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Parenting

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Original poster

Pre-children, did anyone else say, "Oh I'll NEVER do that tacky character wear?"

34 replies

CheerfulYank · 27/06/2011 20:25

And then four years later find themselves putting a Captain America shirt on their DS whilst telling him to look for his Buzz Lightyear shoes as you're calling the SoftPlay place to make sure they can do a Spiderman cake and decorations at his birthday party in a few weeks?

Sigh...it's a sad place to find oneself, I tell you.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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TwistAndShout · 27/06/2011 20:31

Oh yes! I hated seeing kids with big plastic cartoon character t-shirts. Then DS1 got one of Lightning McQueen for his 3rd birthday and it was the start of a slippery slope...

(I try to restrict it to pyjamas but it's hard stopping DS3 going out in George Pig every day)

Gastonladybird · 27/06/2011 20:32

no i knew I would give in..

I did start reading your post thinking it was you wearing character gear-that would be worrying

Gastonladybird · 27/06/2011 20:33

No princess gear..til I realised direct link to less bedtime meltdown and wearing a rapunzel nightdress

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Itsjustafleshwound · 27/06/2011 20:37

Yip - but then I hope it also has an end and also a limit!!

It is so easy to be judgemental and singular about things when you aren't in the thick of it ....

nulgirl · 27/06/2011 20:38

I have compromised and now let them wear it to bed. I really really hate the logo'ed clothes for little girls. Don't mind the boys stuff too much but my dd has got lots of Disney princess tat to wear to bed.

CroissantNeuf · 27/06/2011 20:42

Clothing-wise I've managed to pretty much limit it to pyjamas.

Toy-wise, over the years we've ended up with the usual plastic tat with DD (Barbie, Disney Princess, Hello Kitty etc) and DS (Spiderman, Ben10, Toy Story, Transformers)

Tillyscoutsmum · 27/06/2011 20:44

Yup. Have decided its definitely not a battle worth fighting now. I had managed to contain it mostly to pj's but someone bought her a "Hello Kitty" t-shirt for her birthday and she loves it

NoCarbsBeforeMarbs · 27/06/2011 20:53

Yes!

DD was never really into anything enough to want clothes with 'stuff' on, so she never had any.

Managed to get DS to 4 before giving in, and now he's got a serious t-shirt addiction
Spiderman, Batman, Ben10 and Mario bros all take pride of place on his chest!

JarethTheGoblinKing · 27/06/2011 20:59

I only give in to Star Wars related stuff but would stretch to Thundercats..

Anything else is PJs only

swash · 27/06/2011 21:22

I did - and I still do! It's just a rule in our house that we don't buy clothes with characters on them. We still have about four things - bought by other people - that break the rule though.

Icoulddoitbetter · 27/06/2011 21:30

My mum buys most of DS's clothes (PFB GC!) and I did gently tell her after a while I don't like character stuff. She was a bit put out, as she likes it (and it's always more expensive!). But she had asked me if there was anything I wasn't keen on, and I reassured her that he would wear everything she had already bought him.

Recently some stuff has sneaked in that I don't think she realises is Disney, Cars etc. But I am of course most grateful and he will wear it, whatever I think.

But, I confess to getting Snoopy and Garfield stuff from H&M, because it's what I loved when I was small

Original poster

CheerfulYank · 27/06/2011 22:16

I was so firm on it at first! I used to nanny for three boys and that was all they had. I had judgey pants about it, I can admit that now.

Then when DS was three he got a Buzz Lightyear shirt for his birthday. (We'd taken his friends to Toy Story 3 at the movie theater, so I suppose...) and then my mom got him a Tshirt emblazoned with Scooby-Doo. These were the gateway products, I see that now. Now when I'm doing laundry and folding his clothes it's like "lovely plain green t-shirt....vaguely menacing Batman logo...lovely striped polo...screaming blue and red Spiderman shirt..." Arrgh!

OP posts:

Pancakeflipper · 27/06/2011 22:25

I managed to get my 6 yr old to his 6th birthday then one of his close mates bought him a StarWars T-Shirt and then with some Next vouchers he got from my Aunt he picked a SuperMario T-Shirt.

Obviously these are his fav items of clothing and I cannot wash and iron them fast enough.

The responsibility when ironing them to not ruin the transfer is immense.

HansieMom · 27/06/2011 22:52

Princess things are banned by my son. But his little girl has Hello Kitty, lots of pink, dance outfits, sparkly things, jeweled things.

For the grandsons, I draw the line at large rubber designs as not comfy to wear. My favorite design for them are animals. Luckily their Mom likes those too--beautiful elephants, panda bears, lizards. But we have plenty of superhero clothes too.

MoChan · 27/06/2011 22:52

So far, we have avoided it. DD is nearly 4. I don't know how I will react if/when she pleads for something like this. Or whatever. I am hoping she won't turn into a Disney Princess when she starts school in Sept. At the moment she is into insects.

Alibabaandthe80nappies · 27/06/2011 22:56

Oh god I was so sure I wouldn't allow it

I do restrict mainly to pjs, but DS1 has a Lightning t-shirt (courtesy of MIL), and Thomas t-shirt (courtesy of my Mum) which he LOVES.

I am wondering what treasures will appear for his birthday next month!

stealthsquiggle · 27/06/2011 23:00

Oh I do love MN.

I thought I was the only one who limited such things to pyjamas (and pants, in my case - DD has tinkerbell, DS had superheroes and now has Taz!)

I have to admit the occasional T-shirt has slipped through the net for DD because she is #2 and I am more tired and she is more determined, but for DS, we have managed to stick to pyjamas and pants (and one pair of buzz lightyear socks)

BirdyBedtime · 28/06/2011 15:34

Ditto swash and others. I can honestly say I've never bought a piece of character clothing for either DC other than pants! I hate them (but don't really know why). DD has never actually had any and while DS did get some Toy Story branded stuff from a relative he wore it to nursery. I relented on the pants as an incentive to potty train - it worked with DD so I recently bought some Thomas ones for DS as we'll be doing this soon.

Gemtubbs · 29/06/2011 20:25

I don't really understand what is wrong with clothes with characters on. What's the problem? Why is everyone so keen on avoiding them for as long as possible? Why are they so evil and wrong?

naturalbaby · 29/06/2011 21:03

ds1 is happy so long as it's got land rovers on! we've avoided a lot of t.v/movies but he's only 3 so i'm expecting a landslide of it when we start nursery/school.

IwishIwasmoreorganised · 29/06/2011 21:09

We've not been as bombarded as you have OP!

DS1 loves Ben 10! We don't have any of the channels that show it so he doesn't really know a lot about it, but he keeps telling me how much he loves it!

I'm really not a fan, so he's got Ben10 pyjamas, socks and pants which he seems very happy with!

DS2 has a Buz Lightyear top that was a present and he loves. Apart from that we're surprisingly character free which is lovely - some of the character clothes look awful imo (i.e. not to my taste)

Original poster

CheerfulYank · 29/06/2011 21:48

Gemtubbs there's nothing terrible about them I suppose. They're just not to my taste and I think they're a bit tacky.

OP posts:

BirdyBedtime · 30/06/2011 12:48

Gemtubs I don't think anyone was saying they were evil or wrong, I just think that a lot of people really don't like them. From my point of view there are a few reasons - they are often transfers on the front of things which are difficult then to iron and also wash poorly, they encourage consumerism etc. I prefer to see DCs in patterns/stripes/checks etc - we are off on holiday soon and I was sorting out DSs clothes which I'd been buying in dribs and drabs - 6 checked shirts of various colours!! I can understand that isn't to everyone's taste either but life needs people with different likes and dislikes or it would be pretty boring - and mumsnet just might grind to a halt.

MoChan · 30/06/2011 13:42

I don't like them mainly because I don't like being branded, and I'm not too keen on a lot of the brands (well, characters, in this case, strictly, but they are a brand), and the messages they give. Especially to young impressionable minds...

FrameyMcFrame · 30/06/2011 13:49

Isn't it slightly more important if your children like their clothes rather than whether you like them or not?

After all, they are the ones wearing the clothes, not you? They are people with opinions and likes and dislikes not dolls for you to dress up 'tastefully'

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