How do you dress your kids?

[Emilie]

Just curious.
Some moms are all about the kids looking nice in public- outfits matching down to the shoes and socks- hair nicely done( matching hair stuff for the girls) etc.
And some do not give a care- and nothing matches- hair is not brushed- etc.

Where do you fall?
I must say I am somewhere in the middle. I would love it if ds looked put together alot of the time... but I am also pracitcal- and hectic- his hair is never brushed and his socks may not match...and I got him these cute outfits to make it easy- well that would be great if I ever had each peice washed at the same time!

[Louma]

:

My dd is a fashion plate--matching hair bows and all. She just got two new dresses for $1.75 and $2.00 yesterday at a resale place. They are super cute, but I'll admit to being bugged because neither matches her sandals.

[UnschoolnMa]

My kids have dressed themselves for a number of years now, but even when I dressed them (or when my role was much bigger at least lol...) I was never the "must be color cordinated and have perfect hair" kind of mom. I dressed them in knits, denim, one piece outfits, mix-n-match cotton seperates, overalls, sandals, hikers, tennis shoes, and just ... whatever we were given or found we liked.

We got dirty and we had many holes & rips over the years. Ds had long hair till he was about 5 and he often wore it in a braid, but sometimes he didn't even brush it lol. Dd wouldn't ever wear the cute hair things in her hair as a toddler, but she likes some of that now (at 11.5). At this point they have their own unique clothing likes and dislikes and other than offering my opinion sometimes I am out of it. Which is good... I have enough trouble deciding what to wear for myself somedays.

[JamesMama]

I'm in the middle too. But I must admitt, I love buying clothes for DS. He wears mostly Old Navy and Childrens Place, and I usually buy outfit sets, and I'm pretty obsessive about making sure he wears them together. As for hair, mine doesn't have any...LOL. And he wears white socks no matter what.

[BusyMommy]

They're 2 & 4 and they're totally on their own. I don't even argue re: pants vs shorts but will bring along some shorts b/c they always change their minds once we're out in the sun.

I do prefer really bright colors so I can spot them easily. :LOL They're quite active and quick little fellers. So, I stock their drawers w/reds and oranges.

[FreeThinkinMama]

If we're leaving the house or someone is coming over she's dressed up, everything matches, hair in pigtails with cute little bows, and matching shoes ect. She won't wear socks though, she just rips them off, not sure what I'll do about that this winter. But she loves her shoes, she has a serious shoe fetish :LOL not sure where she gets that from since I only have 2 pairs but every time she sees a pair of shoes she wants to look at them and try them on. Most of her outfits are dressy or actual dresses, I buy most of her clothes second hand but don't get anything that's stained or ripped or anything.

I grew up with next to nothing and wearing rags constantly, I was teased because of it and I guess I just don't want her to go through that. Rationally I tell myself we're going to homeschool anyway so it's not as big of an issue but I want her to have more then I did either way and end up going overboard, partly because everything I buy is so cheap(I pay anywhere from a quarter to a couple dollars usually per peice).

[Dechen]

Top and bottoms must match, but hair tends to be wild and I don't bother with socks.

ETA - by match I don't mean every last thing is a matching set, just that I don't put things together that don't coordinate well.

[MamaBug]

My boys are 5 & 7 and well.... I usually dress them very nicely and I try not to leave the house without their hair done, including gel for the older one. Sometimes they dress themselves and they look like a horror to me and I say Screw it and out we go.:LOL But most of the time when they pick out their clothes they do ok. My 7 yr old likes to dress nicely and he usually picks something good and if I tell him the shirt does not match ( which is rare since he has mostly jeans and khakis) he will change. Also I only buy them white socks so even if they are not the same white sock no one but I will know. I am a bit of a coordinating freak myself and I admit that I like them to look put together especially if we are going somewhere important, around the house or yard they are ok in whatever they feel like wearing.

[Mom4tot]

I am a bit of a stickler for clean and combed.... We don't do matching everything, but the kids have comfortble and cute clothes to choose from. I like Ellie to look like a little girl still, although she will be 10 soon :LOL She likes sundresses and casual things, except for parties, then she likes dresses, too.

My mom used to call unkempt children 'ragamuffins" I guess I absorbed some of that....I am working on it, though

[FreeThinkinMama]

same here, I buy a lot of individual peices that coordinate with something else she has. And another thing I just thought of is that I really enjoy dressing her up, I wanted a baby for so long, I just love taking tons of pictures and I like everything to look perfect. I don't like looking at pictures where she's in just a diaper and she's covered in food LOL although it's kind of cute I'm partial to the ones where she's wearing a dress with the cute hairties and frilly socks. My family thinks its weird because I hated wearing dresses when I was a kid, I guess they thought I would have my dd be a tomboy too hehe

[binxsmom]

my 4 year old dresses himself and i just go with it. if we are going to a special function or family event, then i'll give hime choices. and, naturally, he picks out the most obnoxious combinations: plaid and stripes, long sleeves in 90 degree weather, etc. he wore a tuxedo to a wedding a while back (found the tux at a yard sale for $5. bargain!) and he totally loved that thing. he would often wear the tux shirt with cotton knit shorts or the tux pants with a cotton tee. lately, he's taken to wearing a batman outfit. i just let him do his own thing.

since dd is just a babe, i have control over what she wears. usually it's just soakers and tees. or cute little comfy knit dresses for church. she doesn't wear shoes. and usually i pull her hair up in a pony tail otherwise it will hang in her face.

i do try to ensure that their faces and clothing are *relatively* clean when in public.

[Ruthla]

I don't dress my kids- they dress themselves!! OK, Jack can't quite dress himself yet, but Hannah dresses him almost as much as I do!!

I let the girls pick out their own clothes, do their own hair, etc. I gently encourage them to match, have brushed hair, and be neat, but I don't insist on it. I do insist on a certain amount of modesty- clothes can't be too tight or too skimpy, but I don't really care if there are seams coming out, stains, small holes, etc, or if Hannah gives up on finding 2 socks that match and just wears mismates.

For the most part, everything in Jack's wardrobe co-ordinates, and I'm equally unconcerned if something is worn or stained, or if he manages to select shorts and a shirt that clash.

[WinterWillow]

Comfortable. My girls wear a lot of cotton clothing and never wear anything they can't get dirty in. I only brush there hair after a bath and thats it. They don't like having there hair brushed at all!

[CookClanMama]

K I'm kind of anal about this one, I guess, lol. Since my kids were born, I've always made sure that their clothes match & that they look clean & well kempt. At home when they are playing outside, or when we're fishing or something, I don't care so much, as long as it's seasonally appropriate, & when they are in the house they are usually in the buff or boxer briefs, lol. In public & especially to school or special events, though, they wear nice dressy/casual type clothing. I keep their hair cut short & they like to gel it sometimes. They also wear deoderant. My 5 month old DS doesn't wear shoes usually because it is Summer & he can't walk yet, but I NEVER take my older kids anywhere without at the very least a pair of flip flops on. One of my pet peeves is to see kids out in public wearing nothing but a diaper or in nasty clothes & no shoes, especially if their parents are dressed to the hilt. I also don't like for mine to have dirty hands or faces-I keep baby wipes in my car for quick clean-ups. I think when you're out & about & your children (or you) look like ragamuffins, it reflects badly on you as a parent. Now, I'm not saying I put on a full regalia every time I go somewhere (I DO have four kids, after all), but I do at least make an effort to be clean, neat, & presentable...make-up is optional, lol.

[littleaugustbaby]

I've given up on having my girly girl fashion plate. My DD is usually in something comfy. I try to pick out really cute clothes for her when I shop, but I also try to be practical, because nearly everything that she owns has some kind of stain on it. Around the house, we stay comfy, and for the most part, I dress her in comfy clothes when we go out. As far as everything matching, I make sure that what she's wearing goes together, but I don't stress out about coordinating shoes, etc. I also don't worry about hair brushing, because she hates having her hair done, and it's very curly and kind of long, so it's usually just a big mess, but if she doesn't mind, then it's her hair. Sometimes she'll let me put her hair up in pigtails or a ponytail, which I think is so cute, but mostly she just yanks her pigtails out, so why bother?

[Dechen]

Originally Posted by CookClanMama

I think when you're out & about & your children (or you) look like ragamuffins, it reflects badly on you as a parent

Barring neglect, I think it relfects well on a parent that they aren't caught up in the beauty paegent of life. I probably care more than I should.

[kavamamakava]

Skanda lets me pick his clothes out for the day. He has a lot of input when we go shopping though. He likes yellow and blue. I let him buy a Power Rangers t-shirt He just seemed so thrilled with it that I couldn't say no. I'm not sure he even knew who the Power Rangers were, just liked the shirt.

Nadia dresses herself. Pink from head to toe. Sometimes she'll let me pick her clothes out and I have to point out the pink somewhere in her outfit or she won't wear it. I'm not allowed to put her clothes on her though. She has to dress herself. She usually wears pants and a shirt. Sometimes she wears dresses. But she always has to have pants under her dress. Today it was jeans and a knee length, sleeveless dress (with pink flowers on the dress and pink flowers on the jean pockets).

Amelie is usually in something comfy like a sleeper or a onsie and pants. She does have a few dresses but she's mostly in pants or overalls.

I almost always brush their hair and wipe their faces before we leave the house, but if we are out all day long, you may not know I ever did that. I'd say that my kids usually look mostly put together but not perfect and sometimes they look kinda "funny"

[littleaugustbaby]

One of my pet peeves is to see kids out in public wearing nothing but a diaper or in nasty clothes & no shoes, especially if their parents are dressed to the hilt. I also don't like for mine to have dirty hands or faces-I keep baby wipes in my car for quick clean-ups. I think when you're out & about & your children (or you) look like ragamuffins, it reflects badly on you as a parent.

I'd much rather have my child look "unpresentable" in public than have her go through life worrying about what other people think of her appearance.

My mom was always so anal about what we looked like when we left the house - everything had to match, be ironed and neat, hair had to be done, etc. We weren't allowed to pick out our own outfits. I almost didn't get to take my SAT's because my mom said that the jeans I picked out were wrinkled and that I needed to iron them or change my clothes before she'd drive me to the SAT's. This was all because she thought that it reflected badly on her if her kids weren't dressed perfectly. All I ever got from it were a lot of self esteem issues that I still deal with to this day.

I'd rather my DD be allowed to have fun and be a kid than worry about what someone thinks of her clothing. If that makes me a bad parent in someone's eyes, then I feel more sorry for them than they probably do for me or my DD.

[Ceili]

If we leave the house ds is fully dressed in clothes that match (I love smocked bubble rompers). He's not a steady walker yet, so I don't bother with shoes and it's too hot around here for socks.

He doesn't have enough hair to bother with brushing. I wipe his hands and feet before we go out and that's about it.

[nym]

clothes? My kids are often in diapers and a t-shirt.. if in public I put a pair of wool shorts on them At home my toddler is naked.