Piggy Back Question to Winter Clothes

my 6 year old picks all her own stuff, with me there Iam a moderator and price negotiator. The 4 year old is fine as long as its pink and frilly or used to be the 6 year olds. The 3 year old will wear a diaper on his head, and shoes on his hands. We are good.

I took mine from the time she could walk. She knew as she got older that Goodwill and other thrift stores where we shopped was used clothing. By that time, she was old enough to understand that this was what I could afford, and this was where I was shopping.

LOL I never took my kids shopping for clothes until they were tweens/teens. Lucky for me I was able to shop for my son all the way through high school (he HATES clothes shopping) but my girls got way more particular by middle school.
Put it off as long as you can, shopping with teenage girls is TORTURE!!!
Or better yet, let your husband take them shopping, he'll be changing his tune after the first trip, and you'll get a quiet afternoon to yourself :-)

My kids love consignment shopping. Always have always will. We've always talked about how you could get 1 pair of jeans at the store for $55 or get at least 3 pair and 3 tops at consignment for the same price.

Teach your kids the value of money and keeping things out of landfills while they are young.

My boys act like I am taking them to the gallows when I take them shopping. So I don't.
L.

My kids go thrift shopping with me, and they pick out the things that they like. I also buy them stuff when they aren't with me, but if they don't like it I will return it. My kids know that we buy used clothing and they don't care. They know that by buying used that we are helping the environment, supporting charities and saving money for things that are more fun and more important than clothes. Of course they are boys, so clothes aren't really that important to them. (although they definitely prefer particular brands.)

I have always taken my kids with me when I shop for them. I like to have them try everything on so we can be sure it fits, they like it, and it's comfortable. Actually, at my favorite place to shop, the sales lady in the children's department has been helping us for years. I call ahead, tell her the sizes, my budget, and what I'm looking for (dresses, jeans, t-shirts, whatever) so when we get there, she has some things pulled aside for us. That way, I don't have to wander around trying to figure out what outfits go together, my kids pulling out stuff that costs a fortune or that they don't need, etc. Then, I send the kids into the dressing room by themselves. If there's something they like, they come out and show me. If not, they put it in the "don't like" pile and move on.

This way, they end up with outfits they picked, and because I didn't have any part in choosing it, they like it even better. ;)

You know, I don't see why your kids would think Once Upon a Child was a bad place to shop. My kids wear hand-me-downs all the time and are fine with it. In fact, they like many of their hand-me-downs better than they like their clothes from the more expensive department stores.

My adult son and I shop thrift. He knows that his aging mama loves that. He also knows that I will foot the bill if he sees something at Goodwill, but never if he sees something at Macy's.

Tell them what you plan to spend each, 30 bucks only. They will see how much further that goes at a thrift store.

They'll let you know!
For mine it was about 4th grade.

I have always brought my kids shopping with me, even when they were too little to care. They know that clothes come from clearance racks and resale shops when we can or the storage boxes from their older siblings that they outgrew. They actually love coming to resale shops with me because it's like a treasure hunt. They have found some seriously cool, out of print toys/books/DVDs that you can't find in stores. They get a wider selection of clothes to pick from then just going to Target and having them pick from what little they carry. They know that they can get a few extra things because it's not as expensive as the store.
It's gotten harder mostly because my oldest is now going in to a 16 or adult small which you're not going to find much of. My youngest boy is an 8 which is also hard to find. It's easier to find girl clothing at resale shops than it is boys in bigger than toddler sizes. Our favorite resale shop closed and we haven't found a new one locally which is sad. My daughter used to have a closet full of nothing but high end, brand names practically, all bought at the resale shop sometimes with the tag still on them :)
If your kids give you flack, play up that it's recycling. It's great for the environment. You get to choose from a whole lot more than if you went to one single store. It won't take all day like going to the mall would so you have time to do something else, maybe going out to ice cream as an incentive to get it done faster.

I do most of my shopping online, but I often show my 4 year old what I'm looking at and let her pick (ie. pick 4 tank tops or of these 4 pairs of jeans, which 2 do you want). My MIL buys the kids a ton of clothes twice a year, so I just fill in the gaps.

You're probably doing fine. Since you don't mind exchanging, they *are* doing some choosing themselves, within a limited scope.

You might start taking your two older ones on special shopping trips once in a while. Take each individually and make a lunch date out of it. Take them to the department store. Let them look at the fashions. Let them look at the price tags and realize how much those items really cost that their friends probably talk about. Then take them to your special spots.

My children wore pre-owned clothing, and now my grandchildren do, too. They didn't/don't object because they don't need to: they look just like everybody else.

When they were little, they didn't care that their clothes were used as long as they liked what they wore. When they grew older, once they realized the difference between a five-dollar pair of jeans in great condition but worn by somebody else a couple of times, and the same jeans for a hundred dollars bought off the rack, they thought they were doing all right. At that point, I would certainly take them shopping with me, and they could be as picky and choosy as they wanted to be, as long as it fit in my budget. If they wanted something outside the budget, they needed to pay for it themselves.

If I could, I would never take mine shopping! They are older now but it's still a pain. My youngest hates shopping and would take anything I bought him.
The oldest has specific tastes, lol!
The time to take them is when they Stop wearing what you bought them, not before. I'd let H do it, if he were not a big spender ;)

They are definitely getting to the age...I've taken my 9 yr old for about 2 or 3 yrs now. She's too picky for me to chance it and why have to make extra trips for refunds or exchanges?

My kids pick out their own clothes. I do shop clearance racks, and usually my son will wear whatever I buy him, but my oldest is picky. She's been this way since about 12 months, I kid you not. She'd throw tantrums about cloths she didn't like.

I do both, I buy them stuff when they're not with me and I have them shop with me and pick things. My kids are in 1st and 4th grade and I've been doing this as long as I can remember. I know my kids so well though. I went to Target the other day and brought them each back a shirt and both squealed that they love it.

I think you should sit them down and explain that you are buying the used clothing because of money situation. At the age they are at they should understand. And ask them if they would like to have some input in what they get. Maybe do two shopping trips for clothes so that you don't have too many at once.

I buy my kids both new and used clothing. They've even gone to garage sales with me and gotten clothes.

I still pick out a majority of the clothes. I do however allow the kids to pick some stuff out. I think it's a process you have to go through to see where your kiddo's are mentally.

For instance, if you have a 10 year old girl that won't wear anything you buy then you need to reevaluate your shopping/spending. It's silly to spend money on things no one will wear but they have to have something.

Once you and the kids reach that moment where they get the proper clothes needed and there's not much different shopping you'd have done.

I have a 12 y.o. girl and a 9 y.o. boy. I usually do not take my kids clothes shopping - there lies madness! I do have them look at clothes online with me, so that I have an idea what their personal preferences are. They understand that when we look at clothes online, that doesn't mean that they will receive that thing - it's so that I can have an idea what they like. I've also been quite upfront with them about thrift store shopping, and how much money we are able to save by doing it. Neither of them has a problem with used clothes. In fact, my son always eyes his tomboy sister's gender neutral clothes with interest, because he knows that anything that survives her will be his next. This is why just today he was trying to persuade her that she needed a Darth Vader sweatshirt.

My sons (13 & 11) don't like clothes shopping so they typically only go if I absolutely need them to try things on, like when they had a growth spurt in the summer and I guessed wrong for the sizes of new jeans. They don't care about brands or where their clothing comes from.

I know their preferences and favorite colors, so I think shopping for them in that regard is easy. If they were rejecting items or complaining about my choices, then I suppose they would have to suck it up and come shopping too.

Can you afford to let each of them pick 1 outfit? Even that can be expensive.

I am quite sure they would not enjoy thrift shopping with you, however, I am also sure they know you do.

My daughter is almost 8 and she is very cautious of the prices. And, I do exact same thing. I bring it home wash it and put it in the closet.