AAARRRGGGHHHH i dont think i am cut out to be the mum of little girls!!!

[kerryk]

why is it every single morning we need to have a battle about what they are going to wear. they have wardrobes full of summer clothes but everyday they want to go out and play in the garden looking like they are going to meet the flippin queen.

my mum always buys them flouncy laura ashley dresses/ monsoon dresses which i am grateful for but they are hardly apprpriate for rolling around in the garden or riding around on bikes.

every other child in the street is dressed in 3/4 trousers/ vest tops and crocs and mine want to go out looing like extras from the railway children.

EVERY morning is some kind of crying match, i feel like throwing the whole lot of dresses in the bucket (not really). i cant even really put them out of sight because we have bulid in wardrobes that dont offer much in the way of hidey holes.

anyway i know that i am being totally reasonable about this rant and feel much better now

Hey they may grow out of it and dress in bum skimming dresses, thigh high boots and lots of slap when they are 13 so make the most of it ;) I think it's nice seeing girls in girly clothes

As the mother of two boys they are just as irritating. They could quite happily stay in their PJs all day. Lazy sods.

they would have been sweating in these dresses today though, they are so heavy with all the layers in them. even though they are from the summer collection.

plus i could see all the ties getting caught in bike spokes etc and having to spent the day picking them up of the pavement.

i have finally managed to get them into something else, so thats the battle over for another day.

dresses much nicer in hot weather than tops and trous
and if they go in the washing machine and you didn't pay for them who cares if they get muddy? If you save them 'for best' they never get worn at all.

cut off long sashes/ties if you;re really worried re bikes.

(speaking as one whose dd went to nursery today in a flounced cotton party sundress)

I used have this problem with DD who now only wears boys' clothes. I think you can point out that flouncy dresses are less practical but let them wear them if they insist: they will get ruined but the kids will grow out of them quickly and if you keep them for good wear you will end up, like me, with a wardrobe full of preety dresses that have only been worn a few times.

they are still in dresses, only they are suitable short cotton summer dresses that are actually comfy rather than just looking "lovely"

My 3 refuse point-blank to wear trousers except on very rare occasions. So I have compromised by buying them dresses which I don't mind if they get dirty and others for 'best'. But then the 'best' ones hardly get worn, so ultimately it all goes into the mix.

I was having these fights every morning like you, but in the end I just decided life was too short - if it was really unsuitable ie strappy dress in snow, then I get them to change, but otherwise I tend not to intervene any more. It saves time and stress in the morning, although some of DT2's colour combinations lead me to explain to my friends that she dressed herself in case they think I have weird taste . Weird really - I was a complete tomboy as a child and my mum struggled to get me out of trousers!

Let them wear what they choose. Then if they fall over, can't do what they want in them, etc. they learn ready for next time.

FWIW DD often went out and about in fancy dresses, etc. Never stopped her doing anything she wanted to, even at the playground.

Filing them - don't give them the full choice of the wardrobe. Select 2 or 3 outfits you are happy with, and let them chose from that.

How many 'bests' does each outfit get before it's outgrown?

Let 'em wear the fancy stuff if that's what they want. What's the worst that could happen?

I agree with hulababy - my dd has a tendency to wear wildly unsuitable clothes, but it never seems to stop her doing what she wants. We have one 'party dress' (designated by me) which she only wears for special events, so I don't care at all if she rips or ruins any of the other frilly monstrosities that she gets as handmedowns.
Anything that I really can't abide tends to stay at the bottom of the washing basket for an awful long time waiting for 'the right colour wash' though

I gave up arguing with DD over what she was or was not wearing when she was about 5, saying she could wear what she liked but would have to make her own mistakes over impracticle items of flounciness and weather issues (shorts in December, etc). It's mostly worked but she still regularly asks 'does this look OK/silly?' which is v tiresome. Only very occasionally do I intervene in what she's wearing, but I'm mostly always fairly honest when she asks my opinion on what she's wearing. Excessive fussing over whether whe should wear this that or the other (which can take a long time) is met with little or no comment from me (she has to make her own choices) until time becomes an issue at which point I threaten to choose the outfit for her (i.e. no choices). This always works .

Girly girls and clothes issues/appearance issues start young and are hard work, but let's hope they'll grow up with a strong sense of who they are, and a unique style in which they are not afraid to experiment a bit.

oh god they do not dress like boys!!!

even if i wanted to dress them like that they would not let me.

all there tops are girly girly and the 3/4 trousers are pink with girly thing on them.

i just dont want them going out in things that would even look to dressy at a birthday party.

it is just my ocd ish behavior i suppose, i want them to look what i call acceptable for playing out with.

oh kerry can i borrow them please?

i was convinced DS was a little girl all through my pregnancy and he's turned out about the roughest toughest little hooligan you can imagine!!!

If my DCs have clothes that I dont want them to wear I just leave them in the washing or ironing pile until I want the clothes to be available again.

my dd2 also likes to cuddle dresses in bed

At last count she had 26 dresses (mostly eBay/hand me downs).