When my first child, Oliver, was in pre-school, there was the perfunctory final meeting with his group of loving teachers. One bit of advice stood out. Maybe when he starts kindergarten, you can encourage him to lose the costume and makeup that he insists on wearing daily.
Who was I to discourage the distinctive fashion choice of my four-and-a-half year old son? I wore costumes to school every single day of my life — in high school, mostly. One day I might wear holsters and fake guns. Next, I might walk my plastic duck on a leash into the classroom, take out a toy tea set and have a pretend tea party. And I miss my matador costume; I would wear that right now if I still had it.
So there was Oliver in “big boy school” and he decided to not wear the face paint, but he did rock his new 1950’s-style greaser jacket. He had just seen the movie “Grease.” (more…)