Kids and Clothes

[fishenthusiast]

Before I had children I always heard how expensive they were. Then I had my daughter. I was one of the lucky ones and I knew a lot of people that had little girls before me. I was given so many clothes I didn't need to buy anything for her for 3 years. So of course for the first three years I thought, hey no one knew what they were talking about. Telling us kids are expensive is just another scare tactic to keep us from having kids too young. How naive that was!

My used clothing sources have since dried up and now I have to buy her clothes. I bought her a complete wardrobe in September for school. Tops, bottoms, socks, underwear and shoes. Those lasted until December. Between my mother and I, we bought her another new wardrobe. It is now mid February and I have to buy her all new clothes yet again! How did my mother not go broke when my sister and I were kids????? I am sure my daughter is just having a growing spurt, she is 5 after all, but this is getting ridiculous. Especially when a pair of pants for her cost almost as much as a pair of pants for myself! Last week we had somewhere around 30 pairs of underwear for her, today we have 2. All the others are "too tight", "not comfortable", or "too bulky".

At least I have kids I can donate her barely used clothes to. She has pants that she has worn once, shirts that she didn't like so has worn for 2 minutes, shoes that she grew out of in weeks... OK my rant is done :err:

[Fugu]

just be glad she dosnt have a tank top and shorty shorts with "jucy" on the back.

I dunno,I am not a 5 year old girl so I cant help you out.Maby whenever you go to wall mart or somthing bring her along and let her pick out some clothes within a set budget.

[CACAdmin]

Expensive is right! :yes: I was also lucky enough to have many hand-me-downs for my kids when they were little but kids clothes are ridiculously priced. Suggestions: Buy big because kids grow quickly (as you've noticed). Also, keep the wardrobe small, otherwise you'll find many things barely get worn.

I hate to tell you that (except for a few lulls) this constant growing continues if my memory serves me right. And one thing I never did was buy any specific labels... generic all the way. When my kids older and they decided they wanted something out of the budget (ie. some specific brand or label), I would pay X amount of dollars for a pair of jeans, or runners, etc. If they wanted something that cost more they would have to pay the difference. Your daughter is only 5 but it's something to keep in mind or your wallet will always be empty.:rolleyes:

You do have a bit of a reprieve to look forward to. Summer will eventually come and while pants may get too short, shorts will last the whole summer.:D

[Melody]

At the age of 12 my Son can now wear hand-me-downs from his Father! He's 12 so he still thinks that's cool. His feet are already bigger than his Father's though - there's a lot of very tall men on both sides of my family and his Father's side, so it appears he'll be well over six feet. I am lucky that he couldn't care less what he wears for the most part - whatever is on top of the pile is what goes on for that day. Seriously, I have to go rearrange the pile of clothes in his drawer or he wears the same 5 things every week :rolleyes: .

Regardless, he's in Men's small to medium now and I'm SO glad. Men's clothes are much less expensive than boys clothes.

As for refusing to wear something, I'm afraid at the age of five she'd wear it and be thankful she had it at my house...lol.....I'm mean. If I was going to allow that, I'd definitly involve her in the shopping so she had to wear it.

just be glad she dosnt have a tank top and shorty shorts with "jucy" on the back.

Good point! LOL

[fishenthusiast]

The clothes she won't wear she usually has a valid reason. My mom for Christmas got her some turtleneck sweaters. They were too tight in the neck and gave her a bit of a heat rash so I don't make her wear them.

Her underwear is another matter. I bought her new ones today and told her they were going to be a bit too big and too bad if she isn't completely comfortable. She is growing way too fast to buy clothes that just fit, I have always bought one size too big. When she was smaller she didn't grow as fast as she is now. She has a pair of pants from when she was 3 that are just now getting too small. Of course they are her favourite so she still insists on wearing them.

I suspect she gets some of her snobbery from her grandma. My mom spoils her rotten so when she refuses to wear something I make my mom replace it. She is usually the person who bought it for her in the first place. I try to take her shopping with me as much as possible so she can have a hand in picking out her clothes. More often than not she is growing out of clothes rather than refusing to wear them.

[Melody]

Mom will have fun with her when she's a teenager...lol. Raising girls is totally different in that respect most of the time, although there are some teen boys who have to have the best of the best. Usually they prefer to look like they shopped at the Men's Big & Tall Store when they're 13. I could wear the clothes they wear and they'd fit....lol. I'd definitly take baggy over some of the clothes I see young girls wear these days though.

And what is it with the low jeans and top with the belly out? I have yet to see a girl who looks good in that outfit. They have to be tight to stay up so they make them look like they have rolls on their hips, even when there isn't an ounce of extra flesh on them. But they think they look good and that's the main thing ;) .

They should take some fashion lessons from ME. <Glancing down at the black jeans and Daffy Duck tye-dye t-shirt>:rolleyes: :laugh: