My daughter is organizing her clothes

[Not_Giving_Up]

Her dresser looks like a bomb went off. Socks, pants, shirts, undies...all one drawer. Then, she complains because she can't find clothes.

I told her to put her cold weather clothes all in one drawer, she won't be needing them anytime soon. After all, we live outside of Houston. She keeps coming out here with clothes like long, thick, dark colored pants and asking which drawer they should be in. I've given her a rule of thumb...If it's 100 degrees outside, do you want to be wearing that? No? Then it goes with the cold weather clothes!

[ElectroPrincess]

1. Is you're daughter in that preteen phase like mine?

Translation: During the ages from 11-12 y.o. young daughters can't decide if you (MOM) are either the smartest or the dumbest person in the world. It's never boring at my house. :-)

For example, she asks for advice and I give it. BUT WAIT! What about the opposite position. Doubts galore. I reaffirm my original stand. All of a sudden I'm stoopid. Then I walk out of her room throwing my hands up in a gesture of surrender and complete confusion. Oh! "OK Mom, this will work." <sigh>

What's up with your little one? Anything like my intelligent but *forever* vacillating preteen?

[Not_Giving_Up]

2. She's nine

Yes, she thinks that she (and her brother) are much smarter than I am. She loves clothes, changes five or six times a day if allowed, but hates to put them away. I kept finding cold weather clothes in the laundry that I KNEW she wasn't wearing. I'd wash them, and the next week, they'd show up again. She wasn't wearing them, she just wadded them up and snuck them back into the laundry. So, I told her that if I found any clothes in the hamper that I knew she had not worn, they were going away. Wow, that stopped!

She spent a week at grandma's, and now I'm making her work. I am such a meanie!

[jandrok]

3. Your daughter and mine sound eerily similar.

Her room is inhabited by a massive clothes monster. She'll put things away, but she changes a LOT, and things pile up again quickly.

[ElectroPrincess]

4. Buck-up dear folks.

I wish that I was back to "your time" (circa 9 y.o.) because she was merely a average kid (slob) back then.

Not terrible, and I do enjoy her increasing maturity on an intellectual level, BUT she's "back and forth" now.

I'm too harsh sometimes. Recalling my hard core Army Daze, I bark out, "Dammit, please please just make a decision - even if it's wrong, free me from this torture!" LOL

Yes, such earth shattering dillemmas as tennis shoes or sandals?


Arrrgh! Daughters are both exasperating and beautiful at the same time.

What a wild trip we're on?

[jandrok]

5. It's worth every minute.

Daughters truly are a treasure. If I could just get her to pick up after herself......

[Not_Giving_Up]

7. I agree

Some days, I just need a brick wall to beat my head against.

[jandrok]

9. You can borrow mine any time. It's well-dented.

There's a nice, well-worn depression for my skull.

[Not_Giving_Up]

11. LOL

I wouldn't want to mess up your indent!

[Not_Giving_Up]

6. Yes, so much fun!

My son will wear the same clothes over and over if I don't tell him to change. Completely different!

A few weeks ago, we had a major crisis when she couldn't find her Hello Kitty purse.

[jandrok]

8. Heh-heh. My son just doesn't wear clothes.

He's 4. He's in the Mr. Nakie stage. He'll rip his clothes off at the drop of a hat. Doesn't do it in public, or outside (very often), but indoors, he's a wanna-be nudist.

The daughter went through the same stage at about the same age.

[Not_Giving_Up]

10. Ha!

I remember when my son thought that as soon as he got through the door, he was to strip to his diaper, then his underwear. I'd say "Put some clothes on!" he'd say "Why? Where are we going?" Well, maybe nowhere, just put on some darn clothes!

[radwriter0555]

12. So provide her with guidelines instead of just criticizing what she's

doing. She's nine.

Explain how undies belong in one drawer, all folded neatly, not rolled together in a ball.

How panties are neatly folded and laid alongside each other and in small stacks.

How heavy clothing belongs in the lower drawers since it's not being used, and lighter clothing is sorted by shirts, shorts and such, and folded into neat stacks and placed into the easier reached drawers that are higher.

Kids learn by example and by interactive doing. Perhaps if you go on in there and guide her and help her, it would be far less frustrating and more constructive for both of you.

Kids don't learn from a teacher standing in front of a class that is slamming the board with a pointer. Kids learn by being involved in a project with constructive input and a team effort.

:)

[Not_Giving_Up]

13. What has me so frustrated is that

we went through those steps two years ago. She KNOWS how to fold the clothes, she KNOWS how to put them away right.

[radwriter0555]

14. When she was 7? You 'went through this'? Come on, lighten up

and interact with the child. She really wants your attention and guidance... not criticism and harsh words. It's clothes folding after all.

May I also suggest that helping with all the laundry become part of her chores as well? When kids have to participate in the household chores, they learn the labor involved in them. Liv used to try to do the same thing with clean clothes, tossing them in to the laundry instead of putting them away. I taught her that laundering things when they're clean is a waste of water and energy and that it ruins the clothing as well. We've made it part of the money lesson since she's started using allowance and gift money to buy some of her own clothes.

Folding is the easiest, but also learning how to use the washer, including sorting the clothes, using hot or cold, the lowest temp on the dryer, etc., is all a good starting point for her taking care of her clothing and laundry independent of you.

At age 12 Liv has full responsibility for her own laundry and does an excellent job.. and, even better yet, she now helps me with MY laundry! She's great at folding, laundering, hanging up, etc.