to find clothes shopping with 2 girls aged 8 and 10 one of life's great trials...

[hatwoman]

nothing is ever fair. she got some party shoes 2 years ago so I it's only fair if I get a belt. she's got 2 sparkly tops and I haven't got any. I saw that skirt first.et bloody cetera. I'm aware that makes them sound like a right pair....but they're not natural whinge bags. and we're not natural shoppers...shopping is a rare activity, put off til the last possible moment (it was the age 2-3 pants that tipped us over the edge this time) perhaps therein lies the problem. so is it just me, my appalling parenting and my terrible children? or is it just part of having 2 (intensely jealous) girls...

off to walk off the stress the dog.

Can you take them clothes-shopping separately?

i hate it too. with a vengeance, and you have to take them with you because if you buy what you think they like: it doesnt fit: they dont like it
there is always jealousy.

Nope, don't think YABU.

I have a girl (7) and a boy (8) neither of whom like to shop, so when we have to it is like I am trying to destroy their very existence. He doesn't want to stand in the girls section, she doesn't want to look at boys things, the usual 'why can't I have that one..' often said in unison.

If you throw into the mix any potential trying on of things, colour matching, waiting for things to be got from the stockroom or god forbid the simple thing of me needing to grab anything for myself then comes the 'I'm booooorrreedd!!!' every 5 freaking seconds from one or the other. Don't even get me started if the other half comes with as well, he is almost as bad as the children at times.

All I can say is thank crap to whoever first thought of online shopping so I no longer have to do it too often.

At least you have 2 dd's to go shopping with I have 4 boys and they regard shopping as a 5 minute prelude to getting a muffin.

i only take mine shoe shoppping
they are 6 and 3
I chooose everything else
dh took 6 yr old shopping and we now have a lovely jacket he tried on and said he liked and now won't wear

i do the same as compo

for the 4 and 6 yo i choose everything

for 10yo DD i choose things and if she doesnt like them i return them. i have better taste than her anyway she is very frumpy

i only shop with her ( once in a blue moon) if i can do it alone ie with no other kids and for about an hour max

i hate shopping even for me, with kids its hell

oh yes menetta. I had the cheek to spend 5 minutes buying myself some knickers while we were in M&S today. Honestly I'm so selfish. I do think shopping separately is the way to go. but I find it hard enough to find time to take them at all. let alone on 2 different trips. oh well, I think we are adequately stocked with sparkly tops and skinny jeans to last til, ooo, 2012 .

thankfully I've found myself reasonably laid back about style - I can remember having huge clashes with my mum because she wouldn't let me try on/have particular things. that's a battle I really can't be bothered to have. (though I think it's partly because there's much less of a child-teen divide these days on clothes. once they're out of the cutesy boden stuff it all looks the same from about 8 onwards.)

it's a relatively recent thing - I used to choose/buy everything - mainly on-line, but just in the last year the older one has really started having strong views. (and as she is unbelieveably skinny she's vey hard to buy for fit-wise too) and where the older one goes the younger one follows. two years earlier iyswim.

Take them shopping one at a time. They love the 1-1 time.finish it off with a 'babychino' at an M and S cafe. Love shopping with my 3 but only one at a time

Hatwoman, how dare you buy yourself undies .

Have been in long-term 'negotiations' with my little girl as to why she isn't allowed to own a pair of 2" spiked heel strappy sandals simply because one of the girls in her class has a pair and wore them once within her eyeline, she doesn't quite get the part about how I think they are revolting and aren't appropriate for a 7 year old so have to live with being put through lots of whinging in/outside of/near shoeshops.

Am just thankful that they have a school uniform or I would probably have a total nervous breakdown.

thankfully neither have ever expressed any desire for high heels. I guess it's only a matter of time.

We don't have the jealousy but I absolutely loathe going shoe shopping with our boys (2 and 6). 6yo hates shopping, then wants to pick shoes because he likes the colour but the fit is really bad, etc etc. It ALWAYS ends in tears!

I'm pretty fierce with my two, and generally only take them on their own, with treats thrown in as a reward. dd (9) would like many things, but I tend to be fairly strong on what is not acceptable to me and she is pretty good at not getting too upset. We tend to go to just one or two shops with a list in mind, pick up a whole bundle of stuff and then have one changing room session. ds (11) is not keen on shopping, but will tolerate it. We do just the one shop for him, and get a bundle of trousers and tops. He has a slight tendency to saying that clothes are fine, when quite obviously they don't fit at all (he is tall and very thin).

When they were smaller sometimes getting them to choose clothes for each other worked quite well. Otherwise taking a DS or two and bribing with food or swimming or something was the only way. I suspect that waiting until you absolutely have to is not the way to go. I certainly find it stresses me out if I do this for myself (because of the pressure of having to find something).

dont take them!buy a load at shop or online and try them on at home.my ten yo loves looking through the next directory and boden .she doesnt get new clothes very often so she doesnt argue about going to the shops,she is then quite happy to be brought stuff.

ooh i remember those (awful) days. it may be a little early for yours but when my girls hit 12 they had a (huge) increase in pocket money but on the condition that they were responsible for EVERYTHING they wanted except school things and coats. it has transformed my life, they have learned to budget, shop wisely, help each other out wrt good shops and bargains, and best of all, cos they have paid for stuff, they LOOK AFTER IT! bonuses all round, its great

homebirthmummy - I am already thinking along those lines, and was wondering when we could start a system like that. I think you're right, that they're still a wee bit too young, but I'll definitely introduce it soon. I may even do a half-way stage - just tell them that I find the whole "fairness" thing utterly impossible and possibly the only way of doing it is to introduce a budget. the only problem with that, when they're too young to shop alone, is that we could end up traipsing round twice as many shops to make sure they get the best deal....

if it's not a nosy question (well, it is) how much do they get? I'm not quite sure what I spend on clothes for them...they don;t have much - probably their total wardrobe at the moment is 2 pairs of jeans, 5 tops/t-shirts, 1 shorts, 1 skirt, 2 jumpers. half of which was bought yesterday for a total of about £100.

Trade you buying school shoes for 12yr old ds Clarks , 6 pairs later, leave empty handed .....

Sorry ladies but it never ends, dd is 14. Saw a lovely dress in a shop window. went in to ask about it. Only had it in a 10. Dd is a 12/14. It didn't fit, in fact didn't even suit her even if it had been the right size.

dd sulked all the way home......'But I love it so muuuuch.....'

teenage daughter suggests new look online to avoid going shopping. they then have the excitement of waiting for postman and you dont have to buy them lunch

I do everything via Joules and Boden catalogues, we probably look a right sight but my hair is less grey as a result.
Look out for 20% off codes and free delivery, brings the prices down to normal.

Hand them £40 (or whatever) each, let them loose in H&M and wait for them in a pub cafe. That they are only 8 and 10 is neither here nor there - it is the only way.

(make sure they know that this is it, clotheswise, for the next six months. Otherwise they'll buy 10 pairs of sparkley hotpants each)

Shopping with a 12 year old girl is still ahead of you

My girls have always worn handmedowns until about age 12. At that age thrift and sense and taste go out the window, along with politeness and patience. They also start growing out of jeans every 6 months. Shoes too. 'Tis hell.

DS (17) hates shopping, always has, won't even go with me, has some general guidelines and happily wears anything I find that fits him if it's blue, navy, black, dark grey, dark green or dark red. Brown is treated with suspicion. No slogans or graphics but sports related stuff is fine. No light blue as that was his school uniform shirt colour.

I hate shopping, with or without dcs. Unless it's food