Uniform Up!

I have learned early on in my parenting years that you have to pick and choose your fights. Pretty early on I decided that wardrobe was not one of the hills I wanted to die on. However, I’m reconsidering that decision…

My eyeballs literally hurt. Seeing Drew in red and black is not only getting old, but getting a little nauseating. One girl from Drew’s class asked her mom why Drew was OBSESSED with hockey. It sorta got me thinking. Why is he? Then another mom from Drew’s class told me that her child asked why Drew wears the same clothes every day. It got me thinking. Why does he?

The thing is that the minute he walks in the door, he rips off his clothes and goes to outfit number 2. Over the course of evening, Drew may go through a series of clothes. On a bad day, he’ll wear about ten outfits. On a good day, he’ll wear two more. Needless to say, it has gotten out of control.

He wears a variety of different clothes at home, a lot of which are either costumes or summer clothes which are strictly forbidden out of our residence. He is not married to any particular outfit when he is inside the house, why is he so headstrong about wearing the same outfit when he leaves the house?

I guess I’m partially to blame. I do the laundry EVERY DAY and I wash the same outfit EVERY DAY. Maybe I should hide his favorites? Maybe I should force him to wear other things so people stop thinking he’s a homeless child with only one outfit?

I guess it could be worse. It’s not like he wants to wear dresses or girls clothes, right? What if he did though? Would I allow it in the same way I have allowed his Blackhawks uniform? Would I ask his teachers to encourage his other interests, rather than recommend they gear things towards sports to keep his interest? If he had temper tantrums every morning because he wanted to wear dresses, would that be a hill I’d be willing to die on?

When I was in fifth grade I was Peter Pan, a male character. Nobody ever second guessed that. Perhaps it was attributed to the Broadway version had a female act the male part. Or perhaps its because there is a double standard. Girls are allowed to have boy interests but are boys allowed to have girl ones?

In trying to persuade Drew to wear other clothes, he explained to me as only a three year old can that it makes him sad to wear anything else. How can I argue that? In this cold cruel world full of disappointment and other scary things, who am I to deny him something that can make him happy. When he gets older and the things that make him sad are outside my control, I’m going to long for the days where a Kane jersey was all it took. Should the same hold true to a boy that wants to wear girls clothes? Where do you draw that line?