One battle parents should not engage in with their children is clothing. Parenting involves a great expenditure of energy and so it is wise to  ave what little we have for issues that are truly important, like wearing seat belts and bicycle helmets.

Children should be allowed to choose their own clothes for the day (with special occasions such as weddings and Grandma’s birthday being excluded) and most certainly should be expected to dress themselves. This encourages independence and helps the child develop the ability to make choices. It is not unusual to see children in the classroom who have great difficulty choosing their work simply because they have seldom been given opportunities to choose anything else before. Like any other skill, the ability to make good choices takes practice.

Provide your child with a drawer or two of appropriate clothing choices and then step back and let the Clash Day begin. It’s a wise parent who allows their child to go to school with green striped pants, one blue sock, one red sock, and a purple polka dot shirt that is on backwards. A wise parent will refrain from criticizing and will instead say something like “Gee, you look colorful today.” Children take great pride in doing things for themselves, and this simple act of dressing himself can help your child become the strong confident person you want him to be.

©Anami Montessori School