My six year old daughter has a fashion sense all her own.  From the time she was old enough to be dressing herself, she was coming up with all sorts of unusual clothing combinations (and usually not ones that I approved of!).

When she was little, her outfits usually consisted of at least one princess dress, a bathing suit, and then layer upon layer  of “accessories.”  Nowadays, if she finds a shirt that she loves, she likes to wear it at least three days in a row.  If it’s winter, she picks out sleeveless tops and short shorts to sport to school and sundresses and strappy high heels for church.  And did I mention she likes to change her outfit about five times a day?

Her enthusiasm for fashion is just one of the many things I love about her.  I never know what she’s going to come downstairs wearing!  Although I can usually bet that it WON’T be one of the countless smocked dresses that are hanging in her closet.

Recently though, her fashion peculiarities have been causing us serious stress on school mornings.  Each morning, I go to her room to wake her up for kindergarten, and she’s fretting about what she’s going to wear before her eyes even open.  She goes through a few outfits before she can decide on just the right one.  I’m frustrated, she’s crying, we’re running late for the bus, and all in all it’s a terrible start to the day.

This past week I decided it was time for one of my famous interventions.  If you’ve got some dressing drama going on at your house in the morning, try some of these tricks from my house to get back on the right track:

• Let your child pick the outfit they want to wear to school the night before.  Allow them to make their own choice within reason.  Short shorts and a sleeveless tank are not appropriate during Snowmageddon!  Be sure to approve their outfit and suggest changes the night before to keep arguments over their choices to a minimum in the morning.

• If your child has issues with needing to wear just the right socks or a certain headband, have them select all of their accessories, socks, shoes, and underwear the night before, too.  Then it will be right where they need it when it’s time to get dressed.

• Have them put their selection on the floor by their bed, or in some place that is not near all of their other clothes.  This will reduce the temptation in the morning of changing their mind!

• Give yourself (and your child) enough time in the morning to get ready, so you’re not overly stressed about beating the clock.

• When your child gets dressed, give them plenty of praise!  They love your attention and if they get it when they fuss and complain about getting dressed, then they certainly need it when they get ready without the dramatics!

Do you have some dressing tricks that work at your house?  Share them! I know I’ll take all the help I can get!