The Conundrum and The Giveaway

The decisions we make as parents for things to get our children become more and more fraught as time goes on and the children get older and develop strong preferences.

Case in point: clothes.

Mir's been the lucky recipient of many many hand-me-downs, which means that I've been mostly able to forestall taking her shopping for clothes (other than shoes which really have to be tried on). No shopping in stores avoids the "I want, I want" and the child's natural gravitation towards tacky, glittery, overwrought sleaze.

The Children's Place recently offered to send us a pair of pajamas to review - I said sure, I mean, free pajamas? What's not to like?

Well, the pajamas arrived yesterday, and I have to say that I wouldn't have paid money for them. But - the child LOVES them. She wanted to wear them to school today, she wants to have a pajama party, she did wear the accompanying hair scrunchy to school today.

So it's a conundrum.

My problem with the pajamas is really only with the top. The bottoms are soft brushed polyester knit, with a wide elastic waistband. The print is kind of gaudy, but I can deal with gaudy. The top is a different fabric, not as soft, with gewgaws galore. It's two colors, with fake layered sleeves (to look like a tee-shirt over a long sleeved shirt). The "short sleeved" part is puffy and ruffled, and the front of the shirt has a glittery, crunchy, painted-on picture. It's simply too much. A plain long sleeved shirt in a solid color to coordinate with the printed pants would have been perfect. As it is, I don't even want to snuggle with her in that scratchy shirt, much less look at her before I've had coffee in the morning.

I find that the merchandise at The Children's Place often has that dichotomy - sometimes in a single item, sometimes across the store, sometimes spanning seasons. Over the past five years, I've found lots of stuff there that is perfectly nice, inexpensive, non-offensive. I love their underwear - it has covered elastic at the waist, and it holds up well in the wash - and she loves the little bow in the front. They have a nice range of funky cotton and plain microfiber tights - and we have a constant need for tights because she's always ripping holes in the knees. Her favorite skirt these days is a tiered corduroy peasant skirt that I got at The Children's Place in the early fall. But sometimes when I go in at my lunch hour, there is not a single article of girl's clothing without glitter or sparkles or sequins or gewgaws or writing, and I turn around and leave.

But I'll go back again, tomorrow or next week, or when the seasons change, because hope springs eternal and I will find something - something that I'll like, and she'll like, and we'll both be pleased.

Would you like to go find something for your child at The Children's Place? They gave me a $30 gift card to give away to one of you. Leave a comment on this post, before the end of the day on Monday 12/8 - I'll do a random drawing and send out the card on Tuesday. Make sure I can find a valid email address.

Free will and independence - the desire of the child vs. the delicate sensibilities of the child. It's a bear.

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On the other hand, we did have this little exchange:

What does it say on my shirt?

Sleepyhead.

But I'm not a sleepyhead. Well, sometimes I'm a sleepyhead.