I was folding laundry this week, sorting the piles of the girls’ things. Tops, bottoms, jammies: the three mounds I toss the items into. As I sifted through the clothes, I noticed that Karenna’s pajama pile was mile-high and that she hadn’t really been wearing any other pieces this summer. The kid loves jammies. And bathing suits. So that’s basically what she’s spent this season in. Recently she has been particularly difficult, behaviorally speaking, so it’s become a “choose your battles” kind of summer. After fighting her all day about every little thing, the last thing I feel ready to do is to force her into something she doesn’t want to wear. So I let her choose her wardrobe. And that is why, if you ever see us, she’s the one at the grocery store wearing a bikini, some leg-warmers, bright blue rubber gloves (not even kidding on this one) and a pair of cowboy boots. I just don’t care anymore.
So far, there hasn’t been any struggle about dressing (other than just wanting to wear a skirt almost every ding-dang day) but if she insists, I let her have the skirt, and choose a shirt and shoes that suit. No fights. My son doesn’t fight with me about it either… at least not yet. If/when that day comes, there might be some fistacuffs. I’m bad like that, I admit it.
I’d draw the line at sewing up a meat dress too… 😉
I’m learning to chill out a bit on the dressing. Our girls both actually have good taste and love to make sure they look tidy and are matching outfits (not to each other) so it’s not too hard. The biggest struggle is convincing Audrey that if you are wearing a dress you still have to wear underwear. Gah!
I let my kids dress themselves. Then again, I buy most of their clothes, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t sent a pirate alligator off to school or a Victorian princess off to the library…
Nope. I don’t stress about it. It just isn’t worth the fight. If we’re going out to dinner, or if it’s a family celebration, or a friend’s birthday party, I do limit my kids’ choices. If it’s a school day, they have to dress for the weather. But otherwise? I figure going to the playground in a bathing suit and rubber boots on a 15º day will teach them more about natural consequences than a pitched battle would. And I so admire how little they care about how other people see them, right now. I want to preserve that for as long as I can.
You know, I used to be super concerned about what my kids wore in public. But, after I read a post on this topic over at Her Bad Mother, I changed my mind and started letting my kids wear whatever they wanted (within reason) (and I get to choose on certain occasions). This week Liliana wore a dress-up ballet-tutu-type thing to the grocery store, to the doctor’s office, and wherever else we went. I just make sure she’s covered appropriately and dressed for the weather.