It Happens So Soon

My mom bought my daughter a beautiful dress.  It is a brown halter dress with pink flowers embroidered on the bodice and waist.

Last Sunday I wanted to dress her in it, but when I pulled it out of the closet in the morning, she said "no" and pointed at a different dress.  I put her in the dress she chose.  Later that afternoon, when she had dirtied the dress she picked out, I took the brown dress and put it on her.  She protested but I prevailed and got it on her. 

All day she had been telling me how pretty my dress was.  After I got the brown dress on her, she told me again that my dress was pretty.  We had quite the conversation about how her dress was pretty too, and eventually she reluctantly agreed.

That evening, when we took the dress off, she looked at the dress, pointed, and said "no".  I got the picture that she doesn't like the dress.  She looks beautiful in it, but she doesn't think it is pretty.  She has started favoring certain colors, and brown isn't one of them.  Have I mentioned she isn't even two yet? 

I told my mom about the incident and she said that Bee did the same thing in the store when she bought the dress.  My mom knew Bee didn't like the dress, but she bought it anyway because it was so pretty.  I knew Bee didn't like the dress, but I made her wear it because I knew she would be beautiful in it. 

I didn't think it was a big deal to put her in the dress.  However, today I remembered how much I hated it when my mom made me wear dresses I didn't like.  I was a lot older than Bee is now, but as I thought about it, I decided that it is important to respect her opinions and allow her some autonomy, particularly when it concerns something so unimportant as what she wears.  She is her own little person with her own opinions and it is in her best interest if I respect them, especially when it concerns something insignificant like what color clothes she wears. 

I was always prepared that some day she would start having opinions about her clothes, but I thought it would be a little longer before this happened.  I am even more confused because she doesn't protest against the crazy mismatched outfits her daddy puts her in on the regular. 

I love that dress and I will probably continue to try to convince her that it is pretty and she ought to wear it, but I probably won't make her wear it against her will.  Maybe she will change her mind. 

If I can get a picture of Bee in the dress, I'll post it just to show how pretty she is in it.