I had no idea things were deteriorating this quickly. She’s always shown a preference for soft fabrics but I thought it would take her more than 4 years of life to spiral downward into a world clothed exclusively by stretch pants. Her future now seems certain. She’ll be shuffling around in a floral house dress by age 12.
Yesterday when I was getting her dressed for school, she complained that her jeans were uncomfortable. “When I wear them I feel like my legs are bleeding,” she whined dramatically, tugging at the legs of her pants. “I want to wear soft pants only.”
“But these are warmer and the fabric is stronger. They look really nice.”
“But they hurt so-ho-ho ba-ha-had! If I need warm pants, I can wear the ones that are made out of fleece.”
Her useable wardrobe is now limited to sweats, stretch pants, leggings, pajamas and princess gowns and I’m a little worried. Don’t get me wrong. I love me a comfy pair of “yoga pants.” The new title “yoga pants” sounds so much more chic and active than “stretch pants” or “spandex”. I’m well pleased with it. However, I don’t wear them out in public, except to the gym and it’s taken me years as a stay at home mom to love them as much as I do right now. I’m guessing I’ll need to give birth to at least 2 more kids before I degenerate to the point where I wear them at all times and in all places.
Laylee on the other hand has already given in. She has no desire to rage against the dying of the light. She cares only for comfort.
I think my only option is to get her hooked on yoga or some other brand of near-eastern fitness craze. Then we can always tell people that she’s on her way to work out.
Now when the stretch pants get too scratchy and she’s ready to move on to muumuus, I’m not sure what I’ll tell people. Maybe, “Her grandkids are coming over and she’s got a whole bushel of beets to pickle.”
Oh dear no, yoga pants are God’s gift to women who can’t fit into their pre-pregnancy jeans and don’t want to broadcast the fact! 🙂 I love my yoga pants! You can pair them with a nice sweater set and look totally put together. They’re definitely not just for the gym.
My daughter is the same way! It’s good to know that it isn’t a genetic flaw of some sort. If I force her to wear jeans to Pre-K (because heaven forbid, the ‘comfies’ are dirty) she will run to her bedroom and put on her pjs the instant that we are in the house. My husband is concerned about her enthusiasm for her comfy clothing and I just remind him that she isn’t wearing mini skirts or halter tops and he backs off. 🙂
Hmmm! This is sounding somewhat familiar.
Do you remember YOU in 1st grade? I begged you to wear something cute and “please, please, please let me curl your hair.” No way! No where! No how! Sweatsuits only and raggy hair.
But you outgrew it and she will too.
My oldest son always hated jeans. He wanted sweat pants only from Kindergarten on. He is ten now and you will be happy to know that he is okay with jeans and has no problems with them anymore.
Well, today I feel like I am raging against the night and that the night is too close, way to close, and I say, if she wants feels like being comfortable, and she can get comfortable, I say “make it so”. She’ll no doubt have time for primping soon enough, and if she takes after some of her aunts on her dad’s side, she’ll discover curlers and fingernail polish, and etc., pretty soon, anyway, and you may be leaning the other way! Sooo, just enjoy whatever! 🙂 Hugs
all through elementary i insisted on sweats. I thought jeans and corduroy were stiff feeling and the noise of them brushing bothered me when I walked. really, seriously bothered me, probably until 6th grade. I have photos of horsebackriding at that age, in sweats.
anyway, I wear normal clothes now. jeans every day. it’s OK. that sensory quirk passed, and new ones took over. 😉
And then there’s my daughter, who will never, ever wear pants again. Dresses only, thank you.
I’m with Emily. I only have 2 pairs of pants that fit post-2nd pregnancy that have not been ruined by the spitting up and food throwing of the 2 offspring and they are both yoga pants. I luuuuuuve them.
Man! I was the EXACT same way as a kid! I didn’t wear jeans until junior high. I couldn’t stand how thick they were, and how rough the fabric was. I grew out of it, and maybe my pocketbook wishes I hadn’t, because my taste in jeans can be expensive. 😉
Maybe she has sensory issues? I can’t stand things like tags, seams in odd places, etc…
BabyGirl will willingly wear only sundresses & crocs. Our problem? It’s 34 degrees outside when she leaves for school. The solution? At this point, wrestling her into leggings or sweat pants. Yes, it’s an exciting & glamorous life we lead.
I on the other hand am so fashion foreward that I put my fleeciest, coziest jammies on right out of the shower this morning. I’m sick. Sue me.
Oh my gosh… I thought I was the only one with a child like this! My youngest, 7, loathes jeans of any kind!!! Only stretchy pants. (just had a nacho libre flashback there). Seriously, makes me feel all sorts of tingly to know there is someone out there who feels my pain… of trying to find cute stretchy pants that you can wear anything with… like you can with jeans. It’s SO HARD!!!
buy her a pair of fleece lined jeans and everybody wins!
You really can’t blame the girl. Elastic is sooo comfortable but like you I haven’t gotten to the point where I’ll where them in public. The next best thing is stretch denim. I could just kiss the person who invented that.
Aahahh I haven’t visited in awhile- how on earth could I have drifted apart from your funniness? I was laughing out loud through this post.
Great blog…came across it merely by accident tonight. Feel free to check mine out at http://noreasonneeded.blogspot.com
LOL I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help imagining what happens after the muu-muu stage…
Uh oh, Grammy told on you. Looks like the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree. Or something.
I must be a fashion reject. No really, I am. I cannot find a pair of yoga pants that I don’t feel utterly ridiculous wearing…
In my most comely Marie Antoinette voice, I say, “Let her wear fleece!”
I call it picking your battles. At least she looks modest and she’s dressing herself – two plusses as far as I’m concerned.
(I love that your mom just called you out! Ha!)
I’ve found that a nice pair of soft khaki slacks is a nice compromise. They’re much more comfy than jeans, but look nicer than your average knit pant when you have to leave the house. 🙂
Hey, long time lurker here. As a little girl (first grade) I HATED Jeans and only wanted to wear the 2 pairs of courdroy pants that my mom had sewn me. The reason was I had a long rise. It wasn’t really the jeans, but the rough fabric on my delicate parts. So this might be what’s going on with her.
Hey, if it makes potty breaks easier, faster, cleaner, then give me (and my Kid) the stretchy pants! Kid is either in a dress or stretchy pants these days.
Some day some gross, hip, teen jeans will show up and I will miss those pull-on clothes (or maybe I’ll just wear them myself!)! 😛
My 5 yo dd went through that between the age of 3 & 5. My husband hates jeans, weird I know, but it’s true. But I have to say that eventually they do grow out of the only knit leggings/ fleece thing. I fought it for a while and then just let her be. We kept trying on kahkis and other non jean pants. They make a light weight denim that seems to fit our needs. She now will wear those and other woven material pants, but it took some time. Plus do we really want our daughters to believe that it is more important to look good than to be comfortable? We tend to do that to ourselves when we become teenagers.
Hey! I HAVE given birth to two more kids (6, 5, 3 & 1 year old respectively) and I don’t wear sweats all day unless to the gym either. Where there’s a slightly vain will, there IS a way! Great blog!
I came across your blog through my friend nicki. This entry is a crack up. I am a self-proclaimed sweat pants wearer and lover of all things that will bring me any sort of comfort. What struck me as funny is that the other day my 5 year old daughter came down from her room all in her comfies – sweat pants and a hoodie and I thought to myself “I have created a monster.”
You write so humorously. I enjoyed visiting your site!
Jenny Cook
Just another sweatpants wearin mama of 3. 🙂
That last line made me snort. I love it.
i was once at an amusement park when the teenagers in line behind me overheard me mention my age at the time (25) to my husband. shocked, they announced, “you sure don’t look that old! you’re not even wearing stretch pants!” funny that they thought that 25 was old, but hysterical that they thought that all “mature” women require a stretch pants wardrobe. oh well, laylee would eventually come to this point–she’s just precocious!
I can’t believe I found this website! My daughter is 9 y/o and STILL hates jeans! Only stretchy pants for her. I keep thinking that she will outgrow this stage, but I’m beginning to think that it’s here to stay. Anyway, nice to know that I’m not the only one that strugges with wanting my little girl to dress cute – only to send her to school in stretch pants and a t-shirt.