tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post6157349703427162255..comments2023-11-02T09:08:09.242-07:00Comments on <i>Daddy Dialectic</i>: Baby Clothing on the SpotJeremy Adam Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11733669114207985920noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-45415847357852051152007-08-26T04:53:00.000-07:002007-08-26T04:53:00.000-07:00My three yr old is a walking advertisement bc she ...My three yr old is a walking advertisement bc she is in love with princesses and that is what she chooses from her hand-me-down colelction and when she ahs money from Grandma to spend at the store. This bothers me not only for the commercial factor, but also for the promoting white as beautiful - Cinderella, Snow White and Belle are the primary focus, sometimes Ariel, but Mulan and Jasmine are included only in the large group photos, as if, hey, look we have some dark-skinned princesses too! HOWEVER, if you can believe it, Jasmine was drawn darker in the movie than she is in some of the books we have her in, as well as any time she is pictured next to the "white" princesses, she is colored lighter than she is in the actual movie. Disgusting. But it would be a disservice to explain these things to my three yr old, who is still completely color-blind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-58370981573963078202007-07-27T12:40:00.000-07:002007-07-27T12:40:00.000-07:00Kudos to Helen for the multi-stage clothing reuse!...Kudos to Helen for the multi-stage clothing reuse!<BR/><BR/>Matt raises an interesting point about what happens when the child can have some input, which I hadn't thought about since we're not there yet. My response is that we probably agree that independence /randomness of clothing is probably better than a sense of "I oughtta being wearing this cuz I'm a boy/girl." I think that's where we're trying to steer things.<BR/><BR/>So yes, that kind of independence which hopefully entails branching out from what is conventionally expected.chicago pophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17055796523227869734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-75629769830090324802007-07-27T09:42:00.000-07:002007-07-27T09:42:00.000-07:00I agree that, for some people, what their children...I agree that, for some people, what their children wear reflects on them as parents. My (4yo and 8yo now) daughters have friends whose mothers (yes, always the mothers) fuss about each child's outfit, and confess to arguing about what to wear in the morning. They used to also dress their children, all the way up to 6 yrs old. <BR/><BR/>I never really cared, because my girls never cared. I'd pick things that loosely matched. As soon as the kids expressed any interest whatsoever in what was on their bodies (at about 16-18 months), I encouraged them to choose. Then, nothing matched, and the stained shirts were beloved. <BR/><BR/>But, both were independent, choosing their own clothes and dressing themselves. One mom actually had the gall to ask why one daughter, who at 2 yrs old, was dressed 'that way' (picture knee-high black boots, purple-striped tights, red-green plaid skort, pink striped shirt). When I said that she picked them out and dressed herself without my involvement, it was like a light went on. <BR/><BR/>As the primary care giver, I'm happy to not be burdened by having to pass on the conditioning that appearance is something to fuss so much about. To me, independence beats a well-dressed kid any day.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02179403544495148083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-25616829923803571772007-07-26T16:52:00.000-07:002007-07-26T16:52:00.000-07:00I should meantion that many of the clothes my daug...I should meantion that many of the clothes my daughter got from her boy cousins went back for their younger brother than back to us again.... The girly stuff went mostly to my sister's daughter or friends.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-31455176695538658322007-07-26T06:31:00.000-07:002007-07-26T06:31:00.000-07:00Helen reminds me that I forgot to mention the mult...Helen reminds me that I forgot to mention the multiple bags of recycled clothing that we've received from family and friends -- that's another post topic! Not only is this green, sustainable, and economical, but it's a great way to pleasantly surprise and horrify yourself about the clothes that people who are close to you let their kids wear! We've used a lot of it.<BR/><BR/>RE brand names on clothes, we're with Amy. Is not allowed.chicago pophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17055796523227869734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-10576191897561552732007-07-25T16:38:00.000-07:002007-07-25T16:38:00.000-07:00We've got a related statement to make in our kids'...We've got a related statement to make in our kids' clothes - not so much a gender one but one against commercialism. It gets increasingly harder to avoid shirts, pants, sweatshirts, etc. with logos, commercial characters, or other brand marks on them. Perfectly good shirts ruined with the huge letters G-A-P on the front. Countless offerings with Disney or other figures plastered across them. It's a campaign to avoid our children becoming walking advertisements, and it's a battle.Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02303169124097797003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-2220610319140514932007-07-25T15:43:00.000-07:002007-07-25T15:43:00.000-07:00We dressed our daughter mostly in boys clothes for...We dressed our daughter mostly in boys clothes for nearly 2 years, with an occational frilly dress and nightgown, not for any philosophical reasons, but because we were poor and my brother-in-law and his wife had 3 boys at that time, the youngest less than 2 years older. Hand-me-downs are what all our kids lived in as my husband and his sibs have 17 kids/step-kids between them, and as he's youngest ours are in the 2nd half, with 2 between them.<BR/>The frilly things were from older relatives and pretty much only for church, birthday parties, going out with the older relatives for brunch, etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com