Woot! Very funny. When we were parenting small children before 09/11, half the family lived in UK and half in Ireland. Anytime anyone flew accross the Irish Sea they were obliged to carry a black bin-bag full of out-grown clothes. After a year or two, the same kit would come back for a younger cousin. Bad for the economy, terrible for toddler fashion, but easy on the pocket.
Growing up in Ohio in the 80s, our neighborhood had a cardboard box of clothes that rotated from one family to another as kids outgrew things. I was always excited to go through it to get some 'new' clothes. Looking back, it was such a nice thing to do. I didn't live in a poor area by any stretch, but it was full of young families trying to get established and the box made lives a little easier for everyone.
It isn't a hand-me-down trail. The trail is clearly going upward. From the sea, past the mountains, to the sun. The trees are arrows, the mountains are arrows, the arrow is an arrow. I'll bet most of the people who wrote their name on these tags signed first on the bottom line of the trail.
This is a brilliant bit of marketing - this coat is so rugged it will survive multiple kids! - but also a really nice feature for the kid who is handed down to.
We are a foster family and several times have found ourselves creating a wardrobe from scratch. Thankfully we have generous friends and neighbors who passed down clothes to help fill the closet. Seeing another kid's name on your "new" coat can be a subtle reminder to our kids that even their things aren't truly theirs. So a blank space for them to fill in a name would be a small but meaningful thing.
Woot! Very funny. When we were parenting small children before 09/11, half the family lived in UK and half in Ireland. Anytime anyone flew accross the Irish Sea they were obliged to carry a black bin-bag full of out-grown clothes. After a year or two, the same kit would come back for a younger cousin. Bad for the economy, terrible for toddler fashion, but easy on the pocket.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in Ohio in the 80s, our neighborhood had a cardboard box of clothes that rotated from one family to another as kids outgrew things. I was always excited to go through it to get some 'new' clothes. Looking back, it was such a nice thing to do. I didn't live in a poor area by any stretch, but it was full of young families trying to get established and the box made lives a little easier for everyone.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't a hand-me-down trail. The trail is clearly going upward. From the sea, past the mountains, to the sun. The trees are arrows, the mountains are arrows, the arrow is an arrow. I'll bet most of the people who wrote their name on these tags signed first on the bottom line of the trail.
ReplyDeleteThis is a brilliant bit of marketing - this coat is so rugged it will survive multiple kids! - but also a really nice feature for the kid who is handed down to.
ReplyDeleteWe are a foster family and several times have found ourselves creating a wardrobe from scratch. Thankfully we have generous friends and neighbors who passed down clothes to help fill the closet. Seeing another kid's name on your "new" coat can be a subtle reminder to our kids that even their things aren't truly theirs. So a blank space for them to fill in a name would be a small but meaningful thing.
One alternative to ameliorate your dilemma, suggested at the link, is to label future hand-me-downs only with last names.
Delete