Wibu about DD's skirt?

[KubaLeebre]

DD is 4 and in a small private nursery. Today at drop off, she was showing her key worker her new cotton dress. The key worker said "DD, the first thing we are going to do is put some shorts on you, you like to roll around don't you, and you don't want the boys seeing your knickers!".

I said, "I'm sorry, but I feel that she doesn't need shorts. She's 4, and wearing knickers, so her bits are covered as far as I'm concerned".

Key worker just said "oh, right".

WIBU? I'm annoyed that the worker has been doing this. I don't want my 4 year old DD thinking that she has to "cover up" so that the boys don't see her knickers.

She also wears shorts or running knickers with the skirt.

Shorts she can get from anywhere but running knickers is from a sports shop. She is on telly and she is not going to appear on telly in just a skirt.

In regards to the op's 4 year old I think she should try and keep her innocence for as long as possible. I never worried about my daughters garments as long as they look good. My daughters eventually wore trousers to school. All children are individual and they will tell you what they are comfortable with.

Well know you know: tennis players. And hockey players. And skaters. And rhythmic gymnasts.

All wear appropriate clothing to cover their under wear.

So the important thing is two layers? Substantial pants are no good because they are still pants, and have to be covered up with something called shorts?That really is a bit wierd.

"Well know you know: tennis players. And hockey players. And skaters. And rhythmic gymnasts.

All wear appropriate clothing to cover their under wear."

How do you know? Serena may not be wearing anything under those pants. And gymnasts often wear no pants at all under their leotards. So one thin layer of fabric protecting the watching world from scary women's genitals Horror-what if they escape????????????

I always wondered about those gymnasts if they wore knickers under the leotard it would probably get very sweaty. Those leotards are made to hug and fit properly to cover the gymnast up. Serena wearing nothing underneath you never no. If anything did fall out it wouldn't bother me I've watched Big Brother and Geordie Shore but we are talking about professional athletes.

All outfits have a purpose you can't wear a swimming costume to the local co-op to buy some bread and milk. Their is a dress code that people who play in athletics follows. What adult wants to show of their under wear unless they are attention seeking.

*There

No one answered my question - I'm genuinely curious:

I give 4yo DD shorts to wear under dresses - partly as we travel by public transport a lot and she often sits in a way that her knickers are very much on show.

Am I being a prude?! I thought this was a good solution - better than telling her not to sit like that, when it would be fine if she was a boy / in her jeans.

Sitting with your knickers on show for - say - 20 minutes, while on public transport is a bit different to cartwheels in a nursery setting - isn't it?

I see it in a different way - that they are demonising young boys as being perverts who will be overwhelmed at the sight of knickers and become sex pests.

It is a load of nonsense. My kids weren't interested in other kids underwear in nursery and my son was far more prudish than most of the kids in his class from yr4 onwards.

I find it insulting for both boys and girls. And the implication that boys will lift girls skirts and parents let them get away with it us ludicrous too. I would be very cross with my kids if they were physically inappropriate with male or female.

This wasn't the dress, but this sort of style. Not a princess-type one, or with floaty materiel etc! She managed scoot/sprint to nursery just as well as if she'd had leggings on!

I love that sort of dress. You can do everything, and it's cool and not restrictive. I don't know why people automatically assume long frilly wedding dress stuff when you say "dress".

When unisex clothes include stuff like this I will stop shouting about sexism. (OK, maybe not quite stop shouting, but I might shout a bit less loudly.)

I don't have any girls but both my lads are in trousers (school and nursery) for as much of the year as is humanly possible, sturdy knee length shorts when it's a heatwave like now. If I had a girl I'd do the same. Nothing to do with "modesty" which I agree is horrid to foist onto kids so young, but with several close relatives involved in early years ed (giving me the inside scoop on schools and nurseries!) have just two little words that may change everyone's thinking on the subject: Carpet Worms.

Monkey - you may have just won the thread

When DD was doing ballet the rule was no pants under her leotard.

I'm finding all this discussion about what Serena Williams is wearing under her running knickers odd. Why would she be wearing anything under them?

sleeping I would teach your DD to sit properly on trains, just as every child should learn to sit properly, regardless of what they're wearing. For me, making girls wear shirts under their skit, quite apart from the discomfort, is teaching girls, however subtly, that it's their job to police their clothing (and behaviour) because of the behaviour of others. Not a road I personally wish to go down. There was a thread a while ago where a playground assistant got girls to put shorts on under their frocks because boys were being silly about seeing glimpses of the girls' knickers and she couldn't discipline them properly. So girls have to cover up in the face of boys' bad behaviour. What a fantastic life lesson for both girls and boys .

Carpet worms???! What fresh hell is this?

WTAF are carpet worms?

ywnbu rapid.. shocked me more!
when I was at school we did PE in knickers and vest that woman would have had kittens, people need to stop sexualising children.. when people sexualise things it always makes me feel like they have dirty minds

You sure she wasn't commenting on the fact she's in a new dress for nursery? Each to their own, but when I was childminding new clothes and dresses were utterly annoying as they are not practical. Old clothes are much more appropriate! Sorry but true xx

I know I'm going against the grain but I think shorts or more substantial short style knickers are much preferable. This is not an argument that happens for boys. Boys clothes are automatically designed to cover genitals and are much more comfortable so I think the same considerations should be given to girls.

I remember being in school and being actually quite young but shamed by my peers for not sitting properly because my knickers were showing. It made me very conscious and uncomfortable. Also PE was entirely ruined for me because the girls had to wear gym knickers but the boys got to wear shorts or trousers. It was awful and my relationship with sports has been a lifelong flashback of feeling embarrassed.