Kids dress in church

KWSS1976 · #1 02-20-2009, 08:22 AM

Why do some dress there kids in a suit and tie to go to church.. I have only noticed this in the upc church also. In my opinion kids grow to fast for suits I know I have 2 kids myself and always by the end of sunday school the tie is off and the shirt is untucked so why even bother dressing them up... TGIF everyone.

Withdrawn · #2 02-20-2009, 08:24 AM

To make the parents look good. It has nothing to do with the children, it's all about making sure little Johnny looks like a polished penny so nobody has anything bad to say about how mom and dad send him to church in rags. And believe me, people DO talk about how other parents dress their children. Been there. Shamefully, I've even participated in such nonsense.

Sept5SavedTeen · #3 02-20-2009, 08:36 AM

I know of an assembly where, for men, a suit and tie is expected EVERY service, and even the young kids wear them. Sometimes some of the men will just go in a shirt, tie and dress pants, but the ideal for this assembly, for the men, is a suit and tie. It's a cultural thing, that I don't see anything wrong with, unless they look down on others who don't keep the same custom. They would say that the value they put on the gathering of the saints shows, in part, by coming in their "Sunday best."

As for me, I rarely wear a tie to services anymore, and I only wear my suit jacket when I go to a convention or an assembly the brothers wear suits. I've gotten a bit more relaxed with how I dress for service, just a pair of dress pants and a button down shirt. I do wonder if there is a sense of spiritual pride with some of the ways people dress for service. Does a brother really NEED to wear a tie? What does the tie do but offer a decoration. Is a suit jacket really needed? I guess if you want to wear those things it's fine, but I find it sort of pretentious.

-Bro. Alex

MissBrattified · #4 02-20-2009, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KWSS1976

Why do some dress there kids in a suit and tie to go to church.. I have only noticed this in the upc church also. In my opinion kids grow to fast for suits I know I have 2 kids myself and always by the end of sunday school the tie is off and the shirt is untucked so why even bother dressing them up... TGIF everyone.

I don't know about it just being UPC...most parents dress their kids up as much the kids will tolerate--because it's cute!

Most couples who only bring their kids on Easter always have them in little suits and frilly dresses. I see a lot of kids in suits in PAW/Independent churches.

Lots of churches are taking the casual approach, and I think that's okay, but there's nothing wrong with dressing up--and teaching children to wear nice things when they go to worship. I can easily understand both sides of this coin.

MissBrattified · #5 02-20-2009, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaamez

To make the parents look good. It has nothing to do with the children, it's all about making sure little Johnny looks like a polished penny so nobody has anything bad to say about how mom and dad send him to church in rags. And believe me, people DO talk about how other parents dress their children. Been there. Shamefully, I've even participated in such nonsense.

Wow. This is kind of a judgmental post, don't you think? I make my children brush their teeth till they sparkle, and fix their hair every morning--not just for their sake, but also so the entire family as a whole will look presentable to the general public. LOL!!!!!

Around here we can all hang out in our PJ's all day on Saturday if we want to, but if we go out of the house and go to the mall, everyone is going to have on presentable attire!!!! Including Dad and Mom!!! The whole family will look nice--not just the kids.

I'm not sure your post makes a lot of sense. Furthermore, my kids like to dress up. Especially my 6 year old son. He loves to wear a shirt and tie just like his Daddy does, and he fixes his own hair.

Cindy · #6 02-20-2009, 08:43 AM

I see it in other churches as well, I think some bias is showing here. It's the parents choice how they dress their kids. Sunday mornings are usually kind of dressy to me.

Cindy · #7 02-20-2009, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaamez

To make the parents look good. It has nothing to do with the children, it's all about making sure little Johnny looks like a polished penny so nobody has anything bad to say about how mom and dad send him to church in rags. And believe me, people DO talk about how other parents dress their children. Been there. Shamefully, I've even participated in such nonsense.

Wow, so you assign motives to other people, because you did it? Good grief. Unless they told you personally how do you know why they dress their kids up?

deltaguitar · #8 02-20-2009, 08:53 AM

Shoot my kids are lucky to be dressed by the time we get to church. But we do not overdress our kids because we wouldn't want other children to feel out of place at church. I still wear a tie to Sunday morning service but only because I am required.

Withdrawn · #9 02-20-2009, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissBrattified

I don't know about it just being UPC...most parents dress their kids up as much the kids will tolerate--because it's cute!

Good point... this is NOT just a UPC or a OP thing. It's all over.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissBrattified

Wow. This is kind of a judgmental post, don't you think? I make my children brush their teeth till they sparkle, and fix their hair every morning--not just for their sake, but also so the entire family as a whole will look presentable to the general public. LOL!!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cindy

Wow, so you assign motives to other people, because you did it? Good grief. Unless they told you personally how do you know why they dress their kids up?

Points well taken!

Perhaps it was somewhat judgmental, and I'm sorry for any offense I may have caused, but we can only speak from our own experiences, right? I was part of a large (approx. 1000) UPCI church that was very much like this. It was a weekly thing to see whose kids could out-dress the other, and who would send their kids to Sunday School with high-water pants or dirty ruffle dresses. I didn't participate in it for long because the Lord convicted me of it. But it still goes on today.

My experience has been that, in general, once children get past infant stage and no longer want to be held, the boys usually don't appreciate being forced to wear fancy clothes that are uncomfortable. And really, as long as they are presentable (clean clothes that fit and look nice), why force the issue of the neck tie and little suit? Kids clothes are REALLY expensive for as long as they are able to wear them.

KWSS1976 · #10 02-20-2009, 09:01 AM

Jaamez that is too funny LOL I myself really do not care what the other church members think of me or my family and if I think the pastor or someone would not say something I would wear shorts and a button up shirt tucked in to church but I know someone would say something and then I would I would probley have a real good reason to go and repent...