Dressing your Child Can be a Real Challenge!
Dressing your child should be the simplest of tasks, but all too often it turns into a battle of wills between you and your toddler. Even if you are asking them to wear their favorite sweater, a control-hungry toddler is almost certain to say an emphatic “No!” if it was chosen without his or her express approval. This can make dressing your child a major challenge for the parents of toddlers. Next time you face this challenge ….
Provide choices. Granting your toddler complete control over the contents of his or her closet probably isn’t sensible and certainly isn’t practical – unless of course you’re happy for them to be wearing a bathing suit and flip flops on a freezing winter day, or a tutu and wellies on a trip to the mall. Giving them even a little control over what they wear though, can prevent major disputes when you’re dressing your child. So, offer your toddler a choice between two or three outfits. If she comes up with a wacky idea of her own come up with a compromise if at all possible – why not offer to let her wear it under her leggings? To reduce the chances of inappropriate outfits being chosen when you’re dressing your child, then pack out-of-season clothes away.
When you go shopping for new clothes, let your child choose the outfits he prefers from several that you’ve already decided will be suitable. This won’t give you a cast-iron guarantee that he’ll wear them, but it will improve your chances!
Don’t give your toddler too many choices. When you’re dressing your child, if you offer her a closet full of choices you’re practically writing the script for a tantrum. Too many options will overwhelm and frustrate your child – she simply won’t be capable of a decision. So keep her choices down to two or three at most.
Praise his choices. Compliment your child and make them feel good when they’ve chosen a suitable outfit, but try not to criticize him when his outfit is mismatched and, from your point of view, ill-chosen. When dressing your child make suggestions if he’s open to them, “that red checked shirt would go well with those red dungarees, don’t you think?” but don’t worry if he doesn’t follow your guidance. He has lots of time to develop good taste and develop his own style.
Finally, when the challenge of dressing your child threatens to get you down, try to keep your sense of humor. You’re going to need it. Although once the toddler years are past wardrobe choices should get less stressful, eccentricities are certain to reappear and multiply with a vengeance once the teenage years arrive!
About the Author
Ellie Dixon lives in deepest rural Devon, England with her husband and two very large Newfoundland dogs. She is passionate about vintage illustrated children’s books and loves to restore and edit them for today’s kids to rediscover. Visit her website, Scruffy’s Bookshop, to download some great books for pre-schoolers and older children, and while you’re there sign up for her free monthly newsletter.
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