AIBU to think big sister announcement T-shirts are just a gimmick?

[Hmmmml]

On social media when people upload photos of them saying a baby is on its way. If it’s not their first, the child(ren) usually wear ‘ promoted to big sister’ t-shirts. Same applies to boys with brothers

Do these kids wear the t-shirts after the photos? Just had a look and around £12 for a top, more so if personalised.

Its a social media gimmick

Yes, it’s absolutely naff.

My DS did. We didn’t put anything on social media - we bought the jumper for announcing it to family and friends via WhatsApp, but DS carried on wearing it as a normal jumper to
nursery until it was too small.

It’s a gimmick
I know someone who bought one in next - did the photos leaving tag on and returned it!
i can’t see what the attraction is myself

We personally didn’t do this (we didn’t really announce our second) but if I did they’d wear them again. People buy clothes that get used a couple of times all the time. People on here buy new clothes each holiday etc.

I do buy Christmas pyjamas but they’re worn all year round.

DH's brother and SIl did this one Christmas day to make their announcement. I found it all a bit performative for a very small gathering, especially as we had been there for an hour before they removed their elder child's jumper to reveal the t shirt .

My toddler dd has a big sister t-shirt from our "announcement". She wears it most weeks and the new baby isn't even born yet.

The announcement was just her wearing the t-shirt on a video call to our families, as we live abroad.

DS had a personalised big brother vest and did wear it like a normal vest until he outgrew it.

Aww I did this when our youngest was due. They were from H&M and from memory were £3 each.

We did it, about 10 years ago and was much less than £12 for the t-shirt, and yes it was worn as a normal t-shirt.

When dcs1&2 came to meet their 1 day old baby sibling for the first time, in the bassinet there were a pair of wrapped presents from the baby to them. The presents were “I’m the big brother” and “I’m the big sister” T-shirts, and the dc were very pleased by them. They insisted on wearing the T-shirts every time we went out together for the next week or two, and every time we took the baby somewhere new for even longer.

But then we never documented and announced every living moment on social media.

Of course it's a gimmick, most things are these days. But if you like it go for it.
We got a tshirt for my eldest and she loved wearing it. She dressed her teddy in it when she outgrew it.

My eldest had a big brother t shirt over 20 years ago, before even Facebook was popular. So YABU, but does it matter either way? It would take a very miserable person to object to a harmless toddler t shirt.

Well sure it’s a gimmick but so what? I didn’t do this with my kids but it’s cute, they are only willing to wear things like that for a short amount of time. My kids are now 11 and 8 and definitely would not wear such things now 🤣

That’s just scummy.

It is
she’s the daughter of someone I work with I don’t know her directly!

You could get badges and stuff with this sort of thing on them twenty years ago from gift shops. It’s not a new thing.

Presumably people do it in part to help get the older sibling used to the idea of a new baby in the house and to include them in the excitement so they don’t feel left out.

I’m sure some people do it purely for SM, as they probably do most of the shit they do for SM, but it’s just a harmless way to celebrate a happy occasion for most.

I loved it. We’d had years of secondary infertility, endless ivf, surgeries and multiple miscarriages. Watching my 7 year old read the big sister lettering on the t-shirt we handed her was honestly a truly wonderful moment in my life. I couldn’t find one that wasn’t expensive in her size so I made my own with her own t-shirt and a sheet of transfer paper. Was a bit randomly sticky! Didn’t put anything on social media. I probably sent it to my family as they knew how much it meant.

There are so many gimmicky things these days. I didn’t buy a born in 2023 babygrow, but others love them and fair enough. We live in a fast fashion world. It’s up to individuals how they want to shop. I do think clothes should be worn until worn or passed on to someone else.

My MIL sent us one for DS after we told her I was pregnant with DD. He was 18 months at the time and he looked sweet in it. It went into the nursery rotation of t-shirts until he outgrew it. So yeah we managed to get continued use out of it.

what's the opposite of a gimmick then? It's not really clear what the alternative meaning of them could possibly be?

You could say anything's a gimmick, really. It's just another way of making a fuss about a new arrival and getting the older child included, which most people would think is quite a nice idea. I would imagine most people either resell the t shirt on vinted or something, or the older sibling wears it to bed/for messy play or something. Can't really understand the angst.

Blimey how much attention do parents need for popping out another sprog? When will it ever end?