Shorts under school summer dress?

[mommathatwearspink]

DD (5) goes back to school after half term tomorrow and will be going back in her Summer dress. I’ve heard friends talking about their daughters wearing white modesty shorts under their school summer dresses... I didn’t know this was a thing?? Should I invest in some for DD or are knickers adequate on their own??

Really? Never heard of this. What's offensive or titilating about a pair of white knickers at primary school to the other primary age children 🙄

I'm so glad I was born forty years ago and didn't have to deal with this shit. We had sports knickers in secondary for games and after the first couple of months, no-one wore them because it was so sweaty and unnecessary. It's not teaching girls manners, it's teaching them shame.

I only see this issue on MN. In RL, no one gives a shit what girls are wearing under their dresses.

You do understand that people posting on MN exist in real life, don’t you? That they don’t live in your computer? That if they post about their concerns on MN, they have these concerns in real life too?

And some schools are in fact making shorts under dresses compulsory - there have been many threads about it on here over the years. So they obviously care what’s under girls’ skirts.

Frankly if you’re not bothered by this, you’re not paying attention.

The problem is not whether our daughters flash their knickers doing cartwheels. The problem is that we live in a society where even young girls have become so sensitive to their status as sexual objects and we has parents have become so paranoid about sexual predators that the restraint on the freedom of women and girls is now symbolised by shorts.

Bit weird I worked in schools for 25 years, I certainly wasn't looking at children's pants or what was inside them!
I was an Early Years teacher for 30 years, I wasn't 'looking' but it was hard not to see. It happens, although the wearing shorts under dresses thing is a new one for me. Some girls liked to fiddle around down there and one used to get her fingers right up. I had a quiet word with her Mum and did suggest she wore trousers (it was a Nursery class and there was no uniform).

I can't see what the fuss is about, if they want to wear shorts let them, if they don't then leave it. FWIW when I was at secondary school in the mid 60s we used to wear long johns to cover the gap at the top of the hideous stockings we had to wear.

There are lots of things about school uniform I find stupid and unnecessary. Ties for instance. The requirement to have an outer layer of clothes that is uniform not multicoloured pants doesn't seem particularly more weird than the fact gingham dresses are part of it at all, or the girls are required to wear ties in the other two terms.

@rachelharrassment - YY, totally agree

Another year, another summer when I am so relieved DD is at a non-uniform school and there’s none of this absolute nonsense. She just wears shorts.

I don’t blame the girls. I blame the adults, the teachers, for not coming down hard and fast every single time any child makes a comment about a girl ‘flashing’ (disgusting, oases, inappropriate term) their knickers. Boy points or laughs at girl doing handstand? Boy loses playtime for that day. Every single time until he gets the message.

But equally the British are so unbelievably sheeplike and dim about uniform, it is utterly baffling.

rachel you using the word ‘flash’ makes you part of the problem. ‘Flash’ implies purpose on the part of the girls. Shame on you for using that word in this context. Shame on every poster for using that word.

Wake up to yourselves.

Boy points or laughs at girl doing handstand? Boy loses playtime for that day. Every single time until he gets the message or she

But equally the British are so unbelievably sheeplike and dim about uniform, it is utterly baffling.

Not as baffling as your rudeness.

WeepingWillowWeepingWino I take your point and it was an interesting and sensitive observation. What you have correctly identified is the power of language, but I think given your comment you might have been more generous in your response. My point, however badly put, was about the sexualisation of young girls. Something I was attempting to highlight as a discreetly growing, but negative phenomenon.

I really cannot understand why you are fighting so hard for your girls to be allowed to show their knickers.

None of this crap would be necessary if schools stopped trying to make their pupils look like something from an Enid Blyton book and had uniforms that were fit for purpose and facilitated active play for both boys and girls.

Where I am, it's legislated that all school children have the option to wear a skirt or shorts . No need for both. This is in Australia.

rachel using the word 'flash' is contributing to the sexualization of girls in this context. And having read many threads like this one over the years where women repeatedly use this word in this context, I'm not minded to be generous, tbh.

Nor, Soup am I inclined to be polite when I see parents mindlessly indoctrinate their children to follow petty rules that have no substance. Every year I see parents fall over themselves explaining why schools' petty uniforms and accompanying rules are 'better' (with no experience of the alternative). Apparently DD's school should be full of kids being bullied for their clothes choices (no), not coming to school because they haven't anything to wear (no) and having no loyalty to their school (no).

We're not exactly a top performing country, education-wise. But we have uniform and that's Better.

Sheesh.

If summer dresses were so great for handstands, climbing frames, tree climbing, gym etc then why don’t boys wear them?

I agree that there should be no need to wear anything over pants, but garments like dresses were designed in an era when girls didn’t do any active / physical play activities like these. It was a major scandal when girls / women first rode bikes.

Ditch the dresses, let the girls wear shorts like boys.

Whatever she’s comfortable in. Whatever it is though, for goodness’ sake nothing artificial, remember how hot last summer was!

My kids went to a non-uniform primary, and the vast majority of girls wore shorts in summer.
(And jeans in winter).

It was also the school that had girls in their school football team.

Posted my reply before reading the others. By comfortable, I meant purely physical comfort in terms of warmth etc.
Reading through, I’m very surprised that anything else is even a consideration at 5 years old!

My dds summer dress is knee length or below so I wouldn’t see a need for shorts, saying that it does become a girl school eventually.... maybe if she was older and on her period though.

The boys can hang upside down on monkey bars and not show their pants.

(Some) Boys laugh at pants. Anyone’s pants.

Girl’s clothing reveals pants, boy’s does not.

Dresses are impractical for climbing and physical play, and uncomfortable for sitting on cold floors and rough carpets.

Put girls in shorts, like boys, and if they choose to wear a dress over the top as a fashion item, fine.

IThere are lots of things about school uniform I find stupid and unnecessary. Ties for instance.*

I think the more professional the dress the more it can encourage a serious attitude to study.

That’s was meant to be a quote ^

That is such rubbish! Jesus, where do these ideas come from? You do know that even in the working world ties are becoming more and more obsolete?

Absolute nonsense. How do you think students get firsts - they're wearing whatever the fuck they like! Thta's what's so laughable - I wore uniform (with a tie) for 14 years but did my best studying at uni arrayed in a swathe of band T shirts, tassled skirts, holey tights and DM boots, and have never had to dress 'smartly' in 27 years of working.