You know the kids who refuse to wear jackets and the kids who wear shorts when it’s below freezing and when it’s snowing? Well, those are my kids. But not only that; they also refuse to wear jeans. I have an 11-year-old son and an eight-year-old daughter, and neither one of them likes jeans and I don’t completely understand why. When I suggest for them to wear jeans, you would think I have just given them the worst advice in the history of the world. I miss the days when I could dress my kids in anything I wanted and they either couldn’t or wouldn’t complain about it.
Those of you with babies and toddlers who you dress in cute polos and jeans, get ready; the day is coming when they will think that jeans are the worst invention of mankind.
My kids hate jeans so much that we sometimes use them as a punishment. Forget taking away electronics and their favorite toys or games; if they misbehave, we just make them wear jeans the next day. My son especially hates it, but it works. He changes his behavior in a heartbeat when he realizes he’s going to have to wear jeans for a day. This sounds so ridiculous, but I’m so serious and I really wish I wasn’t.
Jeans are a nightmare for my kids.
I’m not exactly sure when this nightmare of jeans wearing happened, but I think it was about the time they started school, which was around four years of age. Of course, that is when you want them to wear jeans because they match well with so much and I think they look nicer than sweatpants on boys and nicer than leggings on girls. While I guess it doesn’t really matter exactly what my kids wear when they are out and about, I want them to look presentable. I suppose they don’t have to wear jeans to look presentable, but can’t they just wear them every once in a while? It seems that the answer is no.
Even for picture day at school, they usually will not wear jeans. If they do, they will take a change of clothes. One picture day, my daughter took a change of clothes to school and accidentally dropped her socks in the toilet while she was changing. That’s a whole other story, but it wouldn’t have happened if she had just worn her jeans for the entire day. I also find it really interesting that my son thinks that wearing jeans is “dressy.” It’s funny how over the years, the style has changed and you can actually get away with wearing jeans to formal events. While my son currently does not own a single pair of jeans, my daughter owns a handful. They look so cute on her, but she still prefers to wear leggings. Why oh why?
I suppose the main reason for my kids refusing to wear jeans is for comfort. According to them, jeans are very uncomfortable. I have bought stretchy, loose-fitting jeans for my son, but he complained about the waistband. I have bought jeans that are soft, like leggings, for my daughter, but she said they “bothered” her. No matter what type of jeans I buy, it’s a lose-lose situation, so I have quit buying them. Maybe one day my kids will want to wear them again, but until then, I just have to accept that they think wearing jeans is a complete nightmare.
I know I’m not alone in this jeans wearing situation. My good friend, who is a mom and an elementary teacher, is experiencing the same thing with her kids and her students. So, who else has a kid who thinks jeans are a total nightmare?
My five year old is anti-jeans all day every day. He says they’re “scratchy” and he just wants “soft pants”.
Right?!?! If only we could find jeans are that soft and comfy!
My 15 year old refuses to wear jeans. She wants to wear leggings all the time. We are leaving for Paris in 3 weeks. I’ve explained to her that wearing leggings in public as clothes is not a thing in France. I’m trying not to be pegged as American tourists.
A lot of teenagers seem to dislike jeans as well, especially the girls, as they prefer leggings. Hopefully she will pack appropriate clothing for France so you don’t stick out as American tourists! Have a safe trip!
It’s a sensory disorder. I’m 29 now but as a child I was raised by a gma who didn’t understand or believe in such things, she thought it was in my head. She used clothing as punishment which caused further issues to the point of physical confrontation when i was older. She would also buy clothing too small or not the right cut, because well she wanted me to dress like she did. Any therapist I saw who suggested adhd/ sensory disorder was shunned and exhiled from the list by gma because again” its in my head, im just doing this to be a brat, ect”. Especially bra shopping, she wouldn’t buy the correct size and it caused issued to such a degree that a school counselor stepped in. Do NOT use clothing as punishment as your only causing psychological harm to you kid(s). Who cares if other people think they look bad?. I’d rather my child’s mental health be okay than tank it because of a pair of pants. The clothing argument got to such a degree of severity that it caused physical confrontation, I was a chubby child and my gma would buy clothing cut, sized or just overall too small, jeans were especially a problem because they’d genuinely be too tight on top of sensory issues. She would refuse to buy my any clothing later in life and it caused its own set of problems. I realize my gma had issues as well but as someone who has suffered through this I can tell you using clothing as punishment will only make things worse.