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Style
Life as a parent is a constant rush. With traveling back and forth from school, band and sports practices, trips to the grocery store, and obligatory family functions, it’s no wonder you’re always wondering where the time went. However, just because life as the energizer bunny is not all it’s cracked up to be, getting your family dressed and out the door doesn’t have to add to your workload.
Make conscious, fashionable dressing decisions and teach your children a lesson in personal responsibility and individuality with these five tips on how to style your kids without spending hours playing dress-up.
Plan Ahead
It is no surprise that clothing stores hold big sales events as one season closes and another begins. Take advantage of these opportunities to stock up on clothing options for the next year, at a discounted price.
For baby clothes, use this opportunity to buy clothes the next couple of sizes up to ensure you have options for months, and years, to come.
Explore New Options
When you’re shopping for kid’s clothing, consider layering. Layering adds dimension to any outfit. Choose clothes in different textiles and patterns to diversify closet selections.
Layered clothing styles aren’t exclusive to girls. There are plenty of options out there for trendy boy’s clothing too. Encourage your child’s individual style, and let their personality play out in the clothes they wear. Set out of few staple pieces and let your child decide what to mix and match.
Shop in Boutiques
Shop outside of the box! Yes, you too can dress your kids in trendy clothes, without breaking the bank. While you may not have the multi-million dollar budget some celebrity’s kids do, boutique shopping is still possible. Boutique doesn’t necessarily mean expensive; they’re just small stores that are not run by the megastore corporations like Walmart or The Bay. Clothing in boutique stores have more creative freedom since large companies do not design them, so you can get diverse, trendy clothes that are relatively inexpensive. Explore children’s boutique stores as an alternative to superstores.
Would You Wear It?
When shopping for clothes for your kids, ask yourself, would you wear it? If the answer is no, don’t buy it! The last thing you want to do is fill your kids closet with clothes you’ll never dress them in. If don’t know where to start with styling your kids, peruse online stores for new ideas and price comparisons.
You can also coordinate clothes with your children. Dressing similarly doesn’t have to be just for holiday postcards, nor does it have to be an exact match. Choose a color palette or style, and go from there. Not only will your kids look stylish, but you will look like a cohesive, well-represented family. You may even find yourself trying new style combinations from your own closet.
Make it Fun
Styling your kids isn’t always about clothes. Pay attention to details like hair and accessories. You can make any outfit fun with a big pair of sunglasses. Complete a casual-cool look with a messy bun or mussed-up hair. When it comes to style, it’s the complete picture that pulls together a look, so don’t forget to consider the details when you’re dressing your kids.
To dress your kids in style doesn’t require a big budget, a big closet, or endless amounts of time. Take the time to make wise purchases when there is a sale, plan for future wears, consider layers and different textures for endless outfit combinations, and pay attention to the details.
Happy styling!
I remember being a mom-to-be, walking up and down the aisles of the baby store and scanning all of the items that I thought would be required to keep my baby safe. 
These are the protectors that you can put in your car under the child car seat. They are supposed to protect your car from the indents that can happen from the child car seat or from spills and crumbs. Since this device was not crash tested with the child car seat that you own, you do not know how it will react in a collision. 
These are the cute window blinds, that roll up into a metal holder at the top. They are supposed to protect your child from the sun. Unfortunately, the suction cups that come with them don’t stick forever. This could lead to the shade coming off of the window and falling directly on your child. During a collision, if the window was to break, the metal holder then becomes a projectile flying through your car causing further damage to your child or yourself.
These are the bags that are designed to go inside the car seat and then zip up and over your child to protect them from the cold. These are not recommended because they come between your child and the car seat. The added fabric will be compressed during a collision and will cause the harness straps to be loose. This means that your child will not be held firmly in the seat and there is potential for injury to occur.
Suggested item – You want the cover that goes over the entire car seat. There is a window in the top so that you can see the baby’s face. This type does not interfere at all with the harness straps and your child can be secured properly.
The cute mirrors that allow a parent to use the rear view mirror to see their rear-facing child are not recommended.
Bumper Pads are not suggested because if a child gets caught in them, they could suffocate.
For the same reason that roll up shades are not recommended, hard plastic baby on board signs should not be used as the suction cups detach and then it is a potential projectile in the car.
The basic rules is: “If it didn’t come with the car seat, don’t use it.” Reason being is that everything that comes with the car seat has been crash tested with that seat and is safe to use. Many car seat manufacturers have started including these pads with the car seats so it’s not as much of an issue. Do not add anything to the harness straps of your child’s car seat.
