Tots with "Style"

I haven't whined in awhile, so.....

I saw a baby at church last week with a sippy cup that looked more like a stainless steel coffee mug than a sippy cup. It reminded me of all the people that I've heard comment over the years about how much they hate baby stuff, or who have decorated their kid's rooms in the style's and colors that are currently trendy for adults- twig art on your kid's wall? And have you seen the myriad shirts for toddlers with adult phrases on them, "Chicks dig me!?" "Hot for Momma." In some ways it's funny, but in other ways, I think, "Way too much grown up humor and attitude for little kids."

I'm sure an eighteen month old or a two year old doesn't really care if their clothes are cool or not, but that's really my point. They do care if it's what THEY like. I'm pretty sure no kid ever grabbed their grandma and said, "Come look at my new room! It looks just like Paige had the designers from Trading Spaces here!" I'm sure that when Dean got all his Cars decals and bedroom gear though, he showed everyone who stepped into the house. I know my son loved his Batman comforter way more than he would have 300 thread count duvet from Potter Barn.

Kids shows and music get the same bad rap. If a TV show is sweet and clean with no sarcasm and no cynicism it's only good for preschoolers. Apparently by the time you get to early grade school you better be a little edgier. I'm not saying that High School Musical is Art, but I will say this for them, they haven't forgotten that the parents are not their intended audience. It doesn't matter to my girls that the characters are impossibly sweet and the whole situation is impossibly wholesome. Why do I want my eight and five year olds to contemplate the real world of teenagers anyway?! For pete's sake, I'm not crazy about my ten year old contemplating the world of teenagers.


I'm sure someone out there is thinking, "It's just stuff; it might as well have some decent design sense," and/or "I'm just trying to give my kids a good sense of style and taste early on." I guess to a point I can go along with you; I think it matters WHY you need your kid's style to match yours.

I think that you only get about ten to fifteen years of childhood out of seventy-five years or so. It seems to me that something so fleeting deserves to be consecrated as special. Their childhood isn't for you, it's for them. You're just fortunate enough to be allowed to visit. I say it's ok for parents to sacrifice their own amazing coolness and super trendy taste for just a little while. Think of your aversion to kid's music as a sign that you've grown up, and congratulate yourself on how far you've come. After all isn't that why there's date night and why you have your own bedroom? You're the grownup! You get to leave the Dora dishes filled with macaroni and cheese for the baby sitter to deal with and take your super trendy self out for some super trendy fun!