Outfit of the Day

I was talking to some moms of my son’s classmates the other day about dressing our kids and what our individual approaches are.  My son and his classmates are in second grade and are 7-8 year olds. One of the mom’s said that her son picks out his own clothes for school every day and that she previously taught him rules about how to dress and choose an outfit.  At this point I was already reprimanding myself inside for not doing this. She said that she taught her son what appropriate clothes were for different activities and events (nicer clothes for outings, school wear, and clothes you can go to the park and get dirty in), to take in to account weather (the texture and weight of clothes along with layers and outerwear), and also fashion tips (if one piece has a pattern the other piece should not, if one piece is bold the other piece should not be).  I thought this was really smart. She said it takes her son a little bit longer on certain days to get ready but for the most part he had the hang of it. I was impressed.

So what is my approach?  Every week I go through my son’s clothes and look at the weather and I set out 7 outfits for each day and put them on hangers in his closet.  The night before I will verify that the outfit works with the weather and activity and he knows to go in order each day. He doesn’t fight it and really doesn’t seem to have any opinions either way about what I have chosen for him.  Our mornings are crazy enough as it is so I started doing this system to make it easier for all of us to avoid any delays. It works for us. I do the same for my daughter who has also gotten used to it and doesn’t seem to mind (she’s 3 though so time will tell).  The mom I was talking to brought up a point in our discussion that even though her son may take longer and sometimes he wears things she wouldn’t have normally chosen for him, he gets to make his own decisions, express himself, and learn on his own what is the right choice to make and will learn if he makes mistakes.  I think she is right. I am sure there will come a time when I will let go of this “control” and my son will choose for himself. It makes me a little nervous but for now my priority is to keep things simple and drama free so I’ll keep at it.