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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think girls shouldn’t wear sandals in the park?

427 replies

Canyoucreateoneplease · 18/08/2025 20:19

It’s been a beautiful day here so I was at the park. DS was on the climbing which is huge, designed for older kids, not toddlers.

There were so many girls crying and panicking getting across it because their sandals were getting trapped. Their feet were sliding out of them because of their angles, and their dresses were hindering them.

AIBU to think girls who are going to park should be put in sensible trainers and trousers? The boys were managing with ease because they were suitably dressed. A substantial amount of the girls were struggling because of what they were wearing.

OP posts:
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Tipeetommeey · 20/08/2025 03:54

My kids all wore sandals in the summer. Hiking ones for my boys and sturdy teva style but leather ones for DD. They never wore trainers in summer, too sweaty

https://www.clarks.com/en-ie/girls/girls-sandals/g_sandals_ie-c

i wouldn’t have thought twice about DD wearing any of these in the park, they look ideal. Would likely have bought the 2 buckle navy ones

NerrSnerr · 20/08/2025 02:14

How many girls were crying and panicking about this? I have never seen this.

My eldest went through a phase of wearing a party dress everywhere when she was about 3-4, don’t think she wore sandals with it but it didn’t hinder her. She’s now a decent competitive climber, and to be fair sometimes chooses to climb in a skort.

hypnovic · 20/08/2025 02:02

Yes this is another reason girls get held back in life we are even dressed for failure from childhood

mathanxiety · 20/08/2025 01:50

All the boys and girls around here wear Keen sandals or Natives. They're unisex.

emziecy · 20/08/2025 01:38

Canyoucreateoneplease · 18/08/2025 20:19

It’s been a beautiful day here so I was at the park. DS was on the climbing which is huge, designed for older kids, not toddlers.

There were so many girls crying and panicking getting across it because their sandals were getting trapped. Their feet were sliding out of them because of their angles, and their dresses were hindering them.

AIBU to think girls who are going to park should be put in sensible trainers and trousers? The boys were managing with ease because they were suitably dressed. A substantial amount of the girls were struggling because of what they were wearing.

I get your point because I'm a teacher (abroad in a very hot country), and have girls wearing sandals despite being told repeatedly not to,and tearing their toes up on the playground. However, it's not your problem 🤷🏻‍♀️

WorriedRelative · 20/08/2025 00:42

Go to Thailand and check out the footwear of the scaffolders, roofers, builders people digging up the road, people climbing telegraph poles etc

Athreedoorwardrobe · 20/08/2025 00:39

I get a bit cross about stuff like this. There is some element of sexism to it. The sandals and the dresses aren't an issue themselves... it's the style of them that can be. I am a long distance hiker and I wear sandals and a dress to hike and scramble in all summer. Because I find it much more comfortable to do that.
Of course the sandals I wear are sturdy and the dresses I wear are short and loose so I have full movement.

Another point to make is that people don't always plan their days out. Most times I'm in the park with the kids it's been spontaneous. They'll just be wearing whatever they put on for the day. Sometimes it's not the most appropriate thing they could be wearing to play in the park in.. so what??
I once took them to the park after a wedding and my son was in a 4 piece suit and dress shoes, my daughter in a full frock and sandals. Neither of them complained, they still had fun. They are kids!
My daughters both can dress themselves quite eccentrically too sometimes too.
My daughter once went to the park in a mermaid costume.
It just doesn't really matter does it.

InMyShowgirlEra · 20/08/2025 00:22

Canyoucreateoneplease · 19/08/2025 23:26

I hope they’re aren’t pinning them down (metaphorically of course).

It reminds me of my friends’ mother when I was a kid. Her two daughters would be told not to get their clothes dirty. My own goddaughter isn’t allowed to play on the sand at the park because she’d get her dress dirty. Just a lot of emphasis put on how the girls look rather than their ability to play.

That's just bad parenting and nothing to do with clothes. The magic thing about washing machines is that you can fit a dress in just as easily as shorts and t-shirts.

I'm sorry you associate with such shallow people, maybe get some better friends.

InMyShowgirlEra · 20/08/2025 00:17

RosesAndHellebores · 19/08/2025 20:18

How sad you didn't have these sandals as a child. My mother did, I did, my children did. They are traditional children's sandals. I can still see ds in his brown ones and dd in her navy or white ones. They are 30 and 27 now.

What are you actually talking about? I had plenty of t-bar shoes and Mary Janes as a kid and have a few now as an adult. My daughter has them in multiple colours. They are lovely shoes. However, they are not sandals and if you called them sandals as a child, you were wrong.

Dictionary
Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more
sandal1
/ˈsandl/
noun
plural noun: sandals
a light shoe with either an openwork upper or straps attaching the sole to the foot.

I have linked to a pair of closed toe sandals above.

Calliopespa · 19/08/2025 23:51

I do wonder how children ever manage to even walk in crocs

DarklingIlisten · 19/08/2025 23:50

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ due to privacy concerns.

Calliopespa · 19/08/2025 23:49

Zezet · 18/08/2025 21:18

I am baffled by how many people here refuse the obvious fact that skirts are less convenient to climb in because... I am not sure why. Feminism can't handle facts? The right to chose implies that all choices must be equally suitable for climbing?

Well, for one, you can't split the crotch...

For two, you get a nice cool breeze in this heat.

Dramatic · 19/08/2025 23:40

Canyoucreateoneplease · 19/08/2025 22:18

Well, it was deleted, so I’m not sure how you know what it was. But it clearly broke the rules of this forum.

I know what it was because I wrote it.....

Yourethebeerthief · 19/08/2025 23:29

Canyoucreateoneplease · 19/08/2025 23:26

I hope they’re aren’t pinning them down (metaphorically of course).

It reminds me of my friends’ mother when I was a kid. Her two daughters would be told not to get their clothes dirty. My own goddaughter isn’t allowed to play on the sand at the park because she’d get her dress dirty. Just a lot of emphasis put on how the girls look rather than their ability to play.

I have known similar parents. Boys suffer too, being bollocked for getting their designer clothes dirty. That will hinder play and development more than a pair of sandals. The vast majority of people are not like this. Any child living with that has bigger problems than playing at the park in sandals.

Canyoucreateoneplease · 19/08/2025 23:26

Yourethebeerthief · 19/08/2025 23:17

Meh. It’s a fraction of their day on some climbing equipment and maybe next time they’ll choose not to wear them 🤷🏻‍♀️ Their parents won’t be pinning them down and forcing them on. At school they’ll play in the playground and do gym in sand shoes. I’m sure they all own a pair of trainers too. You’ve seen a snapshot moment of some girls in sandals. I know a boy who broke his leg going down a chute in normal trainers because the friction of the sole on the plastic caught his leg and bent it backwards. The boy running about the park last week in full spiderman costume probably could have had cooler clothing on and not a mask over his entire head impeding his vision. Again, meh 🤷🏻‍♀️

I hope they’re aren’t pinning them down (metaphorically of course).

It reminds me of my friends’ mother when I was a kid. Her two daughters would be told not to get their clothes dirty. My own goddaughter isn’t allowed to play on the sand at the park because she’d get her dress dirty. Just a lot of emphasis put on how the girls look rather than their ability to play.

OP posts:
Internationalvelvets · 19/08/2025 23:19

MinPinSins · 18/08/2025 20:59

I'm so sorry about your son, that sounds horrible.

I'm lost by the rest of your post, and wondering if we have different definitions of sandals. My son has these Shark Fisherman Tan Sandal for Kids - Salt-Water Sandals Shop UK and I can't see how he'd be any more likely to fall over in them (or any similar sandals) than trainers. Do some people just mean flip-flops/sliders when they say sandals?

Thank you, his sandals were like those but in blue. I just think the grips on the bottom aren't great and the path was gravelly.

Yourethebeerthief · 19/08/2025 23:17

Canyoucreateoneplease · 19/08/2025 23:00

None of those things hinder your son though.

Meh. It’s a fraction of their day on some climbing equipment and maybe next time they’ll choose not to wear them 🤷🏻‍♀️ Their parents won’t be pinning them down and forcing them on. At school they’ll play in the playground and do gym in sand shoes. I’m sure they all own a pair of trainers too. You’ve seen a snapshot moment of some girls in sandals. I know a boy who broke his leg going down a chute in normal trainers because the friction of the sole on the plastic caught his leg and bent it backwards. The boy running about the park last week in full spiderman costume probably could have had cooler clothing on and not a mask over his entire head impeding his vision. Again, meh 🤷🏻‍♀️

scalt · 19/08/2025 23:16

My summer footwear want as a child was not if I could wear sandals to the park (I hardly ever wore sandals), but to wear trainers without socks. My parents tried to persuade me otherwise, but I did it anyway.

If kids can climb in sandals, let them wear sandals. If I see children staggering in flip flops or crocs it’s none of my business.

I’m amused by the argument “is a t-bar shoe a sandal?”. And also that men from centuries past fought wars in sandals. Brian “I’m not the messiah!” lost his sandal when fleeing his followers, who saw it as a sign, and incidentally called it a “shoe”, despite being open-toed. Perhaps the Monty python script should have been “is it a shoe or a sandal”? instead of “should we follow the shoe, or the gourd?”.

Canyoucreateoneplease · 19/08/2025 23:00

Yourethebeerthief · 19/08/2025 22:44

There’s plenty of room for YOLO with young children. My son wanted to wear one blue and one yellow croc, a set of rosary beads, and to bring a steel tape measure and umbrella to the beach.

I couldn’t care less. He’s a kid and he’s loving every minute of it.

You have no idea what any of those little girls’ days have been like. Maybe they’re all falling out of their sandals left, right, and centre, and ideally they shouldn’t be in them… but maybe they love them. I remember wearing my Clark’s magic shoes to bed in the 90s, I was so in love with them.

It really, really doesn’t matter.

None of those things hinder your son though.

OP posts:
Yourethebeerthief · 19/08/2025 22:44

Canyoucreateoneplease · 19/08/2025 22:28

I think this is actually the only reasonable reason to have kids in the park with such inappropriate shoes on. It’s the only one which makes any sense, anyway.

There’s plenty of room for YOLO with young children. My son wanted to wear one blue and one yellow croc, a set of rosary beads, and to bring a steel tape measure and umbrella to the beach.

I couldn’t care less. He’s a kid and he’s loving every minute of it.

You have no idea what any of those little girls’ days have been like. Maybe they’re all falling out of their sandals left, right, and centre, and ideally they shouldn’t be in them… but maybe they love them. I remember wearing my Clark’s magic shoes to bed in the 90s, I was so in love with them.

It really, really doesn’t matter.

Cheeky19863 · 19/08/2025 22:39

Wolfpinkola · 19/08/2025 21:29

Op is suggesting that girls wear shoes fit for task. We all know supportive well-fitted shoes are better for developing feet, I’m not sure why this is such a divisive thread?

OP is judging other parents and making a massive deal about something that is non of her buisness. Maybe they passed the park on the way home from somewhere else, who cares?

Canyoucreateoneplease · 19/08/2025 22:28

Yourethebeerthief · 19/08/2025 22:21

“Shall we stop off at the park on the way home from the party? Oh no you’re in your party dress and sandals. Oh well, fuck it, YOLO!”

I think this is actually the only reasonable reason to have kids in the park with such inappropriate shoes on. It’s the only one which makes any sense, anyway.

OP posts:
Yourethebeerthief · 19/08/2025 22:21

Canyoucreateoneplease · 19/08/2025 22:20

‘Oh they’re lovely darling. They’ll be perfect for Susie’s party and Jessica’s Christening. Shall we look for some for playing in now?’

We are the adults.

“Shall we stop off at the park on the way home from the party? Oh no you’re in your party dress and sandals. Oh well, fuck it, YOLO!”

Yourethebeerthief · 19/08/2025 22:20

Canyoucreateoneplease · 19/08/2025 22:18

Well, it was deleted, so I’m not sure how you know what it was. But it clearly broke the rules of this forum.

Responding as if your own posts aren’t being deleted as well 🙄

Canyoucreateoneplease · 19/08/2025 22:20

Dramatic · 19/08/2025 22:13

Or say to their kids "we're going to buy sandals for the summer" and let their kids pick like most people?

‘Oh they’re lovely darling. They’ll be perfect for Susie’s party and Jessica’s Christening. Shall we look for some for playing in now?’

We are the adults.

OP posts: