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| Tameka Raymond keeps her boys fly! |
I read Common's book "One Day It'll All Make Sense" about two months ago and received some very helpful, quirky bits of advice throughout the entire book. One of the things that stood out to me the most was an excerpt from his mom giving insight on what it was like to raise him. Like myself she was a single mother raising a young boy, doing what she could to provide for him. But there was one thing she said that really caught my attention.
You know how people criticize the parents who are always dressed fly from head to toe but have their kids looking any kind of way? Well I agree with them 100% that you should never just have your kids looking ragged while you're sporting name brand and everything on you is fixed up. But Common's mother said something related to that in which I agree with even more. In a nut shell she feels that since she worked hard for everything that was provided for her and Common, then he wasn't getting anything new to wear if she didn't. Her specific argument was how could she go out and buy him everything name brand and have herself looking any kind of way, when she was the one bringing home the bread?
I agree with her to the fullest extent! Now I'm not saying I'm going to go out and just shop for myself and have Trey looking any kind of way, that's not going to happen. But at the same time I'm not going to go out and buy him Polo this and that, Nike boots, Rocawear, and whatever else and then I can't even afford to treat myself to anything nice. It amazes me how some people really will not let their kids walk out of the house without name brand clothes from head to toe. I'm not knocking anyone for this because by all means if you can afford it then why not. But lots of time people go for broke trying to keep their kids up in the latest clothes and shoes. And on top of that, the kids only mess up their shoes in two weeks and come home with clothes full of paints and colors, or dirt. It's ridiculous!
I agree with her to the fullest extent! Now I'm not saying I'm going to go out and just shop for myself and have Trey looking any kind of way, that's not going to happen. But at the same time I'm not going to go out and buy him Polo this and that, Nike boots, Rocawear, and whatever else and then I can't even afford to treat myself to anything nice. It amazes me how some people really will not let their kids walk out of the house without name brand clothes from head to toe. I'm not knocking anyone for this because by all means if you can afford it then why not. But lots of time people go for broke trying to keep their kids up in the latest clothes and shoes. And on top of that, the kids only mess up their shoes in two weeks and come home with clothes full of paints and colors, or dirt. It's ridiculous!
Most of the time I find that this is a common problem with our own race. It's like we try to out do each other, and whoever dresses their kids the best gets a recognition prize or something... umm not! It's crazy because my dad buys Trey a lot of clothes from Polo and whatnot, and you know what Trey does? Asks me every day if he can wear sweatpants or basketball shorts to school. Bottom line is that most kids don't really care about that stuff and when you put emphasis on dressing your kids in the best, that's what they're going to expect for 18 years.
So I said all of this to say, yes I dress my son nicely as all parents should... But I'll also go to Old Navy, Children's Place, etc in a heart beat. I can't see myself spending all of my extra funds on him to look nice and never be able to treat myself to anything. Parents who actually put in time and work with their kids deserve it!
Do you think we put too much emphasis on how our kids dress? Do you agree with Common's mom? Leave us a comment with your thoughts and opinions!
SN: FYI you can dress your kids super fly without spending mad money... H&M, Aero for kids, etc. #imjustsaying *shrugs*
XOXO,
LaBellaBoss ♥
Blame it on the celebrities that the kids look up to
ReplyDeleteI must say that my kids own clothing from every brand name you listed in your blog but in all honesty, they all cost about the same. I even shop at Kmart and Wal-mart and I find clothes that are just as high as buying a babyphat/rocawear shirt or have gotten a polo shirt on sale at Macys cheaper than a plain shirt at Kmart. Unless you are shopping out of family dollar you are going to pay an average amount for good quality clothing.I like brand names but mainly its all about the quality/look of clothes to me, & trust me Im not spending but so much on a name! JMO ; )
ReplyDelete@kim that is true, some name brands you can find for really good deals online and at stores like marshall's and whatnot, but you know there are a lot of people out there who really feel like their kids have to wear top notch stuff 24/7 and that's it. I really know some people who send their kids to daycare in name brand, nice looking stuff and that's just not me. Trey is a true boy and can't keep anything clean so I send him to school in anything that I wouldn't want him to mess up. If we're going somewhere I'll dress him up real nicely, but most of the time he gets mad and asks to put on basketball shorts lol
ReplyDelete@anonymous I call it keeping up with the jones'!
ReplyDelete@ LaBellaBoss keeping up w/ the Jones at the parent's expense - a discouragement to never have kids - thanks for the encouragement to never want kids
ReplyDeleteI don't have any children but I do spend majority of my day with other people's children and I agree with his mother. A lot of children develop a sense of entitlement because some parent's place too much emphasis on materialistic things such as clothes and not enough on hardwork. This is were shows like my super sweet 16 become more than just on MTV. Children should be well kept like any living being and there is nothing wrong with buying one's child nice clothing and ts but it shouldn't be a focus especially when there isn't any money being set aside for a college education. I feel like that's a better investment than a pair of Concords that one can barely afford and the kid will only be able to wear for about 6 months. At least when you buy them for yourself you can wear them forever. #justmy2cents
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely guilty and Nia's rough on everything I buy her. Spaghetti stains on clothes, shoes look a year old after one week. Smh. In honor of this blog and reality check I'm spending some $ on me. It will motivate me to continue to work smart.
ReplyDeleteKeisha I agree with you! kids see stuff like super sweet 16 and they expect to get the same thing as the people on tv. parents invest way too much in clothing and whatnot, but then when the time comes to send their kids to college, they are depending on loands and scholarships. America as a whole is backwards! but that's a whole other subject in itself lol
ReplyDelete@joy I love your comment! I used to be the same way with Trey. he would have fresh jordans, and be name brand from head to toe and he started growing out of his clothes so quickly I was SICK! and he actually Thinks he's supposed to have new jordan's all the time now. we gotta do better lol