My Child’s Fashion Style, or Lack Thereof! Back to School Thoughts

When we got married and I thought about having kids someday, I always had this nice happy dream of kids in preppy outfits, nicely dressed, and always adorable, clean and stylish. I could not have been more wrong! Now don’t get me wrong, we have our moments where our kids look dressed to the hilt and all snazzy looking. But on an everyday basis- I’m lucky to keep the kids clean and matching!! That’s about my goal nowadays for the kids style!! Sad huh?

My son is four years old, and could not care less about looking nice and stylish, let alone even matching or having his clothes on the right direction!! But with a little help and direction from mom he usually ends up looking at least respectable! If it were up to my son, he would wear pajamas all day, or run around in his underwear! But this year he is starting school and is beginning to understand that he needs to dress appropriately when he goes out to play with his friends! Although I have caught him trying to walk out the door with his clothes inside out! Sigh……

My son prefers something comfortable over something that looks nice. If his shirt is ten sizes too big, as long as it’s comfortable- he doesn’t care. The other thing that makes a huge difference to him because he’s young is the character or design on his shirt!! He would much rather wear a shirt with a surfboard or Perry the Platypus than wear a plain polo or t-shirt. But, even though his sense of style is highly lacking, I do really appreciate that he actually doesn’t care what he’s wearing most of the time. Which means that I can choose how I want him to look! I hope this lasts for a VERY long time!! 🙂

As for shoes, being barefoot is of course his favorite option, but he prefers sandels over sneakers. His feet get too hot and sweaty in sneakers (any remedies for this?). We just bought him a pair of sneakers today for school this year and I’m not sure if he’ll be able to stand wearing them while playing at school! We’ll have to wait and see!

Although he is only four years old, I mostly allow my son to pick out his own clothes and outfit for the day. Amazingly he usually does a pretty decent job at matching! I have learned that keeping solid colored bottoms is a big key- there aren’t many options he will choose that won’t match! Giving choices to children at a young age is a good way for them to learn responsibility (and consequences in some cases) and helps to give them a sense of independence. However when I say this I envision the little boy from “Big Daddy” and my son walking out in snorkel gear and a fishing hat for school! HAH! There are some situations where I do have to step in, but for the most part, my son has a pretty acceptable sense of style so far, which I am fairly impressed with.

Do you let your kids pick out their own clothes for school and play, or do you still choose their outfits?

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