They're Not Baby Gap Models....They're Kids!

Seriously stop with the judgments already on people who let their kids dress themselves.  In a world of Baby Gap models and celebrities buying outfits that cost hundreds of dollars, new moms seem to be assuming that they all need to dress their tiny tots a certain way.  You don't.

As they get older and have their own opinions, parents still struggle to dress them perfectly.  They put toddlers in uncomfortable boots to go play at the playground just so the other moms will see how cute and coordinated their outfit is.  Meanwhile their toddler is dealing with painful shoes and inflexible boots holding their ankles in awkward positions making it hard to climb and run around. Moms put their little ones in dresses and tutus for gymnastics but forget that it's hard to do most climbing with those things on them.  They are so worried about trying to make sure that the public sees them looking like a tiny catalog model that they forget that their child isn't a doll...it's a human being that has a comfort level.

Ironically, the shame seems to be getting placed on moms that let their kids wear sweats. (Though people still feel like they need to purchase Under Armour or Nike sweats as if someone will judge them if their child's sweatpants come from Target). Why?  Because the kids aren't dressed to the nines.  Well, guess what....they're comfortable.  They're happy.  They can move freely.  They aren't stumbling around in uncomfortable shoes just to look like a model.  They're able to get dirty. It's a good thing.

Shame is also placed on moms that are letting their kids dress themselves.  If they're mismatched in pattern, they're gawked at.  If they're walking around in rain boots and a dress, they're gawked at.  If they're wearing a scarf and hat with their swimsuit, they're gawked at.  Why?  No really...why?  They're happy.  They're confident.  They're safe and they're being allowed to express themselves in a a safe environment.  Let them be little.  Let them develop their own personality.  Let them use their voice (so to speak).  Stop judging these children and stop judging their parents for allowing them to be who they are instead of some play-dough cut out of what you think they should be.