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Dressing Dramas: Stop the Struggle

Dressing Drama: Stop the Struggle
Do you and your kids fight about what they should wear?  Of course you do!  Most parents and kids battle about clothing, but – depending on whether the child is a toddler or a teen – what you're really fighting about is time, power, money and values. It's a combination that can make it incredibly stressful to get out the door in the morning.

But there’s a way to stop the warfare, and to develop a more meaningful dialogue with your kids in the process.  Join Dr Winnie King for a riotously funny but wonderfully informative program, as two moms first battle it out with a three year old and a 13-year-old, and then find out the solutions to their dilemma!  Come along for the ride and meet a psychologist and a fashion expert, who give practical, helpful, real-life advice on how YOU can take the drama out of getting your kids dressed.

Guests:

Dominique Bandoo, Age 14, Future Fashion Designer
Lisa Bandoo, Mother of Dominique
Justine Simons, Mother and TV Producer
Roni Cohen Sandler, PhD - Clinical Psychologist; Author of Stressed-Out Girls: Helping Them Thrive in the Age of Pressure; Member of the American Psychological Association’s Speaker’s Bureau 
Gina Kelly - Fashion Director, Seventeen Magazine

Tips:

Dressing your preschooler:

  1. Choose clothes together the night before – eliminate stress from the morning time by choosing clothes in a calmer time.
  2. Offer no more than 2 choices. Small kids can’t handle more than that.
  3. Pick your battles, allow “child style”. If your preschooler insists on stripes and polka dots, encourage her.
  4. Limit what’s on view in closet and drawers. If you don’t want her to wear something, hide it from her.
  5. Make getting dressed a game – it’s all about fun! Sing songs.
  6. Make it a race with another sibling.
  7. If you’re having a problem with your child getting dressed, use star charts / other reward systems when child dresses herself.
  8. Remember you (parent) are the boss. Set rules and boundaries when it comes to safety concerns like wearing a winter coat when it’s cold outside.

In the winter, you might have to enforce appropriate clothing more often because kids are less aware of when they get cold, and therefore more prone to getting frostbite.

Be patient (allow for extra time) if your preschooler wants to dress herself. Remember, small hands have trouble with details like buttons, but it’s important for them to learn.

Dealing with Teen Dressing Drama:

  1. Teenagers use fashion to express their individuality, and sometimes to rebel or to fit in. As a parent, be sensitive and try to remember teens are insecure about body image and social standing, so you don’t want to denigrate them. No name calling!
  2. Keep the lines of communication open about everything, and fashion will fit in!
  3. Also, stay current with fashion yourself – watch TV, and read teen magazines occasionally, and you’ll be a lot less shocked or turned off by what they want to wear.
  4. If you decide to draw the line and say “no,” try and say it creatively – like telling teen the outfit is unflattering or too expensive.
  5. If you set budgets ahead of shopping time, your child will even be able to learn something about your family values and the value of money.

Resources:

Sesame Workshop
http://www.sesameworkshop.org/ (search for “Dressing”)

Parenting Teens (Online Newsletter)
http://www.parentingteens.com/