Why My Kids Look FABULOUS! (or at least why I try)

In my opinion my children are a direct reflection of my parenting and home care when we are out in public.  This means that when we step out our front door my kids are dressed well, their hair is done, and I expect for them to be on their best behavior.

From collages

Now, I do realize that when we are out they are likely to misbehave and probably mess up their outfits but at least I try every time we leave our house. I believe that by taking care of them and their appearance I'm also teaching them to take care of themselves, value themselves, and that although appearance isn't everything, it is something. As they grow and learn to take care of their own appearances, they're learning how to appropriately dress for different occasions, their gaining self respect, modesty, and cleanliness. That is my job as a mother to teach them these things.

I don't think throwing on whatever I grab for them first out of the dresser, not brushing their hair and running out the door is teaching them anything good or reflects well on me and my capabilities as a parent, especially as a stay-at-home mom. I should have the time to take care of them and do them up right before I send them out the door.

I know that not all parents have the time or financial means to send kids out at their very best or what is at least your ideal best. I also know that there are some very head strong kids that refuse to wear clothes their parents pick out for them or want to dress themselves in their own outfits. My friend's daughter goes through picky phases. For a couple of months she would only boots no matter what, then she went through a pajama pant phase where even if her mom got her to wear pants out the first thing she would do at home is put pajama pants on. Right now, she's moved on from the pajama pants but refuses to wear jeans. And during all of this she goes in and out of letting her mom do her hair. And I actually think it's cute when I see little girls walking around stores in princess dress up costumes.

 I get that there are kids this way out there and you need to let your kids have room in their lives to explore their style and just have fun with it all, and I'm not counseling you to tackle your kids down and make getting ready in the morning a miserable and dreaded experience for everyone involved, but put in the effort each time enriches everyone. HINT: I will let my daughter pick out whatever she wants to wear on days I know we are not going anywhere and I usually don't really do her hair those days just to give her a break. She usually ends up looking like this:

Then she is happy to wear whatever I want her to on the days we do head out of the house.

Now, I also now that parents feel the burden of financial availability when it comes to buying clothes for their kids. I know this all too well because we don't have a lot of money to spend on clothes, but I have found away around that at least for my family. About 80% of my children's clothing is 2nd hand items. The rest are either bought at Walmart or in the clearance section of Old Navy or given to us as presents from their grandparents. I have a strict policy for buying kids clothes and that is to never spend over $8 for a piece of clothing accept for:

Shoes
A good pair of jeans (my kids have long skinny bodies and short legs so I have to be picky with jeans)
Holiday outfits- We get Easter outfits and Christmas outfits every year avg $16 a piece

There is a way to shop at Walmart and thrift stores and get things that don't look like they came from Walmart or a thrift store. And I will explore that in a later post but every spring and fall I spend about $85 a piece on clothes (excluding the holiday outfits and shoes) for my kids and you would never know it (I think).  So, look for that coming soon!

Also, in upcoming posts, I will showcase different little girl hairstyles for short and long hair that are VERY easy to do and very quick to do, so if you use the excuse, "I just don't know what to do with her hair so that's why she always looks a mess" you will no longer have that excuse!

I know that it would just be easy to let it all go and walk out the door with a family that looked "relaxed" but I realized when my little girl was really young that getting her ready for the day wasn't about the convenience for me, but it's for my daughter and all the lessons and moral obligations that I'm responsible for teaching her and all my children.