Do you let your children sleep in their clothes?

[3lilreds in NC]

Deep topic, I know. Our neighbor friend informed my girls that she puts on her clothes at night, for the next day, and sleeps in them. My dd7 did this last night. I don't mind this once, because it was knit t-shirt and shorts. Obviously she won't be doing this in church clothes. :D

 

It's bothering me, and I don't really know why. I would prefer that they sleep in their pajamas and get dressed in the morning. Any thoughts?

[WTMindy]

Nope, because my son would just keep wearing the same thing for about 6 days (and nights) in a row if I'd let him. :glare: I told him that he couldn't sleep in the same clothes he was going to wear the next day. I don't actually care what he sleeps in.

[Prairie~Phlox]

No, my children do not sleep in their clothes. I did visit a friend once and her ds did this, drove me nuts, but she said she let him sleep in his clothes because his eczema was so bad that if he did this, he was less likely to itch. Made sense, but still.....:glare:. My children don't even want to sleep in their clothes! :001_smile:

 

 

Phlox

[Murphy101]

Yes. Most of the time in fact. They own PJs, so it's not like they HAVE to sleep in their clothes. I tell them before bed/after bath to either get clean clothes on for the next day or PJs. I don't care which.

 

For many years, we had one car and if I wanted the car for the day, we'd get up before daylight to take dh to work. I always made the kids wear their clothes to bed so we could get out the door faster.

[Carrie12345]

Most nights, I couldn't care less what they're wearing, so long as they're sleeping!

[elegantlion]

My ds has done that. Granted most of what he wears are silky shorts and t-shirts. It's rarely done and generally because he fell asleep this way. We make him change in the morning.

[Liz Mc in SC]

My daughter is 12 and it drives me nuts that she sleeps in the clothes that she's worn that day. She does change them in the morning for the new day. It is something that I keep asking myself - how important is it? But it still bugs the heck out of me. Seem that I can hear my mother saying the same thing to me ........ hmmmmm:001_huh:

[3lilreds in NC]

She's not wearing her clothes that she's worn all day. She takes a shower/washes up, and then instead of putting on PJs she puts on her clothes for the following day. She said she did it last night because she didn't have any clean PJs. Not true, but they weren't in her drawer, they were folded and in the clean laundry.

 

Anyhoo - I guess I won't make a big deal of it and hopefully she will not think she wants to do this on a regular basis.

[TravelingChris]

Most times they do change but they only change to other street clothes though usually old ones I won't let them wear out anymore or are stained or too short for public wear but okay for the house. They only get sleep clothes when they are tall enough for adult sleep wear. I don't like flame resistant clothing. When we lived in colder climates, they wore sweat clothes or long underwear to bed.

DD15 has pajamas but can't wear those right now because of her post-surgery requirements. DD 11 is too small for adult pajamas. I normally wear night clothes. All people do change whatever they are wearing with the possible exception of my 19 yo since he is in charge of himself.

[jmgconner]

No, I don't allow that. It seems terribly uncomfortable. Putting on pajamas signals the beginning of the bedtime routine around here. The children consider it a part of going to sleep - I doubt they've even considered sleeping in their clothes.

 

ETA: On the other hand, we've been known to put on PJs when we wake up - I HATE wearing clothes, but I do. Most of the time. Always when I go out. But sometimes not at home. :D

[chaik76]

Deep topic, I know. Our neighbor friend informed my girls that she puts on her clothes at night, for the next day, and sleeps in them. My dd7 did this last night. I don't mind this once, because it was knit t-shirt and shorts. Obviously she won't be doing this in church clothes. :D

 

It's bothering me, and I don't really know why. I would prefer that they sleep in their pajamas and get dressed in the morning. Any thoughts?

We do this most of the year! The kids do have pajamas and if they want to put them on, sure! But it sure saves time to have them dressed already. I do this too.

[Chelle in MO]

I let my kids sleep in clothes, but not the ones they wore that day. If they sleep in clean clothes, they can wear them around the house the day after, but if we're going out they have to put on "fresh" clothes.

 

My issue w/sleeping in the ones they've had on all day is that they are usually DIRTY from food/glue/saliva/snot getting wiped or on them. I don't want all that (even if I can't see it!) on their sheets. This drives my 11 yo ds CRAZY. He thinks if he's not dirty enough to need a bath, he should be able to sleep in the same clothes!

 

My issues w/wearing the ones when we go out that they've slept in is the "smells like morning breath" problem!

 

Chelle

[Melinda in VT]

Yes, but not regularly.

 

We save this for the night before trips, when we have to leave early in the morning (and might even carry the kids out to the car still asleep). In those cases, they wear comfortable clothes with elastic waists.

[mysticamethyst]

No, my kids all have jammies. I couldn't let them sleep in the clothes they have worn all day, it would drive me batty; all that unseen dirt. It would probably drive me batty as well to have them sleep in the clothes for tomorrow. There is nothing wrong with I don't think, just not for us, lol.

[swellmomma]

The only time I have allowed it is when they have fallen asleep with the clothes they had on that day. It doesn't happen often and I certainly would not let them wear them the next day. I know a lady who used to do this when her kids were in ps, she found it easier to dress them in their school clothes at night and then put them to bed so that when they woke up they were ready to go.

 

I wouldn't be happy having them wear clothes that are all wrinkled and sweaty from sleeping in them. SO nope doesn't work for me. Around here pretty much everyone except Hunter sleeps naked unless it is -30 and even the furnace on full blast doesn't keep you toasty warm.

[Kalypso]

My boys do this all the time. As long as they put on clean clothes for the next day, I don't mind it. My girls will sometimes do it, too. It used to drive me crazy since they have pajamas, but now I ask myself why I even cared about such a trivial thing.

[PiCO]

Deep topic, I know. Our neighbor friend informed my girls that she puts on her clothes at night, for the next day, and sleeps in them. My dd7 did this last night. I don't mind this once, because it was knit t-shirt and shorts. Obviously she won't be doing this in church clothes. :D

 

It's bothering me, and I don't really know why. I would prefer that they sleep in their pajamas and get dressed in the morning. Any thoughts?

 

I would probably let them if they wanted to. My oldest sleeps in clothes, but not the ones she will be wearing the next day- just shorts and a T-shirt usually. My youngest sleeps in the buff. When she potty trained she decided underwear weren't for sleeping in, and it kind of escalated. She wears PJs at sleepovers, but not undies.

 

I don't think it takes that long to get dressed to make it that much quicker to sleep in your clothes. (Except for the poster who had to take dh to work- I would put my kids in clothes to sleep for that.)

[dawn of ns]

It's generally either pj's here (thought only for my daughter. My son hates them) or strip down to a shirt and underwear. Sometimes my son just crashes in what he's wearing.

 

I've never actually had them dress for the next day on the night before though...That would involve planning!

[RoughCollie]

DD always wears pajamas to bed. She changes clothes several times a day and would take more than one shower a day if I would let her. There is never any danger of DD being anything other than squeaky clean.

 

The boys won't wear pajamas any more. I would prefer they wear Lands End Fleece pajamas (2-piece, no feet), but they consider those to be for kids.

 

In the winter, they wear sweatpants and sweatshirts to bed. I don't see a big difference between a sweats and pajamas anyway. In the summer, they wear t-shirts and shorts (not the stiff kind that wrinkles -- soft fabric). If they take a shower the night before, they can wear the same outfit the next day. Otherwise, after their shower, they change into clean clothing.

 

DS1 goes to PS and always changes into jeans in the morning. I guess sweatpants aren't cool for school.

 

The kids do not wear dress clothes to bed, ever. When 3 of them went to parochial school, they sure didn't want to sleep in their uniforms -- not comfortable.

 

My concern isn't what they wear to bed, it is that DS are clean and remember to wear deodorant.

 

RC

[Tracey in TX]

Yes, fortunately they don't do it often. When they were toddlers I bathed the children and had them sleep in the next day's clothes. Life was too complicated to do that in the morning (ages then: 1,1,1,3,4)!

It's not a battle I choose. But no way would they sleep in their church clothes the night prior. There have to be limits somewhere!

[Janet in Toronto]

My guys get extremely warm at night due to their internal thermostats (we keep the house pretty cool). So they tend to sleep in boxer shorts (underwear) or pajama bottoms. The few times we put them in t-shirts, they came off in the night. They've been like this since they were young children. I cannot imagine them sleeping in regular clothing.

[CactusPair]

My dc try to sleep in their clothes all the time. It bugs me a lot, but I'm not sure why. I *make* them put on jammies, but will settle for undies only, too, if that's what they insist on.

 

I am not a strict parent, but this is one thing I won't let go.

 

Myself, on the other hand, often fall asleep in my clothes, or part of my clothes. Not proud or glad about it, it just happens.

 

It's the ol' do as I say, not as I do, rule around here as far as sleepin' in duds. I guess I want better for my kids.

 

I also make sure dh doesn't sleep in his clothes if he falls asleep early. He wakes up crabby & unrested if he doesn't have his cozies on at night.

 

I like what the 2 sisters who wrote the Side-tracked Home Executive books joked once: when buying new clothes do you ask yourself, "Can I sleep in this?"

 

Ugh, I *do* do that!:001_smile:

[HRAAB]

Yep. My younger ones do it all the time. Not church clothes, but play clothes. While I wouldn't be comfortable sleeping in my clothes, it doesn't bother them at all. Come to think of it, they can sleep on the floor without it bothering them. To be a kid again.

 

They outgrow it all on their own. No big deal for me.

 

Janet

[Murphy101]

My concern isn't what they wear to bed, it is that DS are clean and remember to wear deodorant.

 

yep. clean and non-smelly is all I care about. I don't see what the big deal is.:confused:

[VaKim]

Mine always do. Just another one of those things that, for us, makes life easier. :001_smile:

[Parrothead]

I can't imagine sleeping in street clothes. We all sleep in pj's.

[Kelli in TN]

Nope. Clothes are for daytime and pajamas are for nighttime at our house.

 

 

There is a blog I read from time to time and the mom wears dresses under jumpers all the time. She sleeps in the dress and then in the morning throws her jumper over the dress.

 

Ick. For one thing, that grosses me out. For another thing, do men really want their wives sleeping in a dress? That seems unromantic.

[Vida Winter]

They generally don't want to because it's less comfortable than soft jammies. But when we are leaving on a trip early in the morning I have had them do this to make the transition to the car easier. When dressed I can just carry a child to their car seat and they don't even wake up.

[nmoira]

My oldest usually sleeps in her clothes (though sometimes in the summer she sleeps naked), my youngest about 1/4 of the time. But they're both young and still in Hannas. On the odd day they're not dressed in cotton knit, they don't wear their clothes to bed. I find it very convenient when we have an early morning activity, since none of us are morning people and it shaves 10-15 minutes off our routine. On those eves, I'll put them to bed in their next day's clothes.

[Part-Time Homeschooler]

My dc wouldn't be able to do that because they wear school uniforms that must be pressed. I wouldn't have time in the morning to iron before school.

[Ellie]

we are civilized people. We have homes and beds. We don't need to sleep in our clothes. We don't want to walk around *looking* as if we slept in our clothes.

 

Surely there's some sort of hygiene issue, too. Why would you wear clothes all day that you've already worn for 6-8 hours???

 

FTR, we also use top sheets.:D

[Krista in LA]

My ds started doing similar this summer. He takes his shower, puts on clean boxers (or boxer briefs) and the t-shirt he plans to wear the next day. He likes it that way because then he just has to put on his pants in the morning. It kind of annoys dh, but I don't care. There are so many people that sleep in underwear and t-shirts anyway. If he put them on the night before after his shower and just slept in them, it's not like they are dirty by morning.

[Harriet Vane]

It's been known to happen in our house. I almost always do this when we are getting ready for vacation. We usually try to leave really early to avoid rush hour, so it is just easier if the kids are already dressed and can just shuffle out to the car half-asleep.

 

I do have an acquaintance who has always had her kids sleep in the next day's clothes. They are a very sporty, athletic kind of family--their sporty cotton clothes don't look bad from being slept in.

 

I do not allow my kids to sleep in the clothes they have been wearing all day because their clothes are dirty. With regard to my ds, you could usually even say his clothes are filthy.

[Murphy101]

we are civilized people. We have homes and beds. We don't need to sleep in our clothes. We don't want to walk around *looking* as if we slept in our clothes.

 

Surely there's some sort of hygiene issue, too. Why would you wear clothes all day that you've already worn for 6-8 hours???

 

FTR, we also use top sheets.:D

 

you are sleeping in clothes. calling them PJs doesn't make them not clothes. that's like saying a dress isn't clothes if you fall alseep on the sofa in it. fabric you wear = clothing item.

 

I've yet to tell the difference between a kid that slept in their clothes and a kid that's been playing in their clothes for 30 minutes. Obviously we're not talking about sleeping in a suit and tie. a kids tshirt doesn't look much different 4 hours later than from when they put it on unless they did something dirty like go outside or eat a meal. If it was clean when they put it on before bed, then it's probably clean when they wake up.

 

of course, I don't do ironing either. EVER. I buy iron free only. For the maybe 5 items we own that need the occassional extra effort we use wrinkle release spray and or steam hang or toss in the dryer for a few minutes.

 

I don't think I've ever ironed anything for one of the kids other than their suit shirts for formal occassions or church. And even that's not very often because as soon as the event is over, they change clothes and hang it up unless it's gotten dirty.

 

And yes, I wear clothes all the time that I've worn for 8 hours. Come around anytime at 11pm and I've probably worn the same outfit for the last 18 hours or more pending what time I woke up. I toss it in the wash before bed or if something happens, like baby spit up or whatever.

 

Most people don't send their clothes to the dry cleaners every single time they wear it either. For example, my dh doesn't send in his suits every day, even when he's worn them for 10+ hours. Only once a week or when it's gotten dirty for some reason.

 

wow. I had no idea people could be so anal about what their kid is wearing. Clean and not smelling is good enough for me. I don't even care if they match or not. If the 4 yr old wants to wear his spider man night shirt all day and the girl wants to pair her favorite pink jeans with her favorite yellow and blue striped sweater - I couldn't care less as long as they are clean and kept up (I don't allow any holey or stained or ill-fitting clothes, too big or small, ever) and properly dressed for the weather.

 

oh well to each their own I suppose.:tongue_smilie:

[Julie in CA]

Absolutely not!

 

But...taking an evening shower, putting deodorant on your clean body, and then wearing the shorts & t-shirt you're gonna wear the next day doesn't bother me at all.

 

I wouldn't do it, just because I *like* wearing jammies (or no jammies), but I wouldn't mind if my dc did it.

 

And for the record, I'm not sure I see this as much different than wearing an outfit for going out, keeping it clean, and saving it for a 2nd wearing on the next day (which we also occasionally do).

[Kelli in TN]

we are civilized people. We have homes and beds. We don't need to sleep in our clothes. We don't want to walk around *looking* as if we slept in our clothes.

D

 

 

While we choose NOT to sleep in our clothes, I am pretty sure that the folks who choose differently are probably still civilized.

[Desert Rat]

They don't but I wouldn't mind. We have horrible allergies here so they can't sleep in the clothes they've worn all day, but I don't have an opinion about what they wish to wear to bed. Huck usually sleeps only in underwear and always has. He's most comfortable that way. Tom likes pajamas and wears them every night. He would never dream of wearing just underwear like his brother! The one time I mentioned it, he looked at me with the most aghast look I've ever seen on him! :o)

[Heather in Neverland]

Only when we have been out late somewhere and they fall asleep before we can change them. But not in the clothes for the next day. Wouldn't they be all rumpled and what not?

[Zelda]

No. We have a solid nighttime routine and pajamas signal bedtime. Plus, our allergist insisted on keeping street clothes out of the bed. They don't even sit on the beds during the day.

 

Of course, if the day clothes are clean I guess that wouldn't matter.

[Goldilocks]

Every day.

 

I didn't realize it was so disgusting to some people. :001_huh:

 

We look over their clothes in the morning to see if they need to change. If not, it saves time and laundry.

[Alice]

One of the other pediatricians at work told me she does this with her boys (has them shower at night, put on clothes for the next day and go to sleep) because one of her boys, like my oldest, is really hard to get going in the morning. She says it just saves so much time and makes things smoother in the morning. I thought it was BRILLIANT! Her kids are young (6 and 8) so most of their clothes are cotton t-shirts and pants, not that much different than pj's.

 

I have done it with my own kids before vacation and it worked great. I don't do it every night because they still like their pj's. Plus, since we're homeschooling getting ready in the morning isn't that big of a rush. I think if I had to get them out the door by a certain time this is a trick I might use.

[VaKim]

Every day.

 

I didn't realize it was so disgusting to some people. :001_huh:

 

We look over their clothes in the morning to see if they need to change. If not, it saves time and laundry.

 

It is a sin, in the same order as not voting. :D

[Ellie]

nt

[Barb_]

I used to sleep in my clothes for the next day when I was a kid. I used to let my kids sleep in their clothes as well. But now that I realize how quickly they grow up, I love to see their scrubbed little faces in their jammies. They're just so sweet :)

 

Barb

[tricia]

When there are a handful to get to bed, I don't care what they sleep in As long as they sleep.

 

tricia

http://www.mommyx12.blogspot.com

[gardenschooler]

Nope. Clothes are for daytime and pajamas are for nighttime at our house.

 

 

There is a blog I read from time to time and the mom wears dresses under jumpers all the time. She sleeps in the dress and then in the morning throws her jumper over the dress.

 

Ick. For one thing, that grosses me out. For another thing, do men really want their wives sleeping in a dress? That seems unromantic.

 

Ick is right. That's completely gross to me.

 

The other problem I have with people sleeping in their clothes is that is just too long to be wearing the same clothes. IMNSHO, of course.

[Peek a Boo]

do men really want their wives sleeping in a dress? That seems unromantic.

 

now THAT depends on the kind of dress one chooses to wear.... some slinky little spandex number can be kinda cool ;)

 

I tend to be w/ Martha tho.

They have to undress completely each night, but i don't care what they wear to bed as long as it is CLEAN.

[tibbyl]

I never minded it at all as long as it wasn't something that would look too rumpled the next morning. Have done it myself before.

[Joanne]

Yes, if they have anything on at all, it's often streetclothes. (Clean since they shower at night and put on fresh clothes). Sometimes. ;)

[Laura Corin]

My boys bathe at night, then put on the shirts and underwear they will wear next day. They put on PJ pants with them if necessary.

 

I wear PJs.

 

Laura