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It's an ongoing part of the morning routine. Following breakfast, the Beats race upstairs, strip out of their pajamas and select their outfits for the day. Sometimes if I've had a little bit of time, I'll lay out 3 options for each of them, hoping to reduce the bickering that always results.
I know it's part of wanting control and being more independent. Frankly, I'm grateful even to have these battles, as it not only shows normal development but that we even are lucky enough to be battling over outfits.
In addition, their choices are resulting in harm. They are clean, their clothing is weather appropriate, it fits and is school appropriate. All the major points have been hit.
Still, how does one convince a 4 year old that her Moana nightgown cannot also double as a dress (seriously, I haven't been able to come up with a single reasonable answer)? Or that tutus every day may not be a great thing? Or that the yellow shirt has already been worn once this week?
Picking battles. Usually with me losing most of them.
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13 hours ago
This was the age when other parents regularly commented to me "I love that you let her dress herself!" and my thought was always "I'm so glad you know I'm letting her dress herself!" Preschool and K were two years of what I referred to as Homeless Princess Chic - at least 3 layers and as many patterns, clashing colors and two different socks. But it made her happy and want to go to school so I gave up that battle.
ReplyDeleteThis is so foreign to me. We had school uniforms and that was it. Maybe you could have a "school clothes" drawer stacked only with school appropriate clothes? Could limit the battles somewhat?
ReplyDeleteHa! AJ chooses her clothes too. Sometimes I get to have input and I'm trying to teach the concepts of matching haha. I just have to hide the stuff that's totally inappropriate for the weather or whatever. She went through a phase where she would just randomly 'not like' things...even really really cute things...luckily she's a leetle more flexible now. It's a process!
ReplyDeleteI love when I see children out and about who clearly dress themselves, or where there is a piece of clothing/accessory that was nonnegotiable. For my cousinniece, it was a foam tiara that she no joke wore for SIX MONTHS STRAIGHT, until it was very grubby and practically disintegrating. She was about 4-5, so that seems right! Good luck with the battles, the 3 to choose from sounds brilliant. And laughing aloud at Beth's "Homeless Princess Chic" -- so true!
ReplyDeleteHa! A glimpse into my future, perhaps? I'm going to enjoy this time when I can pick all the adorable outfits for Olivia that I want and she doesn't care. ;)
ReplyDeleteOne thing I had to consider was letting the rest of the world deliver the message.
ReplyDeleteHaha about losing to an argument to a 4 year old. Add got that then and I still get it.
According to family lore, from about the ages of three to six I mostly refused to wear shoes so some days my mother had to send me to school in three pairs of socks. So weird how young kids get so hysterical about these things: I suppose they are testing boundaries and all that. We had uniforms from age five so that made things easier.. we had to wear ties though; I still remember learning how to tie a tie - how ridiculous, really...
ReplyDeleteUgh! I remember these battles all too well. I'm in the same boat as Lori - still losing arguments to this day. LOL!
ReplyDelete