THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
EARLY in the year, when the unwanted honour of becoming Mrs Trunchbull was bestowed upon me due to the pandemic, once we eventually graduated out of pyjamas, I allowed my students to choose their own outfits for home school.
I could tell you it was my way of allowing them to express their personality via the medium of fashion, or, I could admit that I pick my battles wisely and this was a daily battle I chose to pass on.
To give the situation some context, they are aged five and nine, so although it’s slightly neurotic of me to have chosen their clothes until now, it is not unheard of. During the early stages of the experiment we experienced mixed results.
The nine-year-old always opted for maximum comfort, with DIY tie dye featuring heavily, while the five-year-old used a unique styling method, one I haven’t witnessed before. It’s known as the “pull the clothes I can reach off the hanger and hope for the best” technique, which as you can imagine gave varying degrees of success.
I soon learnt that the lowest bar in his wardrobe needed to be well stocked with weather-appropriate garments. He discovered that if he pulls too hard he will be struck on the head with the arm of a snapped hanger. Overall, though, the project was a success. My nine-year-old utilised our Google Home speaker to ask the temperature each day and now knows the difference between 12 degrees (will need a hoodie if I go in the garden) and 22 degrees (come down in a bathing costume and ask mum to turn the sprinklers on).
The youngest used the opportunity to explore dressing in character, with Fred from Scooby Doo a firm favourite. I was beaming with pride when he fashioned himself an Ascot tie. The lessons I took from allowing my saplings to dress themselves include the fact kids look cute in anything and rarely need adult intervention when it comes to choosing clothes and that sometimes the most spontaneous outfits are the best.