Parenting: 4 & 5-Year-Olds Community

I'm not a fan of the super duper short shorts that are in this season either!

Ugh. I know. As they get older, I have to be more and more careful about what I buy. I've gotten dresses home, put them on, and then had to take them right off again because they were inappropriate. Talk about a waste of money. Fortunately, I've gotten a bit wiser about checking for that kind of thing.

Throw in that Elizabeth, at only 5, is on the higher end of the growth curve, and it makes it worse. Who wants their 5 year old in something a teenager shouldn't really wear?????

I know, yikes! I feel like I have to learn to sew (or spend a fortune) just to keep my girl in decent, sweet clothes. She's 5 and 1/2, but tall so wears 6/6x pants and sometimes 8-10 year old size dresses. I found when she moved up from 5T, there was no selection of decent, inexpensive clothing.

Yep it stinks. I've bought the 2 piece tank types for Ava just because getting a soaking one piece down to go to the bathroom after you've already waited too long can be a challenge. But then Ava is a stick so the bottoms won't stay on her non-existant bottom. So I buy the one pieces a tad snug and they are cut so high up on the bottom that I don't want her wearing them either!!

Luckily for DH and I, our girls will probably have my non-existant figure. So even the most suggestive suit wouldn't reveal much. Just kidding, I know it's not a laughing matter. But some of the 'stuff' hanging out on some of these girls....wowza.

Getting trunks for Wil is so much easier!!

You don't have to have a boy to avoid problems with this issue- you have to parent and not give in to everyhting they want!

Frankly, the lack of chocies for boys clothing makes me ECSTATIC that I have girl- and I don't like shopping! Boys clothingand swimming trunks are BORING. ANd now that DS is out of toddler clothing, the range of clors is minimal and sad.

That being said, DH and I (but this is DH's BIG thing- DD not win this one!) have a one piece policy. I will intervene when she is 16-17 because at that point, if you don't have pride and common sense about your body, it's time to learn! Plus at that age, is your body is the best and I wish I had displayed more of mine then. If DD is a dingbat- she will stay covered- except when she's sneaking string bikinis we know nothing about-but I otherwise think its its not approproate until the mid to late teens.
Sure it sucks when her suit is wet and we have to take it down- but I HATE to see little girls in bikinis- it is soo ridiculous and unnecessary- some parents should be arrested for what they buy their daughters. DH says the most he will ever agree to anytie soon is a tankini- if it covers up everything- there are plaenty of cute ones that do and solve the one piece peeing problem.

DD wears only onepiees- I just buy dad approved sassy ones! Last years had one shoulder and blue and puprle peace signs. This year's is a striped one with a halter and ruffles- ADORABLE ( feom old navy)
It's the one inhte middle at the top
http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/category.do?cid=50123&kwid=1&sem=false

Plus DD likes princesss one pieces with tutus- everyone wins!

We're the same with shorts- I mostly buy DD boys shorts- and she gets any old pair of DS's that survive a summer on him. There is no reason why girls shorts are cut so short- and DD looks adorable in DS's cargo shorts. She loves dresses and skirts ( she wears skorts mostly- the world does not nees to see her underwear) but never complains about wearing boy shorts- and she knows the ones that were DS's. The only girl shorts she usually gets are bermudas or bike shorts or capris.

When DD1 was a baby/toddler, I remember being shocked by swimsuits I saw on little girls but now, 9 years later, not much surprises me. At this point, I don't really have a problem with bikinis so long as the girl's parts are covered, the suit looks age appropriate and the pieces stay on-- I mean they are bathing suits, not everyday outfits. In the end, I want my girls to be empowered to make their own decisions based on the examples I set not on hard limits I enforce about clothing. Luckily, both my girls appreciate comfort and practicality over glam, glitz and silly trends. Neither has any desire whatsoever to parade around in a string biking but instead opt for two piece suits that have a rash guard top and bikini bottoms. Win-win for me.

As for the shorts, I finally started buying the denim cuffed shorts for DD1 last summer and now that's pretty much all she wears. You just have to shop around and find places that carry mid-length and bermuda styles in addition to the shortie shorts. For my 4-year old we stick to Hanna Anderson dresses or tunics with bike shorts.

I have to disagree with your feeling that there is not a selection...My daughter has loads of clothes (2 friends give me hand-me-downs and they are big time shoppers)

She doesn't have one outfit that is indecent or expensive - most of the stuff comes from Target or Old Navy or Justice. She's 7.5 and wears 8 - 10 year old dresses. The summer stuff I just pulled out is super cute - just one pair of short shorts one of the girls wore to gymnastics that I donated.

The biggest challenge for us is finding pants that are long enough but fit her in the waist...she's into skirts right now and I am thrilled about that!

I was buying an outfit at Children's Place for a 3 year old....I had to look like 4 times to make sure the shorts were the right size bc they were so tiny. My sister puts little bikinis on her 2 1/2 year old....I think they are adorable but at the same time, she shouldn't be showing her little body to the world. I think it is a parent's job to help a kid to have self confidence especially bc I never have had any my entire life but there comes a point when it is just too much. I know this horrible to say but when you have older guys checking out your almost naked preteen or teen, that is the parent's fault.

Hmm, well I usually go to Target, but find the prices for nice non-branded stuff that is decent a bit high here ... I will try Old Navy. I've never heard of Justice, but I will check if we have one near by! Sometimes I have luck at Ross, but it seems like it is hit or miss. Thanks for the input, and I hope I find more at Old Navy
My girl likes skirts too!

Gymboree is having an OFF THE HOOK sale - everything in the store is 13.99 or under.

They have adorable long cotton skirts...not sure if it's available online or not...

My favorite thing at Old Navy is the skirts with shorts built into them - no underwear hanging out during cartwheels!

Just looked up Justice and remembered it's hit or miss with the skimpy and the good prices but if you hit a sale on the right stuff, it can be really cheap!