Today, during my Weekly WalMart Wandering, I found myself staring at the rack of girls panties. My seven year old daughter claimed she had only three pairs that fit and was in desperate need of more. So there I was, staring at the different brands, styles, and cuts, pulling them out of their packages to find the pair with the best rear coverage. I skipped over the bikinis, paused only for a second at the "low risers" and then searched out a cute package of briefs for my girl. Yes, good old belly button to low hip covering briefs, just like she's been wearing since her potty training days. I congratulated my self on finding some for a decent price and plopped them into my shopping cart, not to have another thought about them until I pulled them from my cart for check out.
Then, as I placed them on the conveyer belt, it hit me. This underwear represented one more way I am becoming like my mother.* She also bought me briefs, or as I called them, granny panties, for many years without my input. I don't think it crossed her mind that I didn't like them until I told her otherwise; I think it was just a generation gap thing.
Still, one of my most embarrassing moments revolved around that very conservative underwear style. In the seventh grade as I walked out of my math class a boy pulled my skirt up to my waist. It was one of those cotton/spandex skirts so it wasn't just a quick up and down peek-a-boo. It stuck there while I tried to pull it down with one hand and keep my books from plummeting to the floor with the other. The thing is, although it was quite embarrassing to have my skirt pulled up (and a little but flattering, as it was one of the cutest boys in the grade) what horrified me the most was that now more than just the girls in my gym class knew the condition of my underthings.
Soon after that the came the revolt of the panties, along with my covert makeover of my training bra (a story for another day).
As I looked at the panties I chose for my daughter, I began to reconsider my selection. I wondered if seven year old girls know what kid of panties their friends wear. I wondered if my friends were still buying their seven year old girls briefs. I wondered if, as my daughter ages, I will be sensitive to her needs and insecurities -- about underthings and otherwise. Then, as the conveyer belt inched forward I realized, a girl who wears Tinkerbell panties can probably handle briefs for at least another year.
*Not necessarily a bad thing. However, I will never buy my daughter a training bra that looks like a white sling shot with a pink bow attached. Or will I?
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4 comments:
LOL! I remember the granny panties my mother made me wear. And they weren't the cotton type - no - instead she bought me those silky material ones that make you sweat your butt off in the summer.
When I was 16 I had my first part time job, and I quickly went out and bought cotton bikini panties. I loved them. My mother hated them. She let me know that every time she did the laundry. Would she ever be shocked now if she saw a pair of my thongs... (No, I don't like thongs, and I find them uncomfortable - but some outfits just don't look right with panty lines...)
I actually prefered the granny panties to the wild and crazy silk patterned ones my grandma would give us for Christmas. What kind of gift is that?!
And I'm going to stick to the old fashioned kind for my kids,too. I don't care what they think, they are not wearing the strings I've seen peaking over low risers at my son's middle school!
MFH, ut oh...I'm a kid buying underwear rebel, I guess... my six year old gets bikinis, but they are not as showy as you would expect for kids. (Does it count that I opened the package in the store to check?) They have animals on them and the days of the week. I figure that can't be too grown up? :P
That was great.
I discovered Hanna Anderson underwear many years ago. They were the only ones my girls liked.(I had received some as hand-me-downs.) They have a really wide elastic band and are thick cotton.
My oldest hit 13 this fall and declared that she was not going to wear them anymore. Why say I? You can see the waistband above my jeans mom, says she. Oh, say I.
We tried many, many brands of girls bikinis, Target, Gap, etc. Thank goodness that Hanna Anderson does a low rise for older girls. Otherwise she would have forswore underwear altogether! (No, I did not receive any money from HA. This was an unsolicited endorsement!)
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