My daughter will not wear a dress!?

Question

My 3 year old daughter refusses to wear a dress. I have the most beautiful dresses for her but she cries and says that she likes jeans. At first I thouhgt it was just her independce but now I am becoming concerned. I will not make her wear a dress becsue I feel that is just what society says. I want her to be herself and be comfortable. But on the other hand I love dressing her up and can't understand this. I always loved wearing dresses when I was her age. What can I do here?

Please don't misread into what I wrote. I do not see my child as a toy to dress up. I am an identical twin and I WANT her to be her own person. I know how it feels to struggle with that. In fact I hate dresses and I never wear them myself. I just get sick of everyone saying "where is her dress?" I don't care what people think!

Answer 1

Sometimes 3 year olds are ust indepentant and stubborn. Why don't you try a compromise from the fashion mags.
Pair a dress over a pair of jeans on your lil girl. She'll be comfy and look cute/girly. You'll look like a fashion saavy mommy!
Win-Win

Answer 2

First ask her what it is she does not like about dress. It could be that now that she is realizing that we cover ourselves, she feels she is showing to much. Find some really cut outfits that aren't dresses. Maybe try culottes, or the trend of wearing a casual type dress with leggings under it.

Every once in a while you could try for a dress on a really special occasion. Especially if you are wearing one.

My daughter at that age would not wear pants, jeans or anything that was not a dress. She told us pants made her ugly. It was starting to get cold for the winter so we started to really girly up some sweat outfits. We cut of the cuffs of the pants, and tops, replacing them with lace. Then we added jewels and glitter. Next we did the same for her jeans. I would say that it lasted about a year and a half. She is now 20 and has gone through some other strange(to me) fazes.

Answer 3

Just let her be. My mom told me that I also refused to wear dresses when I was younger. Actually, until now... I rarely wear a dress unless the occassion call for it. Maybe it is independence maybe not... But she's young. She has yet to explore a lot of things. Maybe this is just a phase for her and she finds it more comfortable to play and romp around in jeans. But keep her options open... Keep a few dresses on hand and you might be surprised that she'll want to wear a dress! Also, maybe you should take her shopping with you... if she sees a lot of dresses around, she might end up liking one. I know she's 3 but like you've said, she can tell you what she wants to wear or not.

Good luck with her!

Answer 4

Put a dress on yourself and ask her if she wants to dress up pretty and wear a dress too. Tell her that if she wears a pretty dress you will let her wear a little bit of makeup. Just put it on very lightly so you cant see it or let her wear some lip gloss. But only let her if she wears a dress. If she still refuses. Give up. Hopefully after she gets a little older she will change her mind. My neice is the same way. She has never liked dresses. She just isnt a girly girl.

Answer 5

You said it yourself ... you hate dresses and never wear them. For daughter to copy mommy is not unusual at all...and after all she's only 3. I had three girls and couldn't tell you how many times they changed everything. It is proof of what doctors say, that children learn from what you do and not what you say. Put on a dress, go to the mirror, swish your skirt, and have fun doing it. Be sure your daughter is there and let her know how much fun it is to wear a dress. She just might want one too.

Answer 6

When my daughter was 5 she would only wear dresses because jeans "made her look stupid". Now she won't wear anything but jeans. Our kids don't always like what we liked and all we can do is just get used to it and pick our battles. As long as my daughter has all her body parts covered (she's 15), I'm not going to argue with her about it.

Answer 7

When I was her age, all I wanted was jeans and shirts, too. And, if I ever wore a dress, it just had to have long sleeves!

There is nothing you can do to change what she wants. There will be a time when she will love to dress more feminine, and you just have to wait until then.

Although I dressed like a boy, I was never a tomboy.

Answer 8

i assume you're the 14 12 months previous. they are way too short and the neckline is too low. Are you questioning about those for a school dance? I doubt the college might want to enable it - there are nonetheless gown codes for dances. i in my opinion imagine floor length dresses are a lot prettier (i'm 18). i might want to under no circumstances, under no circumstances allow my daughter positioned on the first gown. the 2d gown is slighty extra efficient besides the indisputable fact that it continues to be too revealing. A 14 12 months previous might want to not positioned on outfits like that.

Answer 9

Ever consider that maybe the clothes themselves aren't comfy. I was allergic to wool as a kid and refused to wear the cute little coats and sweaters-they itched. Those ruffled panties and organdy dresses may be cute to you;but, maybe they don't feel too great. Start with casual dresses in soft fabrics-maybe a denim dress and work your way up to the frilly girly dresses.

Answer 10

I do not have personal experience in this field but I can take a guess.

Why not dress up yourself. If she sees mommy dressing up and looking pretty in a dress she may want to immitate.

Or have a "fashion" day where she puts make-up on you and dresses you up and then you do the same for her.