Who Told You to Grow?

"You go to school to learn not for a fashion show."

Yes, I get most of my life's wisdom from DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. This little gem stuck with me when I was a teenager, probably bcause I wore Catholic School uniforms.

My kids, however, do not wear uniforms to school. As much as I can see the sound logic behind school uniforms, I'm glad for our school's policy. Mostly because I'm too lazy to make sure they have a clean uniform every morning for school.

They both usually start the school year in tight clothes. I hate to buy them new summer clothes for those first few weeks of school when I know that they'll be losing their extra summer weight and be fitting back into the clothes I bought them at the beginning of summer in no time. And I almost always have to buy them new summer clothes in May because they get taller.

But yesterday I noticed that both of my kids' clothes weren't just tight. They were short.

Who told those kids they were allowed to grow in August?

Yesterday while they were in school, I headed out to buy them some clothes.

Have you noticed the commercials on televison lately for back to school clothes? They really do make it look like there will be a fashion show on the bus and in the classrooms every morning. What kind of shallow values are we passing on to our nation's kids?

I find shopping for my daughter to be especially hard. Why do all of the clothes in her size have to look so old? She's eight for goodness sake! She doesn't need to go to school looking like she's ready for an MTV shoot.

But I also don't want her to dress like a toddler. There seems to be no middle ground.

I was curious if clothes were a big concern amoung the third grade sect. So, I asked my daughter, "Do you and your friends ever talk about clothes at school?"

She looked at me like I was insane. "Why would we do that?"

I wasn't prepared for that response so I kind of fumbled out, "I don't know. I was just wondering if certain kind of clothes were popular or if you guys even cared about clothes at all."

"Why would we care about clothes, Mom, jeesh. As long as we're comfortable and not breaking any rules, what does it matter?"

Well, I guess she told me. Apparently there aren't any fashion shows being produced on her playground. But it sure sounds like there is a whole lot of learning going on.