Practical nursery clothes for girl who loves dresses and tights

[MumsyPoppsy]

Hi my DD is starting nursery in September and will be newly toilet-trained by then, fingers-crossed! I've read threads on here about sending your kids to nursery in practical clothes like joggers and leggings and t shirts, which they can pull up themselves. This sounds very sensible. She hasn't mastered holding up her dress while sitting on the toilet.

But in the last few weeks my DD (2yr8m) has started getting fussy about clothes. Overnight it seems, she decided that trousers are for boys and she will only wear pink dresses and tights (not even blue dresses, or skirts). She'll wear leggings at a push. It's a real battle to dress her. I find it a nonsense, and don't want her to get her own way all the time, and have half her clothes unworn! But I've given in to her this far () because I want her to feel self- confident when she's playing with other kids in the park. And I'm worried she'll feel less confident if she's in joggers and some other kids turn up in dresses. Should I stop being so precious, and when the time comes, send her to nursery in joggers? What about tunics?

[Teacuptravells]

mine goes in leggings and a pretty top or tunic (so feels like a dress!). She wouldnt wear joggers either. Leggings work pretty well though, we now have a ton of blue leggings so she can choose any of her tops!

We used to do tights and dresses - but as you say that's trickier on the toilet and my daughter likes to be independant now ( abit older than yours). Leggings and pretty tops are the way forwards :D

[Roobo]

Just buy her some bits and explain that these are her special nursery clothes. My DD is 2.6 and accepts that she has different clothes for different places. I wouldn't worry.

Nursery clothes get thrashed anyway, so don't send her in anything you don't want to get ruined.

[lordsandladies]

DD1 is dress mad and wears dresses with leggings. I just resign myself to destroyed dresses and try and get solid materials at least.

[ItMustBeBedtimeSurely]

Mine likes dresses, so she wears leggings and dresses, mostly. I bulk buy cheap cotton jersey dresses from h&m, so it doesn't matter if they get trashed. I don't see how joggers are any more practical tbh.

[SunshineOnTheBalcony]

My daughter is the same. I try and buy very simple jersey dresses - A line ones are good as easier to lift up than twirly or flouncy ones.

I don't think tights are harder to manage than leggings, my DD is fine with them.

She does have joggers and leggings, and she does choose them sometimes.

I've never had anything trashed. Covered in food/paint/glue/mud yes - but it always washes out again. I go the other way and buy more expensive stuff as it washes better, I find.

[FreeButtonBee]

I would go with simple jersey dresses and leggings. Leggings are easier to get on and off than tights but if worn with a dress, should appease your daughter. I love my DD in dresses and leggings, practical but still pretty and no exposed tummies. (I will weep when she stops wearing poppered vests - I love them for some stupid reason

[Micah]

While I'm a big believer in letting children choose their own clothes, I do at least insist mine dress appropriately for the activity.

So I'd be explaining that dresses aren't practical- they can get caught up in slides and swings, bikes, scooters etc. If she gets paint or food on it then it's a whole outfit change, rather than just a t shirt swap.

I'd tell her at nursery/park/soft play she's going to want to join in lots of fun activities and running around, and a dress will get in the way. Occasionally is fine, but everyday must be practical stuff I can wash, she can get mucky and climb about as much as she wants.

Mine have always accepted this. I've never allowed the "this is for girls, that is for boys" attitude either. I always correct and tell them they can wear, do, or be whatever they want. Same for boys. The only thing they might not be able to do that boys can is wee standing up :)

[Pico2]

I'm another one who bulk buys H&M jersey dresses for nursery. They aren't too long, so are mostly ok to pull up for the toilet.

Dad also has some long T shirts with ruffles round the bottom which she wears with leggings. Tesco sells them as dresses, but they are way too short to be dresses. You might be able to persuade your DD that they are dresses. They often have Disney characters on them.

[TeWiSavesTheDay]

Mine wore shortish thin cotton dresses and leggings or tights. Layers underneath if cold.

She learned to go to the toilet in them and it has never stopped her climbing a tree or using a slide. She's just learned to ride a bike and did it wearing a dress!

With my DD it has turned out to be a sensory issue, so her strips about not wearing trousers weren't anything to do with gender stereotypes and all about comfort.

[JassyRadlett]

The girls at DS's nursery do a good line in tunics or shortish dresses with leggings or sometimes tights. I think in the summer months shorts and t-shirts seem to be the norm.

[TeWiSavesTheDay]

m.hm.com/gb/product/34190?article=34190-I h&m 2.99 dresses, she wore these pretty much everyday.

[Pico2]

m.hm.com/gb/product/46454?article=46454-A And long sleeve ones for winter.

[scaryfuture]

JoJo Breton dresses and tights were my dd's nursery staples. They wash and dry so quickly and easily, no need to iron and they never stained. Passed down to dd2 and they still look as good as new. They do short sleeved ones for summer and long sleeved ones for winter.

[ItMustBeBedtimeSurely]

Never once have my dds got their dresses caught in a slide, swing or scooter . Obviously I get them above the knee dresses which aren't too voluminous.

Makes no difference to changes either - swop one dress for another. No different to changing t shirt. Leggings are definitely more practical than tights though.

[NightsOfGethsemane]

I have 2 DDs and I have literally never given this issue a thought until this thread. We didn't have special nursery clothes. They just wore normal clothes. Sometimes dresses/tights sometimes tunic/leggings sometimes jeans/top. Our nursery were good with aprons etc and I can't recall anything getting trashed.

Dd2 (3years) spent most of this winter in shorts and tights. She managed the loo fine.

Send her in what she likes and don't worry!

[PrincessOfChina]

DD got to be a bit of a nightmare with this and still much prefers dresses even at 4.

We have a rule that she can wear 2 dresses a week, 2 trousers or leggings and 1 skirt. She usually "spends" her dresses at the start of the week and whines but knows the rules!

[Pico2]

My DD trashes stuff at nursery. She gets covered head to toe in mud and gets paint stains on her clothes.

[Pico2]

Princess - why don't you just buy her dresses and let her wear them all the time?

[PrincessOfChina]

I do tend to buy her dresses now but they're not always practical - I prefer leggings at least on forest school days for example as her waterproofs work better when there's no skirt in the way. And really in mid winter trousers are the only sensible option if she's outdoors a lot. It's not so much of an issue now spring is here.

[MumsyPoppsy]

Thank you everyone for this great advice. It's really helpful and also very reassuring. Thanks so much