So my kids hate wearing socks.
Even if it’s 10 below zero outside, I’ll be lucky if I can get Ruby to put socks on, and Maxine to keep her socks on.
Everyone pretty much runs around shoeful and sockless.
Do I blame them? Well, I don’t wear socks.
Much.
I do not like wearing socks with my Vans sneakers and my New Balance shoes. I do like wearing socks with my Birkenstocks. But I digress.
Perhaps it’s a case of monkey see, monkey do, but I really don’t feel like modeling sock-wearing behavior for my kids just because I need them to wear socks. Shouldn’t my COMMAND to put socks on be good enough?
Jay points out that Ruby does not have proper shoes for playing outside. Technically, she does, but she just doesn’t want to wear them. I can relate. Don’t you remember playing outside with your slippers (called “sandals” here) all day? I don’t think I owned track shoes (called “running shoes” here) till I was in secondary school. Okay so it was a tropical country, but a little cold shouldn’t stop people from wearing nothing!
I’m not sure what socklessness does to their psyche.
I suspect that years on, I will somehow be responsible for their time in therapy. Mommy’s socklessness. Sockless preference. Playground ridicule. Self-confidence annihilation. Hey, it always starts small!
You know what will help?
They need to start wearing socks with slippers. Now that’s a style DO to earn props among kids.
I recommend toe-socks.
What is that?
socks with toes in it. but i think if you don’t like socks toe socks are even weirder.
i don’t think parents have to model the behavior they want their kids to engage in. there are some behaviors that are perfectly appropriate for adults to engage in or choose not to engage in which don’t always translate for kids. i drink coffee, diet coke and wine and yet my children do not. i sometimes eat dessert at night but my kids cannot. i swear (although not in front of my children) but do not think it’s appropriate for my children.
my parents had a great phrase they always used for things that they did but I couldn’t: when you are 18, you can decide for yourself whether or not you want to do X. but until then, you are gonna (insert behavior here) because we think it’s important for you.
end of story.