Reed is a stubborn boy like most 3-year-olds are, but there is one fight that we have had each and every day for the good part of a year. Ever since Reed started to care what he was wearing, we have had to do everything possible to get him dressed: yelling, spanking, bribery, time-out, good-cop bad-cop, pinning, double-team… you name it. It doesn’t matter what we are dressing for either, so it is not just for the “church clothes”.

Recently, he’s grown big enough for jeans that need a belt. So we got him a real belt and he quickly learned to put it on by himself. He started wearing boots as well, and those were easy for him to pull on and off by himself. For a little while this smoothed the fight, but he still was reliant on us for other parts of his wardrobe, as well as what was appropriate to wear.

Last Sunday morning, I forget how the situation started, but Reed said that he was going to get dressed. Julie and I were astonished and we promptly supported his initiative. He went to his room and got himself completely dressed by himself!

Now, our typical rules for (boy) church clothes are no shorts and shirt must have a collar. Reed came out wearing jeans, boots and a long-sleeve t-shirt. When he marched into our bathroom with me to show his Mother what he had done, I quickly downplayed any clothing criteria, and opted for the proud moment. Reed was beaming from ear-to-ear from our praise.

Our routine in the morning now is that I sit in his room while he picks out his clothes, and then I leave while he gets dressed. I only offer advice on the weather, but otherwise it is up to him.

RB