To dislike the waste of ££ on World Book Day

[Mimmi78]

Straight up, I love reading! I've always had a book on the go and feel a bit naked if I go out without having one handy. It's World Book Day this week, I love this idea too, creating a lifelong love of reading is a fundamental cornerstone of education. However, in my kids school there are 400 pupils, many of whom have parents who will spend anything from a few pounds to many pounds on a costume this week. Retailers are the big winners here I think. I've estimated that the money could represent around £2,000 at our school, it took the PTA 3 months to raise that to buy essentials for the school. AIBU to wish it was more about books and less about commercial dressing up! Prepared to be slated but interested in anyone else feeling conflicted whilst wondering how to dress a six yo as Tom Gates

it's just a bit of fun, there's always parents who will moan if they have to be involved in any way with anything school-related

The issue here isn't anything to do with it being school related, I'm not sure where you're getting that from, it's the idea that somehow wasting money on cheap nylon costumes from the supermarket somehow encourages reading.

I was going to post the same thing. World book day is more like world amazon day (and not with books!)
I bought a second hand well known book character outfit last year for £10 and thought it would probably do this year as well...but now school has introduced a new theme!!
Not all kids enjoy dressing up, and in an age where we are constantly bombarded with messgaes about waste, it seems incredibly wasteful to buy a costume to wear for 1 day.
The only benefit is the school can probably save on heating due to the amount of static electricity generated by the all nasty nylon amazon costumes!!

it's the idea that somehow wasting money on cheap nylon costumes from the supermarket somehow encourages reading.

but the school never asked anyone to do that!

If some parents decide to buy expensive nylon costumes for the sake of buying some fancy dress, it's their problem. That's not the point of the day at all - it's a parent decision to buy that and be wasteful.

I agree, there's nothing remotely related to a book to see a parent pick up a random costume with no involvement of the child.

It would be a shame to cancel everything because of them.

I am so glad my sons school doesn't do this! He has just to take in his favourite book.

It's fair enough saying make the costumes but what happens if you have no art skills or even the time to make something. I think schools put to much pressure on families to take part in this kind of thing and alot of kids don't even like dressing up

My daughter's school is now offering a prize for best home-made costume. You'd think that would reduce the competitiveness around having the perfect costume. But, no. The competitiveness has got much worse as a number of mums don't work full-time and are extremely crafty. Their kids turn up in the WBD equivalent of haute couture; beautiful 'home-made' creations representing hours of skilled dressmaking.

Luckily my daughter is resigned to the idea that I am a second-best mum who just about has enough skill to buy a costume from amazon. She won't be allowed to enter the competition.

why does everything always have to be so damn negative all the time

Reminds me of my dad who’s opposed to anything a kid might love which he would consider “ non essential” like fun fairs. Complete fun vacuum.

World book day is a hassle.
I would rather discounted books were offered for purchase like they did once or twice a year at my school in the old days when World Book Day was not known.
We also used to get taken to the public library once a month for an hour to collect and pick up books, loved it and ended up using the library for years and years.
My kid also hates the "Meet the Author", then buy their book trips. I chaperoned at one and the kids didn't seem that engaged.
I am sure there are many more activities that could engage kids to read cheaply or for free. Example, design a book cover for a book read by the teacher and win a book voucher for the winners with an award. Reading out loud is not just for the little ones!

it's just a bit of fun

For many, many children it's not. It's stressful for them, anxiety-inducing nervousness that they will look silly. The pressure to have a 'good' costume causes lots of parents an undue amount of stress and supermarkets/amazon provide an easy, if expensive way out. I can easily see why people for out for it.

What on earth is World Book Day?

Completely agree with this. Bad for parents’ pockets and the environment, and another stress to sort out for busy mums (usually)

Why not just take your favourite book into school?

Most people on this thread seem to agree. Petition needed I think!

DD has so far chosen a character based on clothes we already have - the girl from Mog, a rabbit (a rabbit ear headband from Easter 4 yrs ago, that was instead of an egg, a dress she already has & a furry filet that is a hand-me-down) etc, so we haven't had to buy anything extra yet (she does love dressing up so so already has a lot of bits & pieces in her dress up up box from birthdays etc), but we also share where poss with other families - this year we've lent a wizard cape & broomstick for a Room on the Broom friend.
It doesn't have to cost.

Hate it. The winners are the supermarkets.
Unbelievably wasteful and unnecessary.
I intend to challenge this with our head- has anyone done this?
It's even worse at dc's school as there is always a "theme"- this year it is Beatrix Potter so the local Sainsbury's have sold a heck of a lot of Peter Rabbit costumes.

I'm so happy my daughters school is going for a "wear pjs and bring your favourite book in" theme

Same with my son's nursery. He hates dressing up so it's relief all round!

seaviewbliss

I taught in a school that did this. All hunky dory, until a little boy came in with a brand new pair of pjs and a dressing gown obviously bought that morning. The tags were still on and they were irritating him, so a kind TA cut them off.

Cue furious father at home time because they had been going to return them...... Apparently the child slept in his underwear.

I love WBD but have so far had reluctant dresser uppers, think Wimpy Kid/Horrid Henry type. Never bought a costume though just put them together with old clothes, borrowed bits etc. Buying ready made takes the fun out of it for me, I love seeing all the put together costumes especially bits that kids have made themselves. There was a fabulous cat in the hat homemade hat one year, boy in the dress etc, some of the kids put lots of imagination into their costumes.

DD mostly went in whatever we had at home in the dress up box. First year she was snow white,second the mouse from Gruffalo with a cardboard nut, next year she wanted Snow white again, year after that as another mouse from a different book(she loves that book). This year is the first year I bought something specifically for WBD , a £3 blue wig. She has a yellow raincoat, and got new yellow wellies a month ago when she outgrew her old ones , add the wig and she's now Coraline which is her absolute favourite character atm.

Oh and I made her a black key at the weekend from paper and electric tape. She loves the key

Some schools do a theme and encourage kids to have homemade costumes based on clothes they own. This can work.

Regarding Christmas Jumper Day - our Secondary held it on the last ‘day’ of term which was fine except it was a 1/2 day and they charged £2! Last year it was a full day and they charged £1.

Hmm. We have a lot of dress up costumes so it hasn't really been a problem.

My daughter 7 loves rainbows and is planning to take Tony Mitton's All Afloat on Noah's Boat. She will be wearing various of her clothes with rainbows on.

My son is planning to go as a generic spy, and will take the detective book he is reading. He already has a coat and hat he plans to wear.

I have always been happy to buy dress up stuff second hand or in sales. It would be great to have some general decluttering of costumes prior to World Book Day/ Children in need etc. I think a costume sale at school wouldn't work in our area though, people would not like to be seen buying second hand stuff.

Refuse to buy new costumes for Wbd. But my dd bought a pair of fake glasses this year from the pound shop from her pocket money for her character (Violet place called perfect) & Ds at 11 is losing interest will look through is books n come up with something night before r just use it as excuse to wear regular clothes. When they were younger was easy always had princes/pirate costumes n books which did the job! Our school does it every second yr. Its as expensive as u want to make it.

Have made costume for DS for about £5.No sewing/dressmaking required but I did get to play with a glue gun!

I pity the teachers who are also expected to costume up. Like they haven't got enough to do.

Mine are just going in the first non-superhero costume that comes out of the dressing up box, and we will work out which character they are afterwards. It is completely not in keeping with the idea behind WBD but I'm
Not buying anything and I don't have time, or creative energy, to make anything.

Back when my eldest ones were little the idea was to dress up as your favourite character from a book and take the book in with you so you could show the rest of the class your favourite and talk about it something like show and tell. Costumes were always home made. Then at some point parents started buying costumes and now we have come to see it as just a dress up day and not much to do with books at all.

A few of us were discussing this today. I had to purchase items for what my ds wants to be so that's about 20e. Will make the rest myself. Dd has hers already.

I'd love to just send in a few euro each that the schools could use to buy books then. Win win I think