Oh, pants!

I recently started following another blog “Laptop on the Ironing Board” after stumbling across the this post.  It made my laugh so hard, not only because it is a funny post in it’s own right, but because we have been going through something not too dissimilar in my own house.

You see, my eldest daughter has developed a bizarre aversion to wearing pants! (That’s underwear for my American friends)  I first noticed this odd behaviour when she (finally) mastered potty-training.  We’d be accident free for a while and would quite happily take herself off to the bathroom when she needed to go to the toilet.  Then, out of the blue one day, she came downstairs and I realised she wasn’t wearing her pants.  I asked her if she’d had an accident – she said nope.  I went upstairs and found the offending undergarments – completely dry – on the bathroom floor.

This happened a few times over the next couple of days until I decided to get to the bottom of what was the matter.  The exchange went something like this:

Me: Why do you keep taking your pants off? Are they uncomfortable?

F: No.

Me: Well, you know little girls really should wear panties…  (Play the “Peers” card)

F: Princesses don’t wear pants. (She loves Disney Princesses)

Me: Yes, I’m pretty sure princesses do wear pants

F: Well, you can’t see them. (She has a point)

Me: No, but that’s because they are hidden under their dresses. (Princesses aren’t known for flashing their pants – something else we need to work on in our house)

I thought this was the end of it.  I didn’t notice anymore pant-free incidents.  Then, one night, we headed out for a birthday meal to a local pub with my parents, sisters and Nanna.  I take Freya to the toilet and discover, to my horror, that when I asked her to get dressed, she put her tights on but decided not to bother with the pants!  Trying not to panic, I ask her not to let anyone else know (or fling her legs around) as people might think it’s a little strange that she’s going commando at 3 years old.

We get back to the table and she announced to anyone within earshot : “Nanna, I’m not supposed to tell you I’m not wearing panties”

Sigh.