5 simple rules for kids clothing….

“>My 9 year old daughter has a unique fashion sense. Always has. She’s also quite opinionated and, dare I say, obstinate? This has been going on since pretty much forever and we often butt heads over things. There’s some stuff I’m quite strict on: manners, food and kindness. But others, not so much. One of these is clothing. I had really hoped I’d have the kind of daughter I could dress in cute little matching outfits (and I did until she developed an opinion since she could verbalize one) but alas, that is not the case. I decided, in the interest of simple living, and my sanity, that I would create my own 5 simple rules for clothing and let the socks fall where they may.
1. Clothes must be clean. This doesn’t mean they can’t have holes or be shabby or stained. Just clean.
2. Clothes must be seasonally appropriate. You know, sweaters in the winter, swimsuits in the summer.
3. Clothes must cover all appropriate body parts. Enough said.
4. Clean underwear must be worn every day. This rule used to be “underwear must be worn” when I got a concerned call from her kindergarten teacher. I mean, who really checks under the skort in the morning?
5. You must let me know when you are running low on clothes that fit. With a kid that goes through at least 3 rounds of clothes & shoes a year to keep up with her growth spurts, I need a heads up for shopping so we don’t have a morning where none of the pants will button or feet won’t fit in the shoes.

That’s it. I don’t care about colors, styles, patterns, complete and utter weirdness. I figure if it is so odd, there’s no way anyone would figure I had anything to do with it anyway.

What confounds me is that she’s got so many cute clothes, how does she come up with such strange attire? It’s like she looks for combinations of apparel that contain the greatest amount of clashing color and pattern every time she looks in her closet. But, whatever.
These 5 simple rules save so much arguing and hassle in the morning. I just bite my tongue and try to compliment when a semi-normal outfit shows up. And keep the eye rolling to a minimum. After all, it’s not me going out in public wearing every color and pattern known to man combined with sparkles, light up cowboy boots and a skull necklace.
Have your own simple clothing rules? Would love to hear them!