Instagram Worthy

We seem to be in a time where everything has to be ‘Instagram worthy’. From the neutral colours, overpriced neutral toys, to fashionable dummies. Can we just let children be children please? I often wonder if everyone actually likes this stuff or if they’re getting majorly influenced that it’s the only acceptable way.

I have to draw the line posters all on the walls with blu tac and ripped plaster everywhere but what’s wrong with your child having character pyjamas? They wear them to bed… To sleep… it’s something which makes THEM happy. Isn’t your goal as a parent to make your children happy? I just can’t understand why parents have become so controlling over these factors. Just let them enjoy it.

I bought Luca a Pikachu hoody from Zara. It’s actually really nice. Pokémon stuff is usually so ugly! He’s also chosen a snoopy one coz he likes cute stuff on his tops – hence his obsession with Kenzo and Ralph Lauren Teddy. Now, in the Instagram world it would be completely acceptable to wear a Ralph teddy top, but not the pikachu hoody as that’s a tv character. It honestly baffles me. His face was the happiest when he received the hoody. He was so proud and told all of his friends at school. It made me feel awful as a parent for not buying that much character clothing. We’ve always had a couple of nice matching overpriced swimwear items, and then the rest is always character. Don’t shoot me, I don’t need to fit in with your clique. My children are happy. I’m not wearing a paw patrol all in one which protects me properly from the sun (that’s uncool too. Please ensure your children wear skimpy swimwear and burn to fit in the cool club), I’m wearing what I like. They are wearing what THEY like. When we teach our children about loving themselves, being happy in their own skin, being who they want to be.. Why can’t ‘chase be on the case’ in the pool? Why can’t they be happy in their clothes and choose their own style?

The dummy sitch too.. just take it out for a photo? Isn’t it better to have an orthodontic dummy than a fashion trend in your child’s mouth? Don’t even get me started on untested dummy clips and ‘blinged’ up accessories. If something isn’t safety tested for your baby then please don’t purchase it. It’s actually against the law to sell things for children which don’t comply to certain standards – for good reason.

Now I’m going to get onto the toys. It is WONDERFUL that people want to buy less plastic. I try really hard to buy more wooden, but let’s all be honest here, your child lives for the noisy plastic tat. There’s also nothing wrong with it. It can be passed down to other children to ensure it’s plenty used. There seems to be a huge trend at the moment though with who can buy the most overpriced, neutral toys for their children, which half the time I wonder if it would be that interesting. Play rooms are to adults taste. Cream and brown or grey, grey, grey. Add some colour, some fun, some of your children’s personality. I hardly think your child is going to choose the one that’s pleasing to your eye but if you have an actual separate room in the house then what’s the issue in adding some colour. We have walls of fame all over ours. It’s full of canvas pictures the children made. Everyone in our home loves them. They are happiness, they show how they’ve learned new skills and grown, they are perfect. I’m lucky as Alia shares my floral taste, so I adore her bedroom. I’m not saying she doesn’t have anything child friendly in there though. She has plenty of unicorns displayed from ornaments, to a lamp to her teddies. Is it something I’d have in my room? Of course not. I hate teddies. Dust hoarding useless objects, but Alia adores them and it’s not my space. Luca has the most revolting bed. It’s a pirate cabin bed. It’s the ugliest thing in my house but if you ever ask him about it, he will speak so fast with excitement that you won’t even know what he’s saying. My rooms lovely. I love it. It’s neutral, it’s boring, I have white bedding and all kinds of boring stuff in there. My living room is another boring space, as is my bathroom. The thing is, I have all these spaces which I can look at. Which are kind to my eyes. The children have their spaces which they chose. As they get older they’ll probably look more like the rest of the house – boring. So whilst they are little they deserve the fun factor.

Don’t even get me started on not letting your children get dirty in their perfectly expensive outfits. Let them build an immune system and have fun if that’s what they want to do. Create mess and FUN. My children have some expensive outfits but I never tell them to sit and act like their from the Victorian Era. They can have fun, okay, get messy and I use my trust elbow grease to get it out. If it gets ruined then bigger fool me for spending so much.

Now, I don’t think I’m above anybody who’s ‘Instagram perfectly fashionable with the 2020 trends’. I’m not judging you if it effects your life so much that you can’t bare it. I need to read this myself sometimes. But let’s just put the Hinch books down for a second, bring back the colour (we really need it this year), bring back the time spent together instead of trying to have an immaculate home, your children’s joy as they strut their stuff in their fave character pyjamas, bring back muddy knees, having to scrub your children’s nails in the bath because there’s dirt wedges underneath, bring back nature play, noisy plastic toys, displaying the children’s art work which wasn’t altered on the Internet, bring back the days when children could give you a list of toys and you’d choose something they actually liked and wanted.

One day, your home will be immaculate, there will be no noise, it will be plain, your children may wear neutral clothing, there will be no toys on display. They will have grown up. The day’s are long but the weeks go fast. Let the children enjoy it. I dare you to go to a supermarket and let them choose an outfit of their choice, display their artwork, roll down a grass banking, make a mud pie, buy the noisiest plastic tatty toy you can find. Then watch your child’s face light up like the Blackpool tower. I promise you, it’s an eyesore but the joy is worth it.