Recently while I was out hiking I came across a family that caused both my friend and I to look at each other with raised eyebrows. Now I am not one to say unkind things about someone’s level of attractiveness, height or other physical characteristics they can’t change because that would be just plain mean. But there are however plenty of things that a person can change when it comes to their overall appearance – things like grooming, hairstyle, and choice of clothing. So what the heck is up with parents who dress their kids in a way that automatically sets a child up to be labeled as the school nerd? Here was this poor little boy who could have been seen as cute had his parents not dressed him in high-waisted shorts that came up to his arm pits, a tucked in t-shirt, long black socks and a sun bonnet tied securely under his chin. Seriously, the parents might as well have put a sign on the kid’s back that said “kick me” and then sent him straight into the clutches of the school bully because this child is doomed to be regularly stuffed into school lockers and to have his lunch money stolen. And to make matters worse, a few moments later the father came strolling up the hiking path in virtually the same idiotic outfit as his son. This kid, thanks to his dorky parents, doesn’t stand a chance in hell!
Now I get that not everyone is destined to be the star athlete or school beauty queen and that we all have our own individual ideas about what we consider to be fashionable. But come on parents, is it really fair to dress your kid like a some sort of reject that even Mister Rogers would laugh at? There are affordable discount stores like Ross or even Walmart where you can get your kid some clothing that is somewhat stylish and looks like it comes from this decade. So please do your child a favor and think about this the next time you are out shopping for their clothes… And no, your kid would not love to wear that stupid reindeer holiday sweater with the sparkles…
Well...you are right, but there has to be the molding of the nerd/geek in our society as they have their places in the science labs, the engineering dept.s, etc. They might not have the trends right or the pop culture knowledge going for them, but they have the brains and the drive to use them and make it all a better place for us well dressed idiots to live in...just a thought...and remember Mr. Rogers fought for our country and taught our kids ...he just wanted to be comfortable in sneakers and a sweater after all that...love your blog!
ReplyDelete@Anonymous: Thanks for the love! ...You do have a point about the geek/nerd demographic in any society. However, there are still plenty of highly academic individauls who still also manage to dress somewhat normal by today's standards. ...Yes, Mister Rogers gets a lot of crap but he was pretty cool for his time. Dressing like him in 2010, not so cool.
ReplyDeletereply to Ranter's Box:
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! I have a very smart child who was "different" in that he was always studying and loving school, following the rules, and being polite, and he took enough crap at school for that in every way, so I made sure my child at least had fashion sense and dressed to the nines. Now , as a contributor to society and young adult who will help shape our country's future my grown child is secure in their looks, brains, and career goals. I didn't dress my child to fail, but to succeed. Just mixin' it up a bit with ya'...loving this blog!!!!!!!!Thanks!
@Anonymous: I'm glad we see eye to eye on this. Please feel free to refer your smart and stylish kid to my blog!
ReplyDeleteWell my kid is lucky... I do his shopping! I remember my mom making me wear a damn neon orange shirt, just so she could see me amongst the crowds of kids... I will never subjugate my kid to such a thing! On top of that I buy what my son likes to wear and often help him color coordinate, but he has a great choice to choose from@ :) My daughters... Now those are beauty queens! And yes I have matching back up clothes incase they have an accident! :)
ReplyDelete@Santos: Perhaps you can offer your fashion expertise to that dork family in the sun bonnets and up-to-the-arm pits shorts!
ReplyDeleteI hate to say it i find this blog in bad taste. Being a child develpment "expert" if you will, what if the child dressed himself? And that was his way of expression? Labeling the child a "nerd or dork" is very stereotypical American behavior.
ReplyDeleteWhy do people care so much about what everyone else wears? It is their choice to and they obviously dont care what you think.
This kind of reminds me of the popular people making fun of the kids that either dont have the money to buy the latest trends or just dont care to go along with what society thinks, and then hear a blog of themselves as someone makes fun of their stlye.
Bad Bad taste.
@Anonymous: Sorry that you feel this way. We all have a right to our own opinion. Please know however that this particular situation had nothing to do with making fun of a child for expressing himself nor was it about making fun of people who may be lacking in financial means. This child was clearly not expressing himself through his clothing choices. Instead his parent were dressing him a a way that was that would be embarrassing to any child. There was also no indication that the family couldn't afford to dress him differently so I really don't think your asssement of my perspective is on par with the actual situation. PLEASE NOTE: This blog is intended to be for readers who appreciate someone that speaks out and says what everyone else is probably thinking. This blog is meant for the most part to be fun and humorous. If any of that bothers you then perhaps you will find other blogs more to your liking. Have a lovely day!
ReplyDeleteBAH you've got to love the hater comments from people who can't seem to spell to save their life :P Don't take it seriously A! <3
ReplyDelete@love, S: Too right matey! As my friend at plopculture says, "hate mail is great mail"... and perhaps fuel for future rants! Either way it is great to have blog firsts! Enjoy your day!!
ReplyDeleteRanter thank you for this interesting post. I actually think there should be a world wide Interpol type of fashion police to arrest some of these gross offenders. Intense rehabilitation should then be done before these people can be allowed to walk near a kids' clothing store again!
ReplyDelete@Mthoko: Thanks for checking out my blog. Yes, an Interpol type of fashion police is an excellent solution! Just think of all those poor innocent children who would be saved from potentially disasterous fashion choices made by their parents. Have a great night!
ReplyDeleteRant Box Rebel:
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see followers from other countries here...interesting to see that even with different cultures in different countries there are still the same human dilemmas. We are all the same...
@G: I totally agree and that is one of the main points behind this blog, to bring people together through their common experiences, dislikes, interests, etc. Well, that and to have a bit of a laugh : )
ReplyDelete