When I found out I was having a daughter, my head spun as I dreamed about all of the adorable little outfits I was going to dress her in. Her closet was FULL before she was ever born! I could not help myself. There were just too many cute things out there. She has several smock dresses--- thanks to some very wonderful friends and family who bought her tons of dresses, little white socks with ruffles and lace and several bows (even though she does not have enough hair to wear them yet). I love all things pink and girly.
However, reality quickly sunk in when Ms. Julia actually arrived. She has worn A smock dress ONE time for MAYBE 4 hours. She does wear her socks...but as mentioned above, she has not worn a bow or a headband yet. Most days she wears little onsies or footies. It is just more practical.
So, in a few weeks, she will start daycare. I asked my mom what I should dress her in? She told me to dress her in something comfortable. makes sense! Today I could not help but look at all of the "first day of school" pictures posted on facebook. I have never seen so much smock, lace socks and bows! Yes, I agree that your daughter LOOKS SUPER CUTE! However, I wonder if sending your child to school in such things is practical considering they will be playing with paint, markers, mud and who knows what else. Can she really romp around on the playground in that dress? I cannot even believe I am writing these things, but it has really made me think. Where is the balance? Someone told me that my daughter will be running around the yard in her smock dresses.....seems really funny since we live in the country and our yard is basically woods, dirt, etc! Should we limit smock to special occasions or should our daughters wear these dresses all the time? Maybe overalls arent so bad after all? Shouldnt she be more well rounded? patent shoes and cowboy boots?
If we dress our daugthers in ruffles and bows all the time, what kind of message are we sending? I believe that little ladies should dress and act like little ladies. However, where is the adventure if you are forced to do this all of the time? Not to mention at some point, our daughters will realize that NOT everyone wears smock dresses. Will she wonder why? I am as guilty as everyone else-- Julia has more smock dresses than she will ever wear and I havent even washed all of her lace socks yet.
If you have ever met me, you know that I go to work in high heels, skirts and pearls EVERYDAY! So, naturally, I want her to be girly and I want her to dress her up. But, I also want her to know that it is ok to get her feet dirty.
Maybe smock dresses in the country is exactly what we need---- it just has to be ok if she gets dirty :)
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There's not "like" button on blogs, but those are impressive thought for having such a small baby... you've already grasped a big big reality of dressing our children. Maybe because I had a boy first it was ingrained by the time T came along. Hmmm. Food for thought.
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of cute "casual" dresses and outfits for little girls to wear to daycare. When I worked at Parkview there were so many leggings with adorable shirts that were so cute on them. Sending them in expensive outfits to daycare is setting yourself up for disappointment! They will always come home dirty but what if they came home worse (broken, tore, etc)...so not worth it. You can still put pink shoes and socks and dress in girly colors. Save the money!
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