I look at that picture of us at the top of my blog and marvel at how much the kids have grown...especially Anna! She is now nearly as tall as me. That was taken in 2008 right after we arrived in Colorado. How quickly kiddos grow up. Recently, I learned that what was good in toddlerhood, is apparently good as a teenager too.
The other day Anna had a friend stay over. They did the usual sequestering in the bedroom while talking and playing on Facebook. Soon, they were out of the bedroom dressed up in Anna's new clothes we just bought. They rummaged around in my closet and came out with my high heel shoes on! I later discovered they had also been into my jewelry. After that, they disappeared outside. The difference between toddler dress up and tween dress up? As toddlers we parents take pictures of how cute they look all dressed up. As tweens, they take pictures of themselves and post them on Facebook! For some reason, taking their pictures with all the vehicles we own (including the four wheeler) was fun. I guess they not only feel older dressing up, but they can pretend that they are old enough to drive (which is only a few years away).
I recently told someone this story and the person was aghast that I would let my daughter post such pics on FB. She insinuated that maybe the girls were trying to look older on FB for a reason. I'm really not worried about this. I am one of my daughter's friends on FB and often peruse her page to see what's up. I've never seen anything inappropriate posted there. While I'm sure my husband would prefer that Anna not dress like a "hoochie mama" as he calls it (shirts off the shoulder), I find all of this somewhat insightful. To me, it shows how a 13 year old is really like a three year old - they both are becoming more independent and are experimenting with how to be grown up. Playing dress up is one way to achieve this, no matter the age.
3 comments:
I appreciate the glimpse into my future. And here I thought my closet safe once Grace got older! Erma Bombeck once said, “I have seen my kid struggle into the kitchen in the morning with outfits that need only one accessory: an empty gin bottle.” Dress up and role playing are healthy activities for kids. It is a normal stage of development as girls start working out for themselves what it means to be a girl. No matter what the age, children want greater freedom. They want to do more, see more, and be more. Dress up helps form empathy, sparks the imagination, and provides a safe environment for exploring their identities. Besides, it’s just plain fun.
I think that you have the right attitude. Clothes don’t make the kid. Good parenting does.
Thanks for the affirmations! It's hard being the parent of teenager. I feel like I need a support group now more than when she was little. After I posted this, I remembered a time that you and I played dress up around the same age. I don't remember what it was for, but it seems like it was for a dating network or something. Obviously not the internet :)
I remember. It was inmate personals in the back of the National Enquirer. YEEK! Luckily, most of our schemes lost momenteum before getting too far along or we managed to convince poor Beth to be the subject matter. However did we survive to adulthood??
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