Licensed characters on clothing

[LunaMom]

Do you buy clothes with characters for your kids?

I never wanted to do this. I figured Disney and all the other corporations weren't going to get me to pay them so that my kid could be a walking advertisement for their products. I feel pretty strongly about it. And it was easy when she was young and didn't care.

Now she's older and sees this stuff in stores and wants it soooo badly. She does have some character toys - a Little Mermaid doll that she got as a gift, a princess game, a stuffed Clifford - that's fine with me. But the clothes just bug me. Then I start thinking that I need to lighten up - I mean, it's just a piece of clothing, and it is so clear that it will make my daughter sooooo happy. So I gave in a little and got her Disney princess underwear when it was on sale, and a Disney princess nightgown, and an Ariel beach towel (not all at once). You'd think I'd taken down the moon and given it to her. So I feel good that I'm not being so uptight...but notice that the things I got are limited to underwear, sleepwear, and a towel.

So dh goes to CA on business and visits Disneyland and gets a huge discount...and tells me that he bought her some t-shirts with Nemo and princesses...and I get mad at him, telling him I don't want my kid to be a walking ad for Disney. I feel like a hypocrite. I think it was fine as long as it wasn't "real clothes," but the idea of her wearing it on a shirt bugs me. Am I being really ridiculous about this stuff? Does anyone else have issues about this sort of thing?

[Indigomama]

I'm probably the worst person to be asking, but my ds pretty much wears character clothing every day...... 99% spiderman stuff which kind of drives me crazy, but at the same time once my overly obnoxious mother kept sending more and more crap, he actually stopped resisting getting dressed and I finally started to get to work on time.

He saw a spiderman cartoon ONCE and is now absolutely crazy about spiderman.... definitely doesn't help that the crap is absolutely everywhere...

GRRRRRRRR

[Elphaba]

i don't like it and don't buy it, BUT 95% of shoshanna's clothes were not purchased by me. most of her clothes are hand-me-downs from her 2 cousins, the rest are gifts from the grandmas. some of them have logos and characters on them. if it's really obnoxious, i give it away. otherwise, i just get over it. she has a pair of overalls with a clifford applique and she thinks they are so cute. she oohs and aahs when she sees them. so i kept them. and she has a teletubbies dress/nightie that she adores. i think it's tacky, but hey, i'm not the one wearing it!
the biggest problem with the character clothes is how flipping shoddy they are. they definitely don't last through multiple kids, and usually don't get outgrown, but worn out instead.

[khrisday]

I won't buy character clothing, even second hand. The idea of my child being a walking ad is apalling to me.

[TexasSuz]

I refuse to buy character clothes also but it does get harder when they get older. My 4 year old niece loves stuff with Princesses on it - I think it is part of their natural fantasy life because we don't encourage it!

I guess I should lighten up a bit too - one or two items in a wardrobe of clothes won't kill anyone. So lately, if I am given a nice outfit with characters on it and I can't return it, then they get to wear it! (but I try to return it first)

[fyrflymommy]

...

[mgmsmommy]

In my opinion, if it makes your child smile & isn't hurting them or anyone else, than there is no harm in wearing the character clothes. And in the end, 10 yrs. from now is it really going to matter. By then, we might just be wishing that character clothes were what our kids want to wear. I think your dh just wanted to make your child happy
JMHO. BTW, my kids & I both wear character clothes from time to time

[lilyka]

I hate disney stuff but we do have a few blues clues and dora items hanging around. I have decided to lighten up a lot. I figure if I let them where this stuff now, against my will, I will have some chips to cash in when they are older. A mom can hope anyway.

[Dakota's Mom]

We don't buy corporate logos or sports stuff. We just don't want Dakota growing up with all of that. But do you know how hard it is to buy boy's clothes that aren't either logos or sports? He has a lot of stuff with animals on them or hiking.

Kathi

[glad2bhome]

Just had to chime in that I can't stand 'em.:

~Melissa

[Ravin]

For me it depends on the characters. Something associated with books (Like classic pooh or Clifford or Harry Potter) or educational (Like Blue's Clues) doesn't bother me, though I doubt I'll ever buy much of the stuff (especially not new) I wouldn't reject it as a gift, etc. Comic book/cartoon characters I have a problem with if they aren't age appropriate material for the child wearing them. Batman, for example, is not kiddie fare in my book. Spiderman is closer, but would still bug me for the under five set. Sports stuff for teams we actually follow (DH is a HUGE Diamondbacks baseball fan, for example) doesn't bother me. What really annoys me are the logos that are walking ads for the clothing companies--Nike, Fubu, whatever. Anything more prominent than the little guy on a horse on a traditional polo shirt I find irksome in the extreme.

Stuff with Disney characters, as an example, on it has associations with something other than wearing expensive/designer clothing for its own sake, and could have been originally bought at Disneyland, a Disney store, or Target for all anyone knows.

If they want it because of associations with things they enjoy, I don't see a problem. If they want it because "that's what everyone is wearing" or because it's a designer brand or whatever, the materialism of it bugs me.

[WendyLouWho]

I don't buy it, but I have received character clothing and accessories as gifts. Most of the time, I return it or ebay it if possible.

My dd is only 1 yr. so I haven't dealt with her asking for it. If/when she does, I'll probably say no. But, I can defintely see the grandparents buying it for her :

My sons are older (8 and 6) and the only character clothing they wear is the occasional Star Wars shirt or comic hero shirt. They really could care less...then again, we homeschool, so they don't have all the peer group copying going on.

edited: I do love Hello Kitty, it's a big weakness with me. I'm buying fabric from Japan now to make a couple of quilts for my dd and a friend of ours. Finn also has a wool diaper cover with a Hello Kitty applique...so I guess I do let her wear character items. Really, though, I think of Disney when I think over marketed character junk

[sarasprings]

I was going to write that I buy and use (we borrow clothes from a friend) only plain clothes. I just remembered, though, that I bought ds two (exactly the same) one piece halloween outfits with mickey mouse on them because they were 50 cents each after the holiday -- I was only thinking only CHEAP! Mmmmm, he'll probably wear them because at 1 1/2, he won't think twice, but I won't do it again.

[MaryBethMoore]

Hmmm, I'm kind of in the middle-of -the road here.

I've only bought stuff for my kids (even secondhand) on one or two occasions. Everything else is gifts or hand-me downs. My MIL buys Sesame Street and sometimes Disney stuff for younger kids. I COULD return it but TBH I'm too lazy and it's not that big an issue for me.

Personally I don't wear Nike stuff or whatever and have no desire too. I don't even really buy clothes for myself. My mother actually buys most of my clothes and gives them to me for Christmas and my birthday.

I would wear character clothing if I liked the character. FE I would wear t-shirts of my favorite rock groups and they certainly don't need my money

The bottom line is it's just not important enough of an issue to me to me for me to forbid it though I certainly understand if others want to. If I bought my kids clothes, they'd all be plain when they were little. As they got older, I'd have to see how I felt.

I guess, someone could make clothing with non-commercial characters but then if they became popular wouldn't that be the same problem? FE if I made "Clothes by Mary Beth" with all original designs they could become a status symbol.

[LukesMum]

Disney is one of the WORST companies utilizing child labor !! I'm talking very very young children (like 5 year olds) and they continually refuse to set up even a company standard/policy re: this issue...much less agreeing to work in compliance with UNICEF and other org. No DIsney in this house (Nike was just as bad but they seem to be trying to atleast in policy to clean up their act..)

[PrinceE&LsMom]

I can't stand character clothing/items not because I don't want my kids to be ads but because I just think they are cheesy! My 4 year old received some Bob the Builder sheets from his grandma and I rarely put them on his bed because they are just too tacky. He has also received a few character tee-shirts and I only let him wear them to bed. I always say isn't this a cool new pajama top and he says yeah so hopefully that will work for awhile.

[ebethmom]

My son will be 2 this summer, and he really likes Jay Jay the Jetplane. So dh bought him a pair of Jay Jay sandals. I have to sneak them off his feet after he's asleep! Those are the only character clothing articles that we have.

[Liz]

My mother never bought this stuff when I was a kid and I wanted it SO badly. You'd think I'd be buying my kid everything he wanted but no, I'm just like my mother! So I try to bite my tongue and get the occasional thing if it's nicely made, has good play value, whatever. Doesn't happen often! He has one Thomas the Tank Engine tee-shirt that he got as a hand me down. He LOVES it. He has Bob the Builder underwear because I thought it might help with potty training (not yet). Then he's received allot of Bob the Builder toys as gifts.

He's only 3 so he hasn't put tremendous pressure on me to get stuff. I'm sure he will when he gets older and I'll just have to explain myself. I just really don't want to get to the point where everything he owns is this character or that character like all my nieces and nephews. Every Christmas the wish list is pretty much "She would like anything Barbie and he likes anything Scooby Doo" with no concern for whether it is a good toy or piece of clothing.

[jeca]

Generally I don't buy character clothing But I don't stop others from buying it. My son loves superheroes and such and I won't deprive him of wearing it when someone buys or gives them to him.

[girlzmommy00]

I normally don't buy character clothing either. I totally agree that it's usually not well made and with 3 girls, I try and buy things that will last to be passed on to someone else. Lauren does have a Little Mermaid swimsuit this year but only because there was a sale and it was a great price. I can't afford to be too picky, I need to go with the sales. Other wise I think that's about it.
The girls do end up with a lot of brand names only that I work at Baby Gap and get an amazing discount on clothing there. So they all have a ton of things that say Gap, only because it was really cheap for me (I'm talking 50 cent jeans and 7 cent hats).