What Every Parent Should Know

Last week I had two days with kids in daycare and no work scheduled. I spent one day doing laundry and getting my eyes dilated. On the other day, I did a full Kid Clothes Inventory and spent my morning at the big kids consignment sale at the Agricenter, a semi-annual event full of moms elbowing each other for the best bargains. (Actually, it's not that bad.) There are some amazing deals to be had, but one fellow shopper and I exchanged a brief conversation about the insane price of some children's clothing. As she thumbed past a cute--but not that cute--outfit for a 6-year-old, she bemoaned the $80 price tag--now half off on consignment. Here are a few clothing do's and don't's I have come to live by as I raise Girl Child Number 3:
1. Do not buy white. I am truly at a loss as to why clothing for children is even made in white. If you plan to let them wear it once, fine. But you can count on dirt, mustard, tomato sauce, snot, pee, markers, etc., marring it within approximately one hour of wear.
2. Do not pay a lot for shoes. And by "a lot," I mean more than $20, preferably less than $10. Kids are hard on shoes. Playgrounds and sidewalks are hard on shoes.
3. Do not buy expensive accessories. The handmade expensive bows are all cutesy, but they will get lost. Or broken.
4. Learn which clothes will hold up as hand-me-downs. If you have three daughters, you will need to let them share. Fashion--at least in my opinion--is not that important when they are under age 3, so who cares about trends? Go with what you like and what looks great after 571 washes.
5. Look at the tags. If it says "dry clean only" or "hand wash," pass on it. You will not have the time or money to do these things. Also, at 11 pm when you switch the washer stuff to the dryer, you will not remember to remove the "lay flat to dry" item.
6. Dresses with puffy stuff underneath are hard to clean and hard to maintain. There has been more torn netting-looking material in my house than I care to admit.
7. If outfits have matching pieces, store them together. That way, when Dad or Grandpa goes to pick out clothes, he will have better luck.
8. Fight the fights that are worth fighting. If she wants to wear a tiara to the neighbor's house, let her. If she wants to wear ballet shoes to the playground, draw the line.
9. Ask your older kid if she likes it BEFORE you buy it. If she doesn't, she won't wear it. No, she really, truly won't wear it--see #8.
10. Do not buy a dress at a consignment store for $80. That's just stupid.