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Original poster

Shorts under skirts for girls - a new thing?

288 replies

Biggrizzlybear · 23/06/2020 16:17

A discussion on a school parents chat has brought up something I'd not thought about. Apparently a number of parents of September reception starters (girls) are looking for shorts to go under their daughter's school dresses "to make sure they're decent." I don't remember this happening when I was at school. Is that not what pants are for? I don't know what to think about it. On the one hand, I don't want my daughter to look indecent in comparison to everybody else. But I don't want to teach her that how she looks and dresses is indecent when she's fully dressed. If her dress is long enough, surely she'll be decent. I doubt she'll spend more than a minute or two a day with her dress over her head!

Do little girls wear these nowadays? Am I being silly or neglectful in some way?

OP posts:
PrincessConsueIaBananaHammock · 23/06/2020 17:36

@Biggrizzlybear well if she doesn't care,why do you? Just because the other mums do?

Original poster
Biggrizzlybear · 23/06/2020 17:38

It's just something I'd never heard of. I certainly didn't wear them. And I wasn't comfortable with the word decent being used in reference to little girls covering up their bodies. Thought I'd post here to get other thoughts.

OP posts:
TheBeastInMsRooneysRoom · 23/06/2020 17:39

My girls always wore shorts under dresses. They never went to a uniformed school, but always wanted to wear dresses (think bridesmaid style, inappropriate for play!). I think they wore shorts under them because they weren't going to adjust their behavior for clothing, or compromise on the clothing. My 12 year old wore bike shorts under a floral strappy dress this week because she wanted to ride to the park but likes the look of a dress.

When school uniform dictates that girls need dresses and boys need shorts they can't be surprised that the girls are going to adapt that to be appropriate to the way they want to play. I think really the school should just have a shorts and t-shirt uniform for everyone if they must impose one.

My kids' school had climbing walls, monkey bars, rope climbs etc. in the playground. Dresses alone would have been a weird choice, especially as some of them are they're there until 13, so I guess they could have just never worn skirts (I don't think my middle daughter ever did), but if they want to throw a dress over their shorts, why not? If they want shorts under their dress, why not? Nobody is imposing it, but it's comfy and practical.

Someone upthread mentioned sitting on the itchy carpet which brought back some vividly uncomfortable memories!!

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Scruffyoak · 23/06/2020 17:40

Mine has always worn little black cycle shorts under her dress or skirt.

JinglingHellsBells · 23/06/2020 17:41

Sorry but I think it's ridiculous.

Knickers have not changed that much. Just buy ones that have good coverage.

The only people seeing 4 yr old girls knickers if they do hand stands and cartwheels are little boys and a teacher. No one should care. Unless you are a paedo, knickers on little girls are not 'sexual' and trying to cover knickers up is suggesting to a very young child that they ought to be ashamed or embarrassed or 'sexually aware'.

It's nonsense.

At some age they will realise themselves that it's not appropriate to show their knickers and that is usually when they are reaching puberty.

Mother nature is wonderful the way she programmes these things to coincide.

We don't know over-precious adults sexualising young girls.

GreenCoxing · 23/06/2020 17:41

I use to wear cycling shorts under my summer dress when I was junior and secondary school and that was 30 years ago.

Beautiful3 · 23/06/2020 17:41

Mine do cartwheels, they asked me to buy cycling shorts to go underneath them.

JinglingHellsBells · 23/06/2020 17:42

I have never ever heard of it till now and I used to teach!

Just think what messages it's sending out.

mycatscausehell · 23/06/2020 17:43

I wore shorts originally under skirts for dance as a child, then wore them to keep tights up and just moved to wearing them under skirts always. I still do

Montsti · 23/06/2020 17:43

I went to a girls school from age 10 and we had gym pants to put over our knickers..this was a long time ago though!

A few girls at my daughter’s school (she's 8 and at a mixed school if that makes a difference..) wear shorts under skirts. My daughter wants to (to be like her friends) but I don’t think it’s necessary...

DrCoconut · 23/06/2020 17:45

I had cycling shorts in my teens for wearing under above knee length skirts. Modesty was considered important. So not a new thing as such but I don't remember younger girls having them.

Smallsteps88 · 23/06/2020 17:46

My kids' school had climbing walls, monkey bars, rope climbs etc. in the playground. Dresses alone would have been a weird choice

I think dresses at all would be a weird choice for that environment tbh.

Chocolate1984 · 23/06/2020 17:46

My daughter always wears hot pant type shorts from Asda. Boys don’t flash their pants so why should girls.

C152H · 23/06/2020 17:47

Sounds a bit much to me. If I had a daughter, I wouldn't ask or expect her to wear shorts under her dress - as you say, that's want pants are for.

When I was at school, we had regulation "bloomers" we had to wear under our sports skirts (which were very short), but that was it. I found them hideous enough at the time; I can't imagine how ticked off I'd be to have to wear shorts and a dress.

Zaphodsotherhead · 23/06/2020 17:51

I'm nearly 60. We never wore shorts under our dresses and we'd climb trees, do handstands, turn cartwheels and roll down slopes with the best of them.

I wonder if the fact that girls tend to start periods earlier now has anything to do with it? I, and most of my friends were 13/14 before we had our first periods, only one girl in our year started her periods before leaving primary school.

If all girls are told to wear shorts, those who already are having periods may feel more comfortable and be less visible?

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 23/06/2020 17:52

I bought my DDs the gingham playsuits one year. They were the biggest pain ever... They had to completely undress to go to the toilet. Within weeks they had all been abandoned by the girls at school in favour of normal dresses again. Most did wear culottes in the winter though- cycling to school was popular.

pippil0ngstocking · 23/06/2020 17:55

I'd say it's strange. When my eldest DD (18) was in primary school, they wore pants and vests if they forgot PE kits all the way up to year 3. Seems a bit OTT for small children-- I'd argue that they wouldn't even consider their pants showing being an issue if it wasn't brought up.

Wewearpinkonwednesdays · 23/06/2020 17:56

The problem is knickers don't cover much, especially if they are sitting cross legged on the floor or doing cart wheels or climbing, the pants can easily fall to the side. I wouldn't want my little girls vulva pop out her knickers anymore than I would want my little boys penis to pop out his pants. Not only because of potential peadophiles, but because it would be embarrassing if another child pointed it out. I mean I would be embarrassed if it flashed my vulva to someone in a public place.
So I think modesty shorts are a good idea, but I wouldn't be insisting she wore pants under them too, and there's a good chance she wouldn't want boxers.

Yurona · 23/06/2020 17:57

Get her some fitting, boy short style underpants and you should be fine. With normal (tiny, baggy) knickers, girls show pretty much everything all the time as the crotch slips to the side. Apart from decency, its also not great to basically sit naked on the not so clean floor

PrincessConsueIaBananaHammock · 23/06/2020 17:58

I work in a school and I've never seen anything apart from knickers and even those not that often. Maybe because I don't look?

Fink · 23/06/2020 17:58

DD really loved them, she would refuse to wear the looser PE shorts when it was time for PE and just kept the cycling shorts on. Eventually she grew out of hanging upside down with her skirt over her head so I dropped the shorts. She mostly wears shorts/trousers to school now rather than skirt/dress, but either way she stopped with the cycling shorts about the time when there was less sitting on the carpet and hanging off the climbing frame.

eatyourcake · 23/06/2020 17:58

I don't know about little girls but I myself wear cycling shorts under skirts. That's mainly because it always seems super windy whenever I wear one and I'm annoyed at holding the skirt down! Also walking up stairs/ escalators. If I had a daughter she'd be wearing shorts too. Times have changed!

diavlo · 23/06/2020 17:59

My DD (15) wore cycling shorts under her dress from about year 3/4, it only in the summer when they were out doing cartwheels etc on the field.

This was her choice as she didn’t want people to catch a glimpse of her knickers.

Parker231 · 23/06/2020 17:59

Just buy decent knickers if they are wearing a dress or wear trousers to school if they want to do cartwheels or climbing.

StripeyBananas · 23/06/2020 17:59

@JinglingHellsBells

I have never ever heard of it till now and I used to teach!

Just think what messages it's sending out.

I think the message is " Dear daughter, if you want to: 1 feel more comfortable sitting on rough surfaces and/or 2. not risking your genitals being on shown then I will support your choice."