Parenting
Saturday, November 7, 2009
How to get your toddler to take off the princess gown
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- by CafeMom, on Wed Jul 8, 2009 4:10pm PDT
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?
Written by Kim Conte for
CafeMom's Toddler Buzz
Related: princess dress, dress-up clothes, clothes hang-ups, choosing their own clothes, cafemom
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Posted by Trish Fri Jul 10, 2009 8:20am PDT
I let my daughter wear a piece og the outfit as a compramise, not that I play lets make a deal but who cares if she waers a tiara to the grocery store, actally everyone told her what a princess she was and she loved it :) Pick your battles.
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Posted by Angela Fri Jul 10, 2009 9:27am PDT
yeah for the most part i let her choose what she wants to wear. She's fairly reasonable, but once in a while she doesn't want a particular underwear, wants a particular dress, shoe, etc. I usually pick out 2 things and let her choose one. That usually works although sometimes i have to give her a 3rd option. i'm glad she doesn't have princess hangups. Funny i pulled out her dress for easter, and she said, "i wear the princess dress today?" I should let her wear it more often. :)
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Posted by rockin' mom Fri Jul 10, 2009 9:32am PDT
I think you should let kids wear what they want while they are still young enough to get away with it. Who cares if they wear a princess gown to buy groceries? Hell, I'm sure a lot of people wish they could go to the store wearing whatever. LET THE KIDS BE KIDS!
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Posted by Leah Fri Jul 10, 2009 9:42am PDT
We don't buy Big Name princess dresses but instead get real party dresses from the thrift store. I would let my girls wear them wherever they wanted to, they're just clothes!
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Posted by Diane R Fri Jul 10, 2009 10:09am PDT
There are days when I wish I could wear a princess dress to the grocery store.
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Posted by Paris is for me! Fri Jul 10, 2009 10:43am PDT
What is the matter with you people. You are the parents, say "no" to your child...really it is not hard. What is with all this manipulation. Who is the parent and who is the child???
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Posted by cristall589 Fri Jul 10, 2009 11:00am PDT
My kids are well past this stage but when they were little, I let them wear their Halloween outfits when ever they wanted. My son's were Hulk, Tigger,Spiderman, Superman, penguins all year. They knew it had to be washed and would wait almost patiently for the outfits to come out of the dryer! My daughter was the same way, she wore her princess, witch,devil,Barney,Pooh etc..I don't think it is a big deal as long as it was clean-though the oldest kids were always a little embarrassed by the youngest dressing up! No harm no foul. I saved my battles for the teenage years!
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Posted by cristall589 Fri Jul 10, 2009 11:00am PDT
My kids are well past this stage but when they were little, I let them wear their Halloween outfits when ever they wanted. My son's were Hulk, Tigger,Spiderman, Superman, penguins all year. They knew it had to be washed and would wait almost patiently for the outfits to come out of the dryer! My daughter was the same way, she wore her princess, witch,devil,Barney,Pooh etc..I don't think it is a big deal as long as it was clean-though the oldest kids were always a little embarrassed by the youngest dressing up! No harm no foul. I saved my battles for the teenage years!
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Posted by Andygirl Fri Jul 10, 2009 12:25pm PDT
I am so jealous of these little girls and their princess gowns. They dind't make them when I was a kid, but my mom wouldn't have let me wear them anyway. Things like that were only for special occasions. But, my mom was also abusive and controlling. So, I find it adorable when I see little girls in them.
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Posted by allee Fri Jul 10, 2009 12:28pm PDT
My little one has had quite a collection of princess dresses. A lot of them were hand me downs, or thrift store finds. Halloween leftovers on clearance too. and then we had regular dresses in a size or two larger, again most were hand me downs. But all dresses are princess dresses. Some of the cheaper ones actually began to fall apart. Some melted in the dryer. Some she simply outgrew. When we moved i only kept the regular clthing dresses , not the costume ones. And she has not missed them too much. All the ones she has now are just regular summer dresses, but to her they are all princess dresses.
I do limit sometimes. Like weather is cold. Or we are going to the park, and she needs pants or shorts. But as soon as we get home, she goes in and puts a dress on. lol.
Her birthday is coming in a few weeks. And I told my husband we need to find her a new dress. And since there are no thrift stores where we live at all. It will have to be new, new. BUt we will only get one.
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