Tips on dressing up children

For some parents, putting clothes on their little ones is more difficult than getting a suspect to confess to a crime.  In the latter, at least you can try it undisturbed for 48 hours and the subject is unlikely to put up physical resistance.

Angry and not very stylish.

I'm not sure if you have the same experience as us, but Aiden doesn't seem to see a pair of shorts or pants as essential wear.  He would often run to the door to put on his shoes as soon as he puts on his top.  I am still not convinced that a neatly pressed polka dot long sleeved shirt goes well with his Huggies Pull Up Pants and camouflage boots.

But yet, children aged 1 to 8 are the best for us parents to experiment with different styles, as they are now walking (clothes look better when they can stand up straight) and are generally busy developing other skills rather than their fashion sense.

To help parents out there, we share 5 tips on dressing up children in this post:

Tip #1 - Put it on when they sleep
Children are heavy sleepers, so one of the ways is to avoid a clothing tug of war by dressing them in their sleep the night before.  The best thing is that your kids will be ready to go when they wake up in the morning.  Perfect for an early start to a day of fun!

Tip #2 - Measure clothes and sort them before storage
One of the most common problems parents face is to rummage through the wardrobe, only to find the cutest piece of brand new clothing that you bought in advance a while ago is now too small.  Unfortunately, different clothing labels have different measurements.  Sometimes, even within the same label, the sizing can be very inconsistent.  The way to avoid these problems is to measure each piece of clothing and sort them by the measurements before storing them, separated by a divider (e.g. piece of paper or cardboard).

Tip #3 - Offer a choice, sort of
Sometimes, kids want to be in control, and unless you don't mind letting him pair striped shirts with checkered bottoms and camouflage boots, you have to trick them into picking something that you like.  If you force him to wear a particular piece, chances are he will resist until you give up.  What we do with Aiden is to offer a choice of two clothing, both of which we are ok with.  We will place the two choices side by side and ask him to pick one.  The question of "Yes" or "No" has now become a question of "Style A" or "Style B".  Works like a charm!

Tip #4 - Wear the top first
Unless you are into flamboyant looking bottoms like MC Hammer, chances are you would pair basic bottoms with distinctive tops.  Therefore, put on the top first before the bottom in case your child insists on a particular top.  You will avoid having to change a pair of non-matching bottoms this way.

I won't touch this.

Tip #5 - Get comfortable and easy to wear clothes
This seems obvious enough but you would be surprised how many stores out there sell bad fitting and uncomfortable kids clothes.  Not the clothes at PriviKids of course!  Make sure the fabric is soft and the cutting makes it easy to slip over your kids.  Think V-necks, stretchable collars and big/wide openings for the head and arms.

Have fun!