To hate own clothes day at school?

[purplelass]

It just gets so competitive and clearly differentiates the haves from the have nots... can't I just donate double and DD can wear uniform?

@applesauce1 - ah, I’m pleased that I brightened up your day a bit yesterday

Lethaldrizzle - you got teenagers yet?

you got teenagers yet?

But, in all honesty, I think, especially today, teens go for a "look" rather than an expense. They'd rather have an outfit that gives off the right aesthetic than one that cost a lot of money.

And the compliments will generally be based on how good it looks, not how expensive it is. I don't think that it's impossible to get a nice outfit on a low income. I'd say that school uniform days were probably worse for those with poor fashion sense - but even then, only mean kids would pick on them about it.

Our DS is 7 so he doesn't care, just wear jeans and a tshirt on non uniform days. Hates his uniform and every day is a fight. Our DD is 12 and she has had a few comments made to her on non uniform days. She just tells them she would much rather continue to go to America every year on holiday than have us spend our money on cars and clothes. She loves travelling and experiencing new things and places so totally understands we can't do everything. Long may it continue - she starts secondary school in August so things may change.

I bring up my kids not to be in to brands and bling and to find their own individual style not dependant on wealth

good luck with that

Don't get me wrong, apparently it's currently "chavy" to show off brands, but there's always that piece of clothing or pair of shoes, or ridiculously expensive sport kit that blows the budget completely. They can get dressed from top to toe Primark in the sales, but spend twice the price on the right make-up brand or couldn't be seen dead in the wrong sport top!

@Teachervoice I’m lost for words! £415 for a pair of trainers! And those coats are horrible!

but spend twice the price on the right make-up brand or couldn't be seen dead in the wrong sport top!

Oh, yeah. I definitely spend more on DD's makeup than her clothes.

@SoddingUnicorns tell me about it! We don't have a lost property so are expected to keep anything left in our classrooms until either it's claimed, or an appropriate amount of time has passed for us to discard it/ take it to a charity shop.

I had a bright red, full length Moncler coat in my room for a full 8 months a few years ago. It was never claimed, despite numerous announcements in assembly etc. Can you imagine the anxiety I felt when I took that to the local Cancer Research?!

I had a bright red, full length Moncler coat in my room for a full 8 months a few years ago. It was never claimed, despite numerous announcements in assembly etc. Can you imagine the anxiety I felt when I took that to the local Cancer Research?!

If one of my kids lost a coat that expensive I'd go in and find it myself!

Even if you buy a coat for 50p, wouldn't you notice that your child is no longer wearing one? I don't understand some parents!

@Teachervoice 8 months??? I’m that anyone wouldn’t miss something so expensive! I thought I’d been indulgent getting DS1 a £75 North Face jacket for high school!

Oh I can imagine, I bet you were relieved when you’d handed it over.

I’m obviously very out of touch, £1k for a coat has me absolutely stunned!

And they’re bloody ugly too!

This is why we enforce our plain black/ no logo rule: before we had it we had an awful problem with kids bringing Moncler coats to school, costing £1000 or more.

Who the hell spends £1,000 on a coat for their kid?

It was probably a fake

I can vouch for the moncler coats. And more recently, Canada Goose’s which retail at about £600. It’s disgusting.

LethalDrizzle as children we ate celery sticks in our lunches and were dressed in hand me down tie dye. When we got to school age, we saved our lunch money for chicken and chips and I bought a pair of Nike trainers every month out of my saturday job wage (so that was about half of it)

You can try as hard as you like

Children are too immature to realise these are dress down days and they become dress up days instead.

Ds's primary school had a balanced intake including pupils from quite deprived areas and (in his school anyway) the kids easily accepted it, any show offs were looked at less kindly than those who couldn't afford it. They had an outstanding head and deputy head.

In schools where there is a lower intake from deprived areas or where there may be bullying/showing off (a head teacher should know the culture in their school) these days should be banned.

In schools where there is a lower intake from deprived areas or where there may be bullying/showing off (a head teacher should know the culture in their school) these days should be banned

Surely they should be working on the culture there?

A child who would be unkind about another child's clothing is just as likely to be unkind about another child's hair, or shoes, or test results. You can't just try and ban things that bullies might use; there's no way that you'll be able to do it.

Bullies are inventive. If they want to pick on someone, they'll manage it.

Surely they should be working on the culture there?

Obviously, but that takes time and a good head teacher, and until they can resolve those issues they need to protect the children who will be impacted.

I never had cool stuff when I was a teenager. My parents just didn’t view it as a priority.
Now I always want to make sure ds never feels embarrassed about what he wears, whilst at the same time not becoming entitled and expecting everything.

Posted too soon. So the point is I think that not having these own clothes/non uniform days would take pressure off many parents, whether they struggle to afford things, or whether they are unsure about getting into the whole keeping up with other families and their designer gear scenario.

But what if the reason they are struggling to afford things is because of the uniform?
There is one power on here who's blazer costs 110 pounds.

Blazers can cost anywhere from.25 pounds to 55 + . School shoes for adult size children are what? Fifty pounds upwards?

My kids need trainers in their pe kids left at school plus trainers for home that's 4 pairs of trainers each. All of which are grown out of befire any decent amount of wear is gotten out of them.

So 2 x trainers plus school shoes per child.

Obviously, but that takes time and a good head teacher, and until they can resolve those issues they need to protect the children who will be impacted.

But I don't think you can protect children from bullying behaviour by banning things that might be used by them. The way to protect children from bullying behaviour would be to stop bullies making unkind remarks; not trying to shield them from possible ammunition.

They'll probably see each others' own clothes anyway. Won't they have social media? See each other outside of school?

Regardless, I still think that it will be less about expense and more about fashion sense. Unfortunate, but easier to deal with!

Plus with regular clothes if something is lost or damaged you can make do with what you have and just replace when possible. If your school shoes break you have a frantic purchase at times you cant afford while you worry about detentions

I've had teenagers yes! And have more to come. I guess it depends what you're into yourself. I am not, nor ever have been, into brands and bling. So i guess my kids just follow m6 example