Kids+white pants=silly adults

Every single time you turn on the television there is an advertisement reminding you just how grubby children are. As if we didn't already know. However, despite these constant reminders from the television plus that nagging voice of your mother in the back of your mind about how grubby you yourself are every time you go to put on anything white, parents still insist on dressing little children in white clothes.

I work in retail, and thus get to observe the human condition on a daily basis. It is here in the eastern suburbs shopping complex that you see the most white panted children. All chased after by their immaculately dressed mothers and nannies. You see, it is a certain type of parent, mothers in particular, who insist on dressing their kids in white.

It is entirely beyond me why your child should look like a small model. They don't want to be dressed like that- they don't care! I love seeing kids in fairy outfits or dinosaur costumes at the shops because it means they got to pick their own clothes. I can understand dressing them for something important like weddings etc. or dressing them in something practical so they don’t trip over themselves or get a chill. But for a trip to the shops...I really think parents need to reassess who they are dressing their children for. They are not a fashion accessory nor are people judging you based on the look of your child, especially not someone who has children themselves- they know exactly the World War you went through just to negotiate Bob the Builder undies this morning.

My qualm with white is not that I don't like the colour; it's lovely if you can keep food off it. Kids are dirty and some times cannot even keep their mushed pumpkin inside their mouth. And as they get older, sure, they can eat fairly neatly but insist on playing on the ground or with dirt. And even the simplest things such as wiping their organic, 100% preservative, colour and taste free food down the front of their pants because they are yet to learn the social importance of a napkin. This is where white pants are impractical.

Mothers; save you and your maid the extra Nappysan and dress the kids in a colour that hides the joys of being a child. Being a child is the only time of your life that you are aloud to sit on the shop floor playing with matchbox cars, run around inside the clothing racks and wipe that dirt from tadpole catching on your pants, so don't stifle that fun. Kids are growing up too fast; don't push it that little bit quicker.