We're having a little meltdown at our house right now...

[youthere]

It's my husband's birthday and the kids and I are picking him up at work and taking him out for a surprise dinner.
My youngest daughter is having a meltdown because I won't let her wear a halter top and shorts. Right now it's 45 degrees but dropping fast, and we're supposed get a freezing rain/snow mix tonight. She just stomped off upstairs and is screaming that "YOU NEVER LET ME WEAR ANYTHING!"

[MrsBrady]

1. she'll get over it n/t

[youthere]

8. yep..they always do.

[geardaddy]

2. Maybe you should let her wear these:

*Disclaimer, I think no one should be allowed to wear these.

[youthere]

5. Why I oughta'...

:spank:

[geardaddy]

12. hehehe

:evilgrin:

[OmahaBlueDog]

3. I have 10 YO and a 4 YO daughters

Thank you for reminding me how the next 14 years of my life will go, and reminding me to go buy a firearm.

[youthere]

6. No Problem...My oldest is 13 and pre-menstrual...

would you like me to share some of the exciting moments of that?

[madinmaryland]

10. If you have cats, do you make her change the litter.

That what we have our's do.

:hide:

[youthere]

14. No but she has to clean the rabbit cage. Works good too..

and our dog occasionally messes in the basement and if she's hitting high on the witch-o-meter we make her go on a "turd hunt", then we sit back and laugh while she squeals and whines and "Oh.My.GOD"'s about it.

[madinmaryland]

19. OMG!

We have our daughter go on those "hunts" also!

:rofl:

[OmahaBlueDog]

11. Share what you feel would be of benefit

I'll get some whiskey and some ice

[youthere]

15. Well..you're gonna need a LOT of whiskey.

That's it...that's the advice.

[Rambis]

4. Let her

We let our daughter do something similar to prove a point and she froze her arse off. Hide a coat in the car or not:)

[Fire Walk With Me]

7. Keep her to her absolute. Never let her wear anything.

[youthere]

9. LOL! Yes! Send that child to school nekkid!

[Fire Walk With Me]

13. See if her attitude changes.

;)

[KitchenWitch]

16. You are being a good mom!

She will not appreciate it until she is 30.

[youthere]

17. Yes..and when she is 30 I plan to throw this back at her when her kid's doingthe same thing!

now THAT's good parenting. :rofl:

[OmahaBlueDog]

20. "I remember, back in the day...

... a little girl who ran to her room screaming when I wouldn't let her wear shorts and a halter."

Oh, yes, you'll enjoy telling her that story!

[JitterbugPerfume]

18. this too shall pass

It brings back memories of when my girl were teens. She is just testing her limits.

[RoadRage]

21. Let her wear 'em..

Seriously. I have a 2 & 1/2 year old - and i've been reading up on "natural consequences". My daughter LOVES to kick her shoes off in the car, and we were constantly telling her not to and would fight with her to put them back on (we live in Omaha, NE - it's been about 20 degrees here all winter long). So about 2 weeks ago, I just decided to give up the fight. She kicked her shoes and socks off about 2 seconds into the car ride. I had my winter coat, socks, shoes, etc. on. It was about 30 degrees outside. I put the vent on in the car. About 5 minutes later, she said her feet were cold. I quickly pointed out that if she had her shoes on, her feet would be warm like Mommy's.. so now she has to have cold feet until we get home. It was a 15 minute car ride - and her feet were QUITE chilly when we got home, but she survived. And, I will say - she has yet to take her shoes off in the car since then (I always remind her of that trip and say, we want to keep warm feet, don't we?)

So, I guess my point is (i'm not sure how old your daughter is), but you are probably going to be fighting battles like this forever. Your daughter probably doesn't even really want to wear the outfit - if she's old enough, she realizes how crazy it is to wear shorts & a halter in a snow storm. More likely, she knew how you'd react when she said that was what she was going to wear.. and she won.

Tell her to go ahead and wear the halter top & shorts, but that the temp in the car and the restaurant will be set to a comfortable level for those wearing winter clothes, and won't be conforming to her. You won't be leaving the restaurant early if she gets cold. Also, all odd looks from strangers as well as anyone she goes to school with are her own fault, and she'll have to explain her outfit to anyone who asks.

Either she'll wear the outfit and suffer the natural consequences.. or she won't, and will think twice before calling your bluff next time. Either way - you win and she loses the power struggle!

[malta blue]

22. wow - for a second I thought you were the fly on the wall

in the corner of my living room. My daughter tried to wear a sundress to school yesterday - 38 degrees - with flip flops... :rofl:

[JoePhilly]

23. Pick your fights ... Let her wear what she wants ... but bring ...

A sweater or a sweatshirt "just in case" ...

More importantly ... don't let this ruin dad's birthday ... because, as a dad, I can tell you that it is rarely "my day".

And Dad's happiness is DIRECTLY connected to family happiness. Unhappy family, unhappy dad.