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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

In wondering why people label school clothes

110 replies

hoovercraft · 04/09/2011 21:11

Firstly, apart from pe day (mine only has one day a week), they dont take their clothes off usually, do they? I understand jumpers and coats but why the rest?

OP posts:

MumblingRagDoll · 04/09/2011 23:21

I love sharpies. I feel like a slut for using them.....but ffs...I am NOT sewing labels on! She loses them either way!

omnishambles · 04/09/2011 23:22

If I absolutely had to do it I would just use a fabric pen, I think stitching and then unstitching as they grow and redoing everytime is a real middleclass neurosis - it is an outward sign of emotional labour - lovely and all but it wont really stop things going missing if your dc are disorganised as people have already said upthread.

bubby64 · 04/09/2011 23:23

I mentioned the little ones, the older kids are just as bad, my 2 10yr olds are so bad at losing things that several of the teachers call losing a jumper "doing a [inserted our surname!]" Talk about embarrasing, and the only reason I got most of it back was because it was labeled!! And don't even go there with gloves!

Indaba · 04/09/2011 23:26

My son came home from play date yesterday without underpants because they had apparently "fallen off".

I label everything......including my kids....have had their names and my mobile number tattoed on to their foreheads . Have never lost them since doing it.

Cocoflower · 04/09/2011 23:28

"My son came home from play date yesterday without underpants because they had apparently "fallen off"."

Dont you just love children!

festi · 04/09/2011 23:29

a child once hid a pair of shity pants in a hole in my bathroom wall, had a call from a very embarrsed mother a few days later after she had managed to get to the bottom of where her sons pants where.

bubby64 · 04/09/2011 23:30

Indaba Love the tattoo idea!!

oldsilver · 04/09/2011 23:31

mummymccar - yes, I was surprised at the number of pants that are left over after a PE session and just before the call of "no, pupil you don't need to take your pants off for pe!! But the pants never belong to above named child.

Oh crikey gloves and mittens happybubble - £1 in Poundstretcher, buy 5 a time and you should be safe!!

ravenAK · 04/09/2011 23:32

I quite like sewing labels (it's the only sort of sewing I can do, & even then dh is much better & laughs at my tatty stitching...).

Do draw the line at gloves, though - I just buy a couple of pairs whenever I see them in the pound shop, & stash a big bag of paired gloves by the front door.

Cocoflower · 04/09/2011 23:34

Ha ha I just remembered a story from one of the reception teachers I worked with,

On the childrens first PE session she said "get undressed into your PE kit and then wait in a line by the door"

A couple had clearly misundestood when she turned around and saw them butt naked waiting by the door!

Oakmaiden · 04/09/2011 23:34

omnishambles you are right. I know in my head you are right. But I just don't feel it is done PROPERLY unless I have sewn them on.

Also it gives me an excuse to watch the telly, which I won't do unless I have something to do with my hands at the same time....

rogersmellyonthetelly · 04/09/2011 23:40

I have recently discovered that I can sew on name tapes with the sewing machine, so much easier than by hand! Am breaking out in a cold sweat at the thought of hats and gloves though, I did the whole elastic thing last year, ds used it as a playground weapon so won't be trying that again.
Stuff gets lost regardless, but anything I can do to reduce the stress levels of infant school teachers is fine by me.

DilysPrice · 04/09/2011 23:49

Now the DCs are (finally) reliably toilet trained I don't do polo tops or trousers any more - I've never had one come home without their trousers. I do jumpers and coats meticulously of course.

Soups · 05/09/2011 00:03

I've stopped, no longer will I label. For years I've scrawled on the names. Why? They're never given back. They're always stuffed in a HUGE bin of lost clothes. I ask my children to look, well, that's a lost cause.... Then I don't pick them up from school. Really? I don't understand how labelling = return of the clothing.

Pocketsocks · 05/09/2011 00:04

My son regularly used to come home on a PE day without his shirt on. It took me 3 weeks to get his shirts back each time. Without labels I wouldn't have had a hope. However now you have reminded me that I haven't labelled all the new uniform and the labels are at my Mum's house. Crap!

cat64 · 05/09/2011 00:09

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

hester · 05/09/2011 00:15

Oh feck I knew I'd forgotten to do something.

scaryteacher · 05/09/2011 00:16

I help out in lost property at a school with no uniform. Labelling the clothes means that the lost items can be reunited with their owners, which is useful. Parents come in and moan about the child's blue hoodie not being returned. If it isn't labelled, how would we know?

It's also shocking the amount of expensive clothing that is lost and then sold off at £1 an item at the lost property sale; labelling with a Sharpie (another fan here) doesn't take long, and trainers can be labelled with them too, doesn't take long and saves you a fortune.

moonbells · 05/09/2011 15:13

Oakmaiden know what you mean about the TV! I invariably do something else while watching: I often wonder how many programmes I actually watch as against just listen to.

The school shoes finally arrived. (Been on order 10 days and I was getting antsy.) With a tiny space for names about 2cm x 1cm. Talk about squashed writing!

I just remembered I do have a darning mushroom somewhere so that might just help the sock labelling situation! If I can find it...

Peachy · 05/09/2011 15:17

Oh tehy lose everything! We lost between them over 20 jumpers and sweatshirts (between 3) last school year, several coats, countless lunch boxes and we are one of the better labellers!

Nephew starts private school today and his name tags have to be external and on everything from tops to socks. and a requisite type of label: me I just use one of those label guns (attach a tag type) now ds1 is in comp and until he got too old just ahd everything weown labelled 'The Peachy Boys'..

limitedperiodonly · 05/09/2011 15:26

We not only had to label everything at school but had to embroider our names on our PE tops and skirts and cooking aprons.

My embroidery wasn't up to much. I started my name too far over on my Aertex shirt and half my first name and all my surname was under my armpit. Everything was in brutal capitals.

The cleverest girl in the school was an embroidery whizz as well as being an genius in every other subject.

All her kit had her full name, including middle name, in beautiful joined-up writing.

biddysmama · 05/09/2011 15:31

because people keep things their kids take home by accident if its nicer than the one they had!

Blackduck · 05/09/2011 15:31

I'm another 'why bother labelling because it never comes back'. Last year ds lost 7 tops and a coat - all labelled and not a single one was returned....one he had only had on for a day, left in classroom over night and 'puff' gone, never to be seen again, so if an teacher tells me to label I will be asking them why. (same reason I won't buy the overpriced school logo stuff)

LindyHemming · 05/09/2011 19:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Gonzo33 · 05/09/2011 19:10

When your child gets changed for PE, forgets where they put their odd t-shirt/jumper/dress and it is not labelled it is not able to be returned to it's owner. Thus making peed off parents. (Me included).

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