Mom Asks For Help After Her 'Stubborn' 4-Year-Old Son Insists On Dressing As Batman For A Wedding
"How can I win my little caped crusader over?"
esthermoreno / Canva Pro Most of us likely remember warring with our parents over our clothes as kids, and every parent has done battle with their own children a time or two — or every morning in some cases.
However, for one mom on Reddit, the unique challenge of getting her 4-year-old son to dress up for a family event is proving impossible, and she's desperate for solutions.
The little boy insists on dressing as Batman for a wedding instead of wearing a suit.
Now, who can blame the little guy? What little kid wouldn't want to look like the iconic hero at a big family event? He'll undoubtedly be the coolest person in attendance!
But, of course, rare is the bride who'd be okay with a random pint-size Batman in her wedding pictures — and rare is the parent who'd allow such a thing anyway. But when it comes to this kid, he isn't budging.
He "is absolutely adamant" about dressing as Batman, the mom wrote in her post. "He's also very stubborn just like me!" And no matter what she tries, he just will not relent.
She's tried several compromises and explanations about how weddings work, but the 4-year-old has only Batman on his mind.
From the sounds of it, this mom has done admirable work trying to convince her son to put on his little suit, but to no avail.
She's tried a handful of compromises, including having him wear a suit during the ceremony and his Batman costume at the reception. "He can skid around on the dance floor in full Batman to his heart's content then," she writes. But he isn't biting.
She's also tried offering a Batman-themed tie or shoes and explaining all about how weddings work, along with photos of the groomsmen and what they'll be wearing, in hopes that he'll want to be like the dapper big kids. All no-go's. "How can I win my little caped crusader over?" she asked her fellow Redditors.
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Experts say letting kids choose their clothes has benefits, and involving them in the choice can help with stubbornness.
If you're like most of us, you had a mom who would sooner die than let you leave the house in whatever your average 4-year-old would pick out. But experts say letting kids pick their own outfits actually has a host of benefits.
It aids in their development of core skills around self-care, for starters. Many kids also have sensory issues with clothes, and allowing them the latitude to pick what's comfortable teaches them to advocate for themselves and listen to their own feelings.
Being able to choose their clothes also helps them develop independence and begin the experimental process of forming their own sense of identity.
But of course, sometimes we have to drag little ones to functions like a wedding, where a Batman costume is… well, not the done thing. (Though if it were my wedding, I'd be dragging little Batman into every wedding picture setup, but I'm a lot more lax than your average bridezilla!)
Experts also say that involving kids in the decisions for what to wear in a collaborative way teaches them key skills about creative expression and lets them feel a sense of autonomy — just like when they're given total latitude. Crucially, it also still gives mom or dad some say over what goes on their kid's back. Giving them at most three options to pick from, for example, is a tip experts say can work really well.
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In this case, Redditors had the perfect solution: "Show him Bruce Wayne," one Redditor wrote, referencing Batman's dapper alter ego, who is never seen without a perfectly tailored suit.
Another suggested making it even more exciting by telling him, "he is Batman, but he needs to use his secret identity at such a public event."
Who'd say no to that? We just might get this little caped crusader into a three-piece suit after all!
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.