Is my mum right in thinking I am slovenly re school uniform?

[Naughtylist]

My mum is despairing of me today. She came over whilst I was getting all the new clothes ready for school. She was very disapproving of me letting my primary school aged sons to school in brightly coloured socks/ character socks stating that children should be wearing standard black/grey socks in order to look smart. Is purchasing smart hosiery for school important when they are so young? It seems so dreary to force them to wear black/grey socks every day. They will be going back wearing angry birds, minions and monsters socks (they chose them themselves). Mum has always been a bit anal (she also can not understand why I refuse to iron underpants) but does she have a point here?

School specifies grey or navy socks. I see it as part of the uniform and it never crossed my mind to send them in colourful socks. I've never seen a kid there with coloured socks, although I can see it as less of an issue with boys as they're hidden. DDs have school socks and non-school socks.

When ds started school I bought him 'school socks' they lasted a week. By the Sunday I just couldn't be arsed making sure his socks for that week were all boring smart, and it was far easier just to put in whatever pair were pulled out the drawer in the morning.

A friend has identical twin boys.
The only way you can tell them apart is their socks.
One is always in grey school socks, the other in bright non-paired socks.

My ds has had 2 clean socks of any description throughout primary.
Off to big school next week, he has to have paired grey ankle socks.

I think that is fair.
Any for primary, sensibles for secondary.

Yup, we have all uniform (and my clothes too) out and ready the night before - Mistress it's not just you! It was the same when I was little and at school.

I am anal an organiser and it gives me immense pleasure to see the boys tucked up in bed with their uniform ready on their chairs for the next day. It also means they can get themselves ready in the mornings. Mind you, they are only 5. They might rebel and wear pants of their own choosing fairly soon :)

Grey school socks for boys and white or grey for girls here, at both my children's schools, infant and junior and at the junior school I work at. Part of the uniform.

Ummm...possibly squashing their creativity, definitely squashing their independence!!

Do you think British people are less creative and independent than those in countries without a school uniform?

our school doesn't specify, so ds chose his and chose fun coloured ones.
dd1 wears trousers and chose white with coloured heels
dd2 likes skirts and so we decided she ought to have school socks, so she chose ones with frilly white bits at the top.

ds is now at secondary. the school socks lasted til Easter and now I get 'no-one else wears black socks'
we compromised, and have bought new socks for next week, they are thick soft black sports socks with brightly coloured soles

uniform out the night before here. mainly in case I have been slack with the washing and there aren't any clean pants/socks etc

If they are allowed multi coloured socks then work away!

My dc aren't allowed them - only the boring standard colours.

Really, how smart is the uniform such that coloured socks would make a difference?

Bigkids, quite possibly in terms of creativity. It would be an interesting study in terms of being able to think/ problem solve differently, but since that doesn't occur in isolation, it would be difficult to prove. I think, at best, uniform is unnecessary.

The independence was more to do with giving clothes out so they don't need to find them or think through what they need. (I hope they can put them on).

Last year my son decided to give up on pairs of socks and wears odd ones all the time. It is such a relief ! I don't bother pairing them as he wears the first 2 that are to hand. It's also cheaper as if one sock gets a hole in it, I don't have to throw both socks out. Nobody has so far pulled him up on his lack of uniform socks at school. They have so few opportunities to be individual I think socks are a little bit of freedom.

I hate the idea of uniform, but odd socks make me come out in hives!!

Uniforms just make life easier IMO. DD went a school with in uniform and it was a daily drama (long nightmare) for her to choose her clothing. Uniforms are simple by comparison and at least then the other clothing doesn't get covered with paint and markers.

Ds went to a school without uniform and it was fab. No need for 2 sets of clothes and the accompanying storage. But he doesn't care what he wears.

Our school specifies black or brown school socks. Most schools do as far as I have seen.

I am torn. I don't really see the point of uniform generally, but if your school has a uniform policy then you should stick to it.

Distracting. Who said that I've heard it all now.

Mine wear any old socks. I rarely buy plain ones because with the six of us there are too many different sizes so it gets harder to pair them.
Day of the week socks are my worst. MIL buys them every Christmas. There is something soul destroying about having to put Friday socks on your child on a Monday.
I really hate school uniform. I don't understand the obsession with them looking smart.

Why on earth do boys and girls have to wear different coloured socks? that is ridiculous!

My DC wear whatever socks are in their drawer. They have character socks and i rarely have trouble matching.

I have realised though that they dont have any character pants! Am i neglectful parent? I noticed in july/august asda stock a 10 pack of pants for £3.50 alongside their school uniform range so i grabbed a few packs. They are just different colours but perfectly good pants. They do also have some of the plain navy/white/blue asda brand ones too which are slightly dearer. But no characters. Santa brought teenage ninja turtle socks in stockings last year so maybe he'll bring character pants this year.

This remind me of an instance with my younger brother. He is a real character and last year when he was 15 he got excluded for the day for wearing his very posh expensive yellow Ralph Lauren socks. Outraged he was so he wrote a very funny letter to the headteacher. I was expecting him to be excluded for good for cheek but they actually changed the school rules! Now at his school they can wear whatever socks they like

My two wear grey socks- but I do like boys in school uniform with shorts, grey socks and school shoes- sad, but it makes me happy !

mine wear grey socks - but so i can tell them apart one wears the type with indented lines on, the other soft plain socks. we don't share socks...yuk

i also lie out clothes the night before - but now they are 8 and 10 they find their own socks and pants in the morning!

My five year DD has a uniform, but it's not a must-wear. The teacher never complained once through her reception year that she came to school wearing her own clothes every day. And that's why I chose her school. Because they let the infant school children be exactly that. Children. I don't get the needing to dress young children like they are off to a business meeting. Fuck that for fun.

I buy large vats of grey school socks ar the start of the year. My sons wear them on school days, on non school days they wear what they want. The socks are not paired because there is a single school sock drawer and no one will ever die saying 'i wish I paired more socks'.