, with kid’s lab coats more easily available, not only do parents get to show their kids how much they care about their interests, it also enables them to provide a piece of garment that fits right and will more effectively give the needed protection during experiments!