One time my three year old daughter cried the whole way from our house to the airport.
Was she sad, hungry, thirsty, hot, scared, tired or bored?
No.
She didn't like the outfit she was wearing. The entire (40 minute +) car ride sounded like this:
"This...sniffle sniffle, gulp, gulp...wasn't...booo hoooo whaaaa the outfit sniffle sniffle sniffle I sniffle wanted gulp to whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
WEAR"
In her defense, it was an isolated meltdown, and she was wearing a pretty lackluster outfit. We were in a hurry, and matching was not a priority. It may sound silly, but in the end we pinky-swore that I would never make her leave the house wearing "a jammies shirt with school shoes" ever again.
She adores clothing and dress up: both 'pretend fairy princess costume' style dress up and just picking out a 'daytime dress' (her phrase). Shorts and t-shirts are not among her wardrobe staples. It's pretty much all dresses, all the time. I hope baby sister likes wearing shorts- because we have quite a few pairs in mint condition.
My husband and I are pretty strict about keeping her clothes and accessories age-appropriate. Sequins, manicures and lip gloss have a time and place, but age 3 - in my opinion- is not it. My mantra is:
If she wears nail polish when she's 3, what will be thrilling when she's 6?
Patience young grasshopper.
I think these books by Sujean Rim (responsible for those lovely Daily Candy water color illustrations) are PERFECT for encouraging dressing up, not growing up. They are cheerfully illustrated, delightful to read, but the message simple: be a kid. High heel shoes and sparkly gowns are fun to look at, but you can't do cartwheels in them...and they make for terrible hide-and-seek strategy.
This is a great blog post! And I think it's awesome that you want to keep your daughter's clothing age-appropriate. Not only will it teach her patience, it will also teach her that waiting can be worth it!
ReplyDeleteMojan! Thank you so much. Patience can be so hard. It's much easier to be indulgent. Life lessons these kids are teaching me. :)
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