Hassle Free, Cost Effective
Dressing for Kids
Sarah arrived at playschool Tuesday morning wearing a
very uncoordinated outfit. A string of rainbow colored
beads hung from her neck and a bright smile lit up her
face. "Good Morning Mrs. Ward," she sang out merrily.
"Don't I look nice today? I dressed all by myself."
If you've ever felt like sending your child out with a
big banner that reads, "I CHOOSE MY OWN CLOTHES", you're
probably not alone. Many parents feel the way their
children look and dress is a strong reflection on them.
This way of thinking might work when they are babies but
since clothing is likely to be one of the areas where a
toddler will choose to assert their independence and
because there are many more important issues to
negotiate in a child's life, it's best to get over the
embarrassment and give them lots of room for
individuality when it comes to clothing. If you are
fortunate to still be choosing and coordinating their
outfits into the teenage years, count yourself one among
few.
To make choosing clothing an inexpensive and positive
experience for both you and your child, try using some
of the following ideas.
1. Allow your child to make choices about what she will
wear at an early age. Do this by offering two or three
outfits and let her choose which one she would like to
wear. This technique helps the child become a decision
maker as well as giving her a sense of control and
independence.
2. Buy or make clothing that is attractive,
comfortable to wear and easy to put on and remove. If
all the clothes your child has to wear are acceptable to
you, then even if they choose their own outfit, they
can't possibly choose something you don't like.
3. Teach your child how to undress and dress himself
at an early age. This gives him independence and
responsibility and lessens your need to control the
dressing situation. If you find it difficult to keep
from intervening when they are struggling with dressing
themselves, busy yourself somewhere else. Just be sure
to allow plenty of time for them to get dressed.
4. Help your child develop a positive self-image by
encouraging her efforts at self-dressing. When your
Toddler runs to you for the first time, excitably
babbling about how she put her own shirt on, offer
praise and resist the urge to point out that it's on
backwards. Getting it on the right way will come with
time. Helping your child develop a positive self-image
will also encourage her to take pride in her appearance.
5. Helping your child become aware of colors will
help him in coordinating outfits. Keeping matching tops
and pants together in his drawers or closet will also
help him select a coordinated outfit. Buying tops and
pants in a similar color scheme will make for a more
cost effective wardrobe and will lessen the possibility
of the mismatched look.
6. Let your child help you select clothing or fabrics
for sewing. If they like the clothes, they will be more
likely to want to wear them. Buying clothing requires
some thoughtful decisions. The cheapest buy doesn't
always work out that way in the long term. There are
times when a higher priced item turns out to be less
expensive because the style and durability allows it to
be worn many more times than a cheaper item.
7. If it's really important to you that your child
wears a certain outfit for a specific occasion, explain
why it is important and expect her cooperation. She'll
be more likely to go along with your request if she
knows she has freedom to make her own choices most of
the time.
8. Avoid apologizing to others about the way your
child looks "because she chose her own clothes". Chances
are you'll draw attention to something they didn't
notice until you mentioned it.
9. Encourage your child to be responsible for his own
clothing. Provide a basket for soiled clothing. Mounting
a basketball hoop above it is a fun way to encourage him
to use it. Get him to help with sorting laundry, washing
clothes, folding and putting his own clothing away. It
takes time to teach these skills but the benefits in the
long term are well worth it. Encouraging him to change
into older clothing for outdoor and other activities
will help keep his best clothing looking new longer.
10. Relax and let your children be children. It's
more important to encourage a positive self-image and
independence in self-care than to worry about the
mismatched outfit they chose. With the current emphasis
on expensive brand name clothing, you might be glad you
encouraged independent thinking and allowed your child
to stand out in the crowd at an early age.
