world book day is a pointless, costly pain in the arse for working parents?

[LumpenProletariat]

Does it make any difference to reading levels? As a solo working mum, I find it a total pain and costly too.

YANBU. So glad that DD's school aren't doing the dressing up this year. As if working parents don't have enough to do without adding sorting out a costume to the list as well!

Also I find that it's not so much dressing up as their favourite character, but rather going as whatever costume you happen to have/can throw together. So misses the point a bit.

It makes much more sense to take their favourite book in to talk about.

I feel like it's just a dress up day and benefits amazon (for costumes rather than books) probably more than kids who are reluctant to read.

Our school had a dress up day every year except one when you had to take your favourite book in and talk about it.

Not everyone has dressing up stuff at home
Not everyone can afford to buy a costume
Not everyone is handy at creating a costume
Not every child even likes dressing up!

This sounds really miserable but i did find it stressful when my DC were at primary where they had probably 3 or 4 costume days (or assemblies requiring a costume) per year. As a SAHM to begin with, I couldn't afford to buy a costume off amazon but everyone else was wearing an amazon/supermarket costume and they didn't always want the not particularly well made homemade one.

It's the dressing up bit that can get costly, I have a DC who will not wear a home made outfit, doesn't like dressing up except for very specific shop bought costumes. Because kids were making fun of his homemade outfits in previous years as they all had shop bought ones or plain uniform.

Even worse than world book day are the ‘dress up as a Tudor or an evacuee’.... not even a tiny chance of a child wanting to wear those costumes again. Amazon did well out of it.

This year my DC have to go dressed up as a word… The head of English lives for Pinterest.

@001ccl

I absolutely hate world book day. Our kids have to dress up and I do not want to buy a costume that will be binned afterwards. Any ideas on what character they could be using normal clothes they already have? We also have another dress up day after half term, where they need to wear aprons and bonnets, something to do with great fire of London. Neither of which I have so will more than likely have to buy. Really annoys me how much schools do dressing up. Before Christmas it was nearly every week 😠

Oh, there are loads! Hang on:

www.madeformums.com/toddler-and-preschool/last-minute-easy-world-book-day-costumes/

Some are easier than others- depends what clothes they already have.

This year my DC have to go dressed up as a word… The head of English lives for Pinterest.

We had that one year too! I hadn't even heard of some of the suggested words!

Oh, and @001ccl

www.mumsnet.com/articles/world-book-day-costume-ideas

As always, Mumsnet have you covered.

Why only working parents? 🙄
Also, not everything has to be beneficial just for academics. Children are allowed to have fun in school too!

@Fizbosshoes

This year my DC have to go dressed up as a word… The head of English lives for Pinterest.

We had that one year too! I hadn't even heard of some of the suggested words!

That's probably the point. Broadening the kids' vocabulary etc.

Always hated it, every year. I know you don’t have to send them in fancy dress, but when everyone else is, there’s the pressure & feeling like a rubbish parent if you don’t.

My youngest is now at high school & it just dawned on me reading this thread that I don’t have to worry about world book day ever again! 🎉🥳🍾

This year my DC have to go dressed up as a word… The head of English lives for Pinterest.

😬

The ‘costly’ for working parents has annoyed me, why isn’t it costly for SAHP? Surely a £12 costume is £12 to both sets of people or a homemade costume is the same price to working and SAHPs. I’m a SAHM I can’t sew or magic boxes into some sort of robot, I’ll be scouting eBay just like everyone else.

I’m so glad my boys are late teens now and we don’t have to do this anymore! I love the idea of kids reading more and getting excited over their favourite books, but I’d always forget and be reminded at 9pm the night before 🙈 luckily I had two little boys who could put on their raggy play clothes and go as Charlie Bucket (over and over again!)

In my experience world book day was mostly little boys dressed up as Spider-Man and the little girls in princess dresses 😊

It’s a costly pain in the arse for everyone.

Plus there are only a few books which have obviously recognisable characters to dress up as. So nobody goes as their actual favourite character, it’s whatever costume they happened to have or were able to buy.

Several Mad Hatters at our school’s last WBD for example - fun costume, readily available on Amazon, but I doubt that’s really multiple 6/7 yr olds’ favourite book character.

The environmental aspect is also really depressing. DD wants to be an evacuee, I’m trying to put together an outfit from what we have but we don’t have period style clothes so it won’t look right and definitely not as good as the £10.99 evacuee costume from amazon. Which I could afford but it would be used once and that really goes against the grain.

It comes down to attitude to dress up. Some families are into it, find it easy to pull together costumes, have lots of bits lying around, not a hassle. Other families aren't and it is either a huge palaver putting something together or costly buying specifically for the purpose.

Personally, I would prefer an activity more directly related to reading.

Why would it be more costly for working parents than for non working parents?
Ours go in their pyjamas and take their favourite book… they have a ‘bedtime story’ afternoon.

My DIL is a teacher, she came home last week and told me she has to "dress up"
She is very stressed about it as her and her class have to do non fiction and she has to dress up as someone her pupils will recognise!!!
We couldn't think about anyone other than HRH!!!

Working/not working I don’t see the point in it

How many books have cats in them? Easy to do , black trousers and top, face paint for whiskers and a tail from old tights and newspaper. You can keep things easy and simple.

I think that in the 6 years my DC has been in education so far, wbd has cost me maybe £30. I make up costumes from clothes we have, or get bits in charity shops.
E.g.
Golden ticket costume= lame top from charity shop over own leggings + liberal application of gold eyeshadow.
Stig of the dump = fake fur waistcoat over DH old tatty gardening t-shirt + own leggings + charity shop fabric.

Some of you need to get onto your school's PTA/Parent Councils equivalents and bang on relentlessly about the cost of the school day as I have been known to do.

Fortunately DS primary was pretty switched on with this stuff and arranged opportunities for kids to make outfits at school or a home work club, also cut down on dressing up days or simplified them, also made sure there was more to Book Week than dressing up.

One year DS went as one of the famous five, jeans, boots, ancient ruck sack, toy dog, have a nice day.

I completely agree with you OP. Ours are expected to dress up. Its an expense and/ or time consuming. The idea that we all have stuff lying around to pull a costume together with is nonsense. As is the idea that your child can just go to school without one. Hands up who wants their kid to have to go to school being the odd one out?

The costumes are completely unnecessary.

Love of stories comes from good story telling skills from teachers in the early years and then reading books and enthusiasm and interesting engagement from schools in stories. Not from sodding costumes.

Dressing up days can also be very stressful for anxious children, or those who find comfort in routine and familiarity.

Schools should know better.

Why would you throw away a costume afterwards though? Pass it on to someone else/sell it surely.

Anything schools do to bring a bit of joy gets moaned about .