Does your toddler insist on wearing a pretty princess dress (or other costume) absolutely everywhere?
Some parents find this persistence endearing; for others, it drives them nuts...
If you fall into the second camp, here are some ideas for getting your child to wear regular clothes (unless, of course, you only go to places where gowns are perfectly acceptable).
Lots of toddlers have clothes hang-ups. But what do you do if your toddler insists on wearing something that isn't entirely appropriate for every occasion? A Chicago newspaper recently posted some ideas from moms about how to get your preschooler out of the princess dress:
- Let her wear it as much as she wants. Once she realizes that you don't care if she wears it or not, she will decide to wear something else.
- Tell her that the princess dress is so pretty and special that it should only be worn at home—otherwise it might get dirty, torn, or ruined. (This sounds a little sneaky to me.)
- Have her wear it under her regular clothes.
- Set certain inflexible parameters about where she can wear it—at home, but not at school, etc. Or, maybe tell her she can wear it only once a week.
Does your toddler have an item of clothing—princess dress or otherwise—they always insist on wearing?
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Comments 5
As someone who has taken a fairy and spiderman shopping with me (not at the same time) before I have dealt with this a lot!! The rules are the costumes CANNOT go outside to play and can't be worn out of the house (shopping, library, etc) unless you have asked. certain costumes (like the princess dress) you can't eat in but you are more than welcome to put it back on after! If it has anything the prevents you from being buckled into the car properly it doesn't leave the house! If they can't follow the rules, no costumes for a little while. They are 2 and 5 and neither has any problems with the rules. Rarely will my 5 year old ask to wear a costume out anymore, but sometimes Batman makes an appearance at wal-mart, LOL
Regular clothes, whatever, as long as you let me wash it, you can wear it the next day, I don't care, its not worth fighting over!!
Tell her that the princess dress is so pretty and special that it should only be worn at home—otherwise it might get dirty, torn, or ruined. (This sounds a little sneaky to me.)
How is that sneaky? We tell our son all the time that he shouldn't go _____ in his costumes because they could get messed up - and that IS the actual reason. Depending on where we're going, I don't care what he wears! I've taken him to the grocery store as Spiderman, Darth Vader, and a pirate... regardless of what month it is.
I'm in the first category - allow it whenever he wants. He went through a helmet phase where he wanted to wear his helmets wherever he went - okay - it was summer, so they came off real fast. Then he wore his knight costume whenever he cans - okay, most people smile and eventually, it all comes off. He'll wear his spiderman mask to the store - no biggie. He's never been completely obsessed (too much) with any one thing, so I've gone along each time, letting him know that it's okay (the only rule we have to follow is at school where he can only brnik his costume's on Friday and only for show and share).
As a former Disney cast member, I let my daughters wear their costumes whenever and where ever they wanted. It doesn't hurt anything and sometimes, even I wore a tiara to the grocer... and it was fun!
To me, this is one of those things that is not worth the argument. As long as I can wash it regularly I don't care.