October 25, 2005
they need a little TLC
People are forever asking me if I let the boys dress themselves. The answer is god, yes–it’s all I can do to get myself dressed in the morning; the kids are on their own.
Last week someone said to me, ‘But surely you don’t let them PICK what they are going to wear!’
Why yes, yes I do. Can’t you tell? Oh, we give them weather-related guidelines (today, everyone had to have a long-sleeved shirt and pants of some sort on). And for special occasions (school pictures, Thanksgiving dinner), I chose what they will wear, which is (usually) fine with them. But the rest of the time, it’s up to them.
Henry actually does a pretty good job of putting an outfit together, mostly because he tends to wear the same things over and over and over, so once he has figured out what goes with what (he will ask, ‘Does this shirt go with these shorts? How about this shirt? This one?’) he will just repeat and repeat and repeat the same outfit (the teacher he had last year found this a little unnerving. ‘He really likes red, doesn’t he?’ she said once. Yeah, whatever, AT LEAST HE’S DRESSED). Of course, he does have trouble moving on when the seasons or his sizes change (notice that the t-shirt in the picture is a little bit small). He also has some oddball clothing quirks: for example, when he wears tube socks he has to have them pulled up to his knees because he doesn’t like the way they feel when they are scrunched down. Last spring, when the weather got warm, his shorts were so long that they actually covered the tops of his socks. I ignored this for as long as I could, but I finally bought him some ankle socks and hid the tube socks. Because frankly, it was just too wierd.
Charlie, on the other hand, is a mess.
Despite the fact that he is obssessed with what I wear, Charlie has never seen a clothing combination that doesn’t work for him. This outfit was actually one of his BETTER choices recently. He will not wear anything except sweats (pants or shorts) and absolutely NO shirts with buttons or collars. I swear to god it takes him half an hour to get dressed in the morning, which is odd when you consider that HE WILL ONLY WEAR SWEAT PANTS AND A T-SHIRT. I just don’t get it. I didn’t agonize that much about my wedding gown. But because it takes him so damn long to pick out a T-SHIRT, for god’s sake, just PUT ONE ON AND LET’S GO, we pretty much let him leave the house in any old thing, just to be out of the house. And closer to Starbucks.
What really amazes me is not so much the number of parents who confess to me that they are still dressing their school-age children but how many of them will ask about my kids, while Charlie is standing RIGHT NEXT TO ME in a fleece cow suit and Wiggles slippers. Honestly, do they think I picked that out?
I mean, really.
Posted by Susan @ 11:58 am • Uncategorized
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October 25th, 2005 at 1:45 pm, M&Co. Says:
You are some kind of wonder woman. Potty trained AND dressing himself. I need you to come over and set MY kid up. Though I do let the BC pick his own clothes, and he often looks like Charlie, right down to the fuzzy fire engine shoes.
Book Club is tonight! Be there or be square!
October 25th, 2005 at 2:26 pm, Candace Says:
Oh, hell YES my kids dress themselves! Though sometimes I will step in and help Christopher because he’s so gosh-darned slow.
Sophie has been choosing her outfits and dressing herself, with very little guidance from me, since she was nearly three.
Maybe that’s a girl thing, though.
October 25th, 2005 at 2:34 pm, Misfit Hausfrau Says:
So is it bad that my children are wearing the same pajamas since Sunday? I let Ella pick hers out…
Dare I ask what Charlie is going to be for Halloween? I would imagine it is something involving a t-shirt and sweats… What about Hentry?
October 25th, 2005 at 2:50 pm, adria Says:
The last 2 times I have taken Daria with me to the grocery store she has worn her witch hat. I get a lot of giggles and smiles. The rest of the outfit is non-witch gear. I will have to capture it in a Kodiak moment.
On school days, I give Daria a couple of choices, and she is okay with that right now. All the other days, I just ask her to pick out a shirt and pants. She is having trouble giving up the shorts.
What are your Halloween costumes? I know you mentioned them, but I forgot.
October 25th, 2005 at 2:56 pm, Jenorama Says:
I make my kids dress themselves, even though they don’t want to because they are lazy. On school mornings, I have to sit in their rooms and nag the hell out of them though, and it drives me bonkers. Why doesn’t that toy look good after school? It suddenly has sex appeal when I need them to get dressed quickly.
October 25th, 2005 at 4:48 pm, Mary P. Says:
Henry looks fine, just fine. Happy little guy in his regular-guy jeans and t-shirt (what’s wrong with red, anyway?) Charlie, oh, my word, he’s so cute! I love those slippers, just love them, and that eager wee face. When are you sending him? When?
October 25th, 2005 at 6:27 pm, educat Says:
You, my friend, have two young gents with their pants AT their waists. From my vantage point, that is all any parent could want.
The shrug is about 15 rows out but now I have homework for knitting class! Ahhh!! I shake my needles at the heavens!!!
October 25th, 2005 at 7:28 pm, Mary P. Says:
Educat:
You’ll be amused by an observation my step-daughter made when she was a mere nine years old. (She is now 15, and would probably not thank me for publishing this on the internet, but too bad!)
On noting some boys with their pants barely covering their boxered backsides, and the crotches down to their knees, she wondered aloud why they thought they looked cool, when all they looked was silly.
Furthermore, she concluded, “Then they sit on the bus with their legs way far apart, like they think they have the world’s biggest dinky.”
I killed myself - because she’s dead right - it’s all about that dinky!
LOL
October 25th, 2005 at 8:23 pm, educat Says:
Oh yes. I have been known to comment that the young saggers flatter themselves quite a bit.
Thanks for that, mary p
October 25th, 2005 at 8:30 pm, MIM Says:
We’ve been letting Tod-lar choose from a couple of different outfits for a while. Now, however, he doesn’t want the choices because he has his own idea about what he’s going to wear.
October 25th, 2005 at 8:33 pm, Susan Says:
If the universe is at ALL just and fair, my children’s pants will continue to ride AT THEIR WAISTS. Amen.
And despite the fact that I let them choose their own clothes, they had no say in their Haloween costumes (because everything they picked was violent and not appropriate for, well, ANYONE). Henry is going to be Harry Potter and Charlie is going to be a leopard. Except when you ASK Charlie what he’s going to be, he says, ‘NOT a leopard. I’m going LIKE THIS,’ which means, of course, in his sweats. With the hood of his sweatshirt pulled up, like Rocky.
I told him if he wants candy, he will be a leopard. End of discussion. Because I am mean like that.
October 26th, 2005 at 6:05 am, Mary P. Says:
Yay for mean moms!! We daycare providers LOVE, LOVE, LOVE mean moms!
October 27th, 2005 at 7:46 am, AfricaBleu Says:
I made the mistake of telling my kids that they should try and see if there is the same color in the shirt as in the pants, then it would match (like wearing a blue shirt with pants that have a blue stripe). They decided, “Hey. If it matches to have a little of the same color, then a whole outfit of one color must be the matching-est outfit in the universe.”
*sigh* Now I get to daily explain WHY burgandy and red-hot red don’t REALLY go and that wearing lime-green and aqua together is just being mean to other people…
October 27th, 2005 at 2:17 pm, Susan Says:
Funny you should mention color: Henry also believes in the one-color-covers-all rule. This morning he chose navy sweats and a navy t-shirt (not the same navy) and because I am INSANE, I said, nah, how about jeans instead.
And damn if he didn’t say, ‘But those are the same color!’
Why couldn’t I get the slow kids?