At what age did you first allow your child to pick her/his own clothes for the day?

Question

When the combinations were absolutely awful, did you let it go or send them back to change?

For the record, my 5yo son already picks his own matching clothes, and my 3yo son is learning. The older one could do it by age two, picking short and shirt with similar colors. So don't think I'm asking for advice- I'm just curious.

Answer 1

I pretty much let them choose (3 and 5). Unless they try to wear pj's or someting inappropriate for the occasion. I wouldnt let my daughter wear a dress or skirt to the park, or let them wear sweat pants and a tee shirt to a fancy dinner, other wise if its weather appropriate and even if its not matching, I let them choose.

Answer 2

I let my son choose his clothes and he's just turning three. I do what some of the above people suggested and pick out two or three outfits and let him choose from that. I read that at this stage of life (around 2) children are trying to find themselves and their identity, and tend to want to make choices on their own. Of course there's not much that you can give them free reign, but clotes and food too work good like this. I basically just give two to three choices and leave it at that. It empowers the child, builds confidence, and also gives them a sense of being a part of the decision making team. They're not just being told what to do, when to do it, and how it should be done all the time.

I think it really helped me to go with this, because it is helping him develop some critical thinking skills, and helping him develop progressively.

I DO NOT just open the drawers, and say 'okay, get your clothes' I read in the same book or article (can't remember) that too many choices become difficult to narrow down and lead to a sense of confusion, and actually make the chioce harder.

It's all fun though. As long as everyone is having fun - we all win! Keep smiling whatever you do will be the right thing, I'm sure

Answer 3

I did as soon as they expressed an interest in it. And boy, you will get some god awful combinations. I'd let some of them go - if it was just a color mismatch or something, who really cares. But obviously I wasn't going to let them go to school in shorts or a bathing suit when its 20 below zero, so then I'd have them pick something else out. But to avoid daily battles, we made up a schedule, where two days a week they pick out the outfit, and two days a week I do (they're only in school 4 days a week - weekends I could care less what they wear).

Another thing I do with one of my children that just was horrid about this - I would lay out several outfits, and then let them choose which one out of them they wanted to wear. Then they felt like they had some independence and choice what they were wearing, but still dictated by me. Hope this helps!

Answer 4

My children helped pick out clothes to buy from a very young age. My one year old granddaughter already will grab the one she wants at the store. I will hold up a couple of outfits for her and she will grab the one she wants for the day. When the kids got old enough to totally pick things out I would let them know if something didn't match or what was wrong with it in my opinion. Having an interactive experience with picking out clothes teaches them independance and confidence when they can do it all by themselves.

Answer 5

Really young. Toddlers. At that age I would usually provide 2 or 3 options and let them pick from that.

Yes, sometimes they come up with pretty awful stuff. Favorite shirt and favorite pants don't always match.....LOL! But if we weren't going anywhere special I didn't worry too much about it. As they get older, you can talk to them more about how to figure out if stuff matches.

Answer 6

Have you seen that McDonald's commercial where the little girl wears those funny clothes out and sees another little girl wearing the same kind of thing, and says "I like your hat!"

I think everyone knows that kids like to wear weird stuff and weird combinations. When they are pre-schooling years you can get away with it. Once they are in school they will start to see the other kids wearing cool clothes and will want to dress like them, thus the normal dressing. I would just have fun with it. Let them wear the green shirt and red pants with a cape and sandles with socks.

Answer 7

It's OK to let them pick but then if it's not a good choice, help them and let them know why certain clothes don't match others. Later; you'll see how there taste improves. No, I wouldn't let them go with odd combinations. That's how they learn.

Answer 8

My daughter started at 2.5 months and I never comment on the combinations she picks, no matter how bad they are.
She is now almost 3 and is beginning to understand matching a bit more.

It is all part of helping her develop and sense of personal responsibility and feeling capable. I am there to support her, not to criticize.

Answer 9

At about 2 I'd let my son pick his own clothes. Even if they didn't match, I'd let him wear them. I wanted him to take pride in picking his outfit for the day.

We live in AZ, so seasonal clothes isn't an issue

Answer 10

I would pick out 2 to 3 outfits and let my son choose from one of the outfits I chose.