Effective Ways to Avoid Arguing Over Getting Dressed for School

Battles over what clothes to wear to school are common among parents and children. Kids inevitably have their favorite outfits to wear, and parents of course don't want them wearing the same dirty outfit over and over again or want them wearing clothes that are not weather-specific. Below is a system that will put an end to the arguing over getting dressed for school and even help your child to become more independent and learn to pay attention to the weather when considering their clothes for the day.

Find some extra plastic bags hanging around the house for use. Label each bag with a day of the week, Monday-Friday. Use a bright red pen or some kind of permanent marker so that it doesn't bleed. Involve your kid in this process by allowing them to help either decorate the bag with some of their favorite stickers or arts and crafts stuff they enjoy so much. If they still like scribbling all over the place then let them do that; anything in order to make them feel they are involved in the beginning organizational phase.

At the beginning of the week be sure to check the 5-7 day weather forecast. Again, involve your child in this process so they can learn to pay attention to the weather. You should discuss what types of clothing would be most appropriate for whatever the weather calls for.

And now for the thing that can create more independence in your kid. Ask them to pick out five days worth of outfits to wear based on whether or not it is supposed to be cold or warm outside. Don't get involved in this process; just them do their thing to begin. Before they make their choices for outfits make sure you set some ground rules such making sure that no matter what the outfit is, they have to have sock and underwear. See what your child came back with. If you feel the clothes aren't as weather appropriate as perhaps they should be, then make some suggestions as to what you think would be more comfortable. The bottom line here is not to argue over getting dressed for school. Be constructive in your suggestions until you come to an agreement on what the five outfits for the week are. Another ground rule you can set is that no one outfit can be worn more than once every 3-4 days. This is a great way to stop the common arguments over the wearing that favorite outfit when getting dressed for school.

Now that the clothes have been decided upon you can put all the bags away and bring out each for the corresponding day the morning of. Getting dressed for school becomes much easier as there will already be a planned outfit that won't be up for negotiation. Inevitably your child may want to wear something different the morning of, but it's important you explain to them that you came to an agreement. If they want to change the outfit they'll have to wait until the following week to make a different choice. Getting dressed for school can be an interactive experience that is positive for both parents and children, one that is argument-free.