7 yo boy wants to wear dress and tights to school

Why because it’s not socially acceptable here. In some countries men do wear kilts or tunics (I believe with loose trousers underneath). Some also only wear loin cloths.
Where is his father in this drama?

If he's got an older sister, or if he's got two older sisters or whatever, it's completely normal that he'll want to wear what they wear and dress up like they do.
Boys have always been like that. Likewise, girls with older brothers would usually be more boyish.

It's part of normal development. You just say like an adult, "you've got your uniform, here it is I'm not getting you another" or words to that affect.

I have primary school aged children (P5) in Scotland and I'd be equally concerned, OP.

The fact that our country is on track to essentially eliminate parents out of gender "choices" and even potentially label any parental objection as "conversion therapy" is terrifying to me.

My children attend a RC school too and I think the curriculum is different on the subject of body/sex/gender, but if I remember correctly your DS wouldn't have had lessons covering that at his age

I completely agree, particularly since OP has made a point of telling him for seven years that clothes and toys are just clothes and toys and are nothing to do with sex and gender. And that he can wear whatever he likes.

Now OP is potentially going to start gendering his clothes and telling him he can't wear "girl's clothes".

And if the school doesn't allow any pupil to wear a dress then why not if it's the uniform?

My daughter wore boys trousers and shorts when she was at school.

The only worry I would have is that the school might start telling him he must be a girl because a lot of them have been indoctrinated by Stonewall or Mermaids to believe that children who don't conform with gender stereotypes might be trans.

As he he is so young he might believe the school or other children. He might also be teased by other children.

Wearing dress-up make believe princess clothing is make believe. He will be able to dress up play make believe occasionally at school (world book day for instance).
But he’s a boy and his uniform is shorts and trousers.

Just let him? Why wouldn’t you? You can be a boy and wear dresses. Wearing a dress doesn’t make you a girl. Surely good for him to learn that ?

I’d be inclined to go with it’s too cold/when you grow out of your trousers and it’s time for new uniform we’ll look at skirts.

kick it down the kerb a bit.

agree with pp too- maybe buy some to wear
outside of school, he’ll soon realise how impractical they are.

Has he said why he wants to wear a dress?

I don’t think it’s a surprising idea for a toddler. But more so for a 7yo.
id want to know the WHY before taking décision Tbh.

I’d say no. He’ll get the piss ripped out of him.

I know this isn't going to go down well, but there's a boy in my year 2 child's class who wears dresses and all the other mums look at each other with that "ok then" look and he's such a sweet boy that he doesn't even realise and I do hear him talked about and I've heard him referred to as that strange kid. It's not right but it's not just kids that are cruel.

Has he worn tights and a dress? Or tried to play in them? Waistbands and crotches of tights are uncomfortable, and they’re impractical for toileting. Dresses usually don’t have enough, or practical pockets, and are a right hindrance to play. Honestly I think that there’s some heavy hitting societal gaslighting to convince any girl to wear these things. Dd went through her dress phase in preschool/early primary but returned to comfort and practicality eventually.

Because due to the ridiculous world we now live in, next thing a teacher will be encouraging him to transition!

I think you've nailed it with the 'likes breaking taboos' thing. And while in a nursery if he wanted to be in a princess dress all day he'd be one of many and no one would look twice, I completely agree that letting him do this now is letting him walk into a giant pit of worms. There will be a lot of people, kids and adults, who will immediately start framing this to him in their own ways and with their own agendas, and a whole lot of politics will get involved with a lot of potential harms to him involved. He does not need to do this, he just wants to or wants to know why not, (and before anyone starts on the whole it's evil if he's identifying gender neutral etc, the girls wear trousers too, there IS a gender neutral uniform).

My answer would be at home you can dress any way you like. At school, this is your uniform, end of, and as the Cass report and other information is starting to make clear, social transition actions are not neutral. He's too little to let get into this current total mess of a political maze unprotected.

What about long shorts and tights or long socks? As a starting point I’d sound it out with School and you can gage their response. They may be flexible and not try and enforce any policy. They may advise if other children are asking these questions too and how your child will be received by others if wearing a female uniform. All things to consider which only they can answer.

I did a, 'None of the other boys at school are wearing glittery hair slides. Maybe we could save them for home days.', approach. It worked.

you really sound like a wet noodle here.

I don’t think that is fair because there are confusing ideas around this issue.

You see people often saying never to ‘shame’ a child for wearing the non-conforming clothes as that could lead to them internalising a feeling of being wrong and later that could come out in the form of gender dysphoria or internalised homophobia.

Personally I agree with taking a simple line like MalagaNights says, but I do understand why the OP is not sure what to do for the best.

As a 3, 4, 5 year old at nursery I'd have let him, he had plenty of princess clothes and things he could wear, but to school/beavers etc? I also don't want anyone to make more of it than it is.

OP, you've been letting him wear princess dresses since he was 3 so how do you expect to stand your ground now? You've already set yourself up for this years ago I'm afraid. Maybe because you've "always allowed him to choose his clothes" he thinks this is no different. That's my opinion anyway.

Sidestep. Boys wearing skirts is normal in Scotland, we call them kilts!

Ffs a frock is not a maxi dress, it is a uniform. A uniform that signifies he’s part of an organization.
Is your son neurodiverse? Because by 7 he should have spotted that men wear trousers or shorts.
you really sound like a wet noodle here.

There doesn't always have to be a clearly logical reason for a social norm. We abide by many cultural norms where the logic isn't necessarily evident, and they change over time once there is a consensus.

Children should not be revolutionaries overturning customs, they should be socialised to understand the culture they live in which they are then free to reject when older.

Telling a 7 year old you can do whatever you feel no matter how much it challenges the norms of school or the wider culture is poor parenting which will damage your child in order to demonstrate your own right onness.

I've always taken the approach of letting them make an informed decision, and making sure they know potential consequences of things like this before deciding. Kids don't always have a full grasp of social norms and while it's ok to subvert those, I think they need to know that they would be doing so.

So I would say yes, you can wear what you like of course, but you do need to know that most of the time dresses are worn by girls, and some people might find it odd to see a boy in a dress so you will get asked questions about it and some people might find it funny.

I would gently warn him of the potential consequences and if he still wants to go ahead then let him, at least you wouldn't be sending him innocently into a situation where his feelings might be hurt.

As a parent you need to take charge here and say no. Also ask to see the schools pshce curriculum. Is there new content which is introducing your 7 year old to these ideas especially as you say you're in Scotland

A 7 year old?

OP, who has been whispering things in your son's ears?

Why has he suddenly got the urge to start dressing as a girl
This is all very strange.

I'd be keen to find out if he's been learning any "new" topics at school.

AS a mum who has a DS that is starting school soon, I find this very scary!