To agree with this headteacher regarding wearing pyjamas as outdoor wear?

[MaisyMooMoo]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-35413153

We do all judge people by their appearance, but really this is wrong and we should make a conscious effort not to.

Appearance is the image that person portrays to the world. Pyjamas says 'I can't be arsed'. Asking people to look beyond the image is all very well but completely unrealistic. It's up to the person how they want to be perceived not the rest of the world to try and work it out!

I've seen people in the pub in pyjamas; it's definitely a trend rather than 'can't be arsed'. It's not my cup of tea, but I agree with those who suspect that the head is being a judgmental snob.

It's all just designed to keep women (as I am assuming the majority of the "offenders" are women, because let's face it, the larger majority of parents on the school run are women) where society wants them.

Remember, not that long ago ... picking the shit out of people wearing activewear to do day-to-day stuff?

Picking the shit out of anyone who isn't under 13 wearing leggings/jegging "as outerwear"?

Women being told to "cover up" if breastfeeding

Women being told to "dress for the body they have, not the body they want" during summer (ie if you are over a size 6, don't wear a bikini, at least not in public)

Women are allowed to wear bikinis/skimpy clothes/too tight clothes/hardly any clothes/etc, but OMG don't EVER get caught for a 5 minutes in your pjs!!

All the talk against victim blaming if a rape victim wasn't wearing what society deems decent at the time of the attack?

No difference to you, but no one walking past is going to identify your clothes as PJs. Why the hell do random people on the street even get to have an opinion on what others are wearing? As long as they are decently covered up, what is the fucking problem.

I wonder how many people would actually care what the fuck Eggnoggsnog was wearing of the was treating them/their sick child!!

My daughter has gone to kindy in her pjs. Clean ones. After being washed etc for. Why? Because letting her wear clothes that are comfortable (no tags, no or very soft seams, light, not itchy, don't make her too hot, don't make her feel cold) albeit pjs, was an easier battle than trying to get her into her classroom while shouting & screaming that this tag itched (no, it wasn't enough to cut them out), that this seam hurt, that the under arms was rubbing, that the crouch area was too bulky, the fabric made her itch, it rubbed too much, it was too hot, too cold.

I would rather walk her in, knowing that she would have a lovely calm day in clothes that she felt comfy in, rather than drop her off in something that would make her day (and those around her) hell! This happened after the dr gave us some cream for wrongly diagnosed excema and she was allergic to it (except we didn't know that for a while), but the dr said that the welts all over her body was a virus! She used to scratch her skin until it bled, so even now, years after that happened, she STILL has issues with fabric.

if she was treating them/their sick child!!

Erm...not quite sure they posted under 2 different names.

"I'm mainly horrified at the wearing of slippers outside. SLIPPERS ARE FOR INDOORS ONLY."
My daughter's best friend, who's in her early 20s, came over the other day. We picked her up, stopped at the store, stopped at the bank, and as she got out of the car outside the house she looked down and realized that she'd forgotten to change out of her slippers. It certainly wasn't intentional, she was slightly dismayed. We laughed at her, because we love her. Undoubtedly several people on this thread would have judged unfairly.

Although I did see a girl walking through the Costco parking lot once in her slippers in the pouring rain, walking through huge puddles, which I can't imagine was at all pleasant.

I've never seen this at my village school, what ages are these women that do this? Or is it a real mix? asking as I'm only 27 and would never dream of doing this and I'm a shift worker, night shifts etc, I'd pull on some leggings and a top at least

My children have occasionally gone to school in pjs.

Unless there is a specific reason for this I think it's absolutely awful. Not only does it look slovenly, it's also setting your children up to be made a mockery of.

Never seen this either and my kids would think it was hilarious.

Really out of bed, leggings, boots, top. 2 minutes.

Quite frankly wearing pjs to parent evenings or plays is just wierd.

Lazy bastards.

People can do what they like, I don't judge but I really don't get the PJ's outdoors thing and would never do it. Hard to imagine now but when I was a teen, me and my friends saw a woman walking down the street in a housecoat and slippers. We followed her and then got one of our mums because we were worried something was wrong. That's how unusual it was.

Whether pjs are appropriate clothing for any given activity is a matter of opinion and the head's does not out rank the parent's.

Excellent post from toomanyeggs. She/he said what I wanted to say, but better

No, it's really not just a matter of opinion, NN.

What clothing is appropriate for any given situation is a matter of social consensus.

As you've seen from this thread, the social consensus is that sleepwear is not for wearing in public.

(Just like you wouldn't wear a beach dress to a church funeral, or tracksuit pants to a job interview...all stuff that kids need to learn)

But the social consensus amongst those parents, in that particular area of the country, is that pjs are acceptable. So it is very much a matter of opinion, just not MN opinion.

I don't agree that the children will not learn to dress appropriately for job interviews etc. Those parents are presumably sending their children to school wearing uniform. There is no evidence to suggest they would wear pjs to work. It is just that they happen to believe the school run isn't a formal activity which requires 'proper' clothing. I can't see the harm tbh. That said, I think it is hygenic to have slippers for inside and shoes for outside.

Not so long ago, people dressed far more formally than they do today - society's opinions do change over time.

As you've seen from this thread, the social consensus is that sleepwear is not for wearing in public.

NO! The MN consensus is that.

Thankfully, I gave up seeing MN as the "social consensus" years ago!

I think in this case the social consensus and the mumsnet consensus would be the same. I highly doubt there are more people out there who think it appropriate to do school drop off in pjs than there are those who think it's not on.

Even if the public consensus is that pjs are not appropriate, it is still not appropriate for the head teacher to be sending this sort of letter to parents. She/he is not the parent's headteacher, only the children's.

I think that there is a lot to be said for people minding their own business, so long as people are acting lawfully. (I do get the irony of saying this, while not minding my own business and gossiping on MN )

I highly doubt there are more people out there who think it appropriate to do school drop off in pjs than there are those who think it's not on.

I think you'd actually find a whole lot of people don't actually CARE what other parents are wearing to be honest! I certainly don't have time to analyse what the parents are wearing at school drop off!

NN you don't think it's appropriate for the head teacher to ask parents not to turn up to parent's nights and school plays in pyjamas? Seriously? I'd be pissed if the head teacher didn't say anything in this situation.

I would not let a junior doctor work in pyjamas.

Sorry, but MH issues aside, I would be judgey as hell at someone being seen at their DC's school in their bloody PJs!

I think that how parents dress is absolutely their own business and not the head teachers. Unless they are stark bollock naked or wearing t shirts with offensive slogans, I think the head should concentrate on her actual job of teaching the children/running the school. Running the school does not extend to running the parent's lives. I don't care what other people wear to school plays. I only care about how they behave once they are there - that is as much as the head should concern themselves with.

A bar manager can turn someone away for the wrong dress code. A head teacher can specify a very basic dress code of actual clothes for being on the premises. I see no issue with that.

It's honestly depressing that some people here see no issue with going to parent's night in pyjamas. It's almost pathetic that people are so determined that they can do what they want and would actually do this.

Never seen this where i live

I dont care what someone wears as its none of my business

I dont know how people tell anyway...those jersey harem style trousers look like pjs to me anyway and ugg boots look very slipper like

My children have occasionally gone to school in pjs.

So has mine, and he has to pay a pound for the privilege