As a parent of a baby you get to choose what newborn baby clothes to put them in whether your taste is for cute or funky, designer or cheap baby clothes. And you might expect that even when they reach the toddler stage they will be quite happy with your choice of clothes - after all, whenever you buy your baby cheap toys, they are quite happy to play with even the packaging the toy came in without complaint! But it seems that, at a much younger age than when my children were young, both girls and boys are getting definite ideas on what kid's clothes they want to wear. Even infant boy clothing and infant girl clothing can now cause headaches for unsuspecting parents!
When I think back to my own children my daughter was at least four years old before she started having definite ideas about what she would and wouldn't wear, in fact she flatly refused to wear dresses! On the other hand, my son at the same age was quite happy with whatever clothes I chose for him (except dresses!) although they were always more appealing if they depicted favorite characters such as Thomas The Tank Engine, Superman or Transformers.
Things have certainly been different with our grandson who is now four and a half years old. From about the age of two he has had very firm ideas on what clothes he wants to wear. He has always been keen on cars and vehicles and so buying clothes with pictures of those on them were always greeted with delight. One of his favorite movies was Cars and he loved having tops, socks and underwear with pictures of Lightning McQueen on them.
As he has got older and his game playing has changed so too have his favorite characters. A short time ago he was very into Ben 10 and proudly showed his Ben 10 pajamas and socks as he rushed about pretending to change into one of the figures he had seen on TV. According to his Mum he has now outgrown Ben 10 and he now wants to emulate Super Heroes such as Batman, Superman and Spiderman and save people from the "baddies". Now clothes with these action figures on are cool! How long this phase will last is anyone’s guess!
Another new interest is soccer and he now "supports" his local team Blackburn Rovers and the England national team and proudly sports the England shirt that someone bought for him. He thinks it's great because all his friends wear them too.
But it 's not just his friends who influence what he likes to wear. He also likes to get dressed up for a special occasion in a smart shirt and trousers just like Daddy. I'm not sure my son went through that phase until he was much older as he much preferred being in clothes that allowed him to rough and tumble.
Obviously my experiences are based on the relatively small sample comprising my children and grandchild, plus friends and relatives and what I see in the shops. But what do you think?
