Can I send my child into school in stained clothes?

[PaintedDress]

So daughter has come home from school in paint stained clothes. Again. They have to wear white tops for PE. And have to wear PE kit all day on PE day (twice a week). The problem is, I’m spending a stupid amount of money on white tops, and they get stained the first time she wears them, every time! I don’t know what paint they use, but I’ve tried everything from vanish to bleach. I’ve even asked mam and MIL and they can’t get them clean either. The marks fade, but it’s white so it’s still obvious! So a really quick check, what does everyone else do?

YANBU- as long as it’s clean, send her in with the clothes stained with paint or mud
YABU- bin the tops and buy new ones every time they get unfixable

I would. I wouldn’t be able to afford to replace them everytime. As long as they are washed and therefore clean, no problem

I'd send her in if new ones are only going to get dirty.
How old is she?

YANBU. By this point in the school year loads of kids are in school clothes that have stains, missing buttons, getting too small etc. Most parents just make do until the summer holidays and then replace the lot with fresh ones for the new term.

Can you put an apron in her bag to use when painting? This is what I did when my daughter ruined 3 brand new dresses in a week. Luckily our school let us wear dark blue polo shirts/PE shirts but that didn’t help with the summer dresses as the red paint in particular does not come off.

For years our school playground surface was covered in this material that stained clothing horribly. Dd also had a habit of sitting and rolling on the ground . I just gave up after a year of scrubbing. I didn’t even bother anymore, just washed as normal and sent her in covered in black smudges. We finally replaced the surface just before Covid hit and then she moved up to secondary so we never got clean clothes in lower grades.

In the summer hang them in the sun for a few days.

Is she in reception with access to paint all day long or are PE and art on the same day?

If she's in EYFS I'd tell her she needs to remember to put an apron on.

Or I'd send her in a different colour t shirt. Black.

What age is she? If she is of an age where she could be expected to routinely splash herself with paint then the class should be wearing aprons - or back-to-front mens' shirts if that is still a thing! If her tops are getting stained so presumably are the tops of all the other kids if they are all painting? Otherwise if she is older then remind her to be more careful.

Binning them is such a massive waste, definitely send her in stained. Nobody will even look twice.

As an aside, id contact the school and ask them to review their white T-shirt policy, or provide aprons.

We had a choice of colours, so we switched from white to red. And nobody's going to turn a hair at slightly-faded paint stains - they've all got them. Keep one shirt out of general circulation for photo day (and sensible primaries start at the bottom on photo day, and hope that KS2 can eat lunch without getting it down their fronts)and sports day, in the case of PE shirts. You could ask the teacher whether they like to have donations of old adult shirts for painting (worn back to front), and perhaps ask whether it's worth reconsidering the white shirt stipulation for PE now that they don't change.

Depends how bad I think, my kids have a few paint splashes on their clothes but it’s only tiny ones, my other daughter however decided to paint her hands and then press them onto her dress, the stains never came out and it was bright red paint on a blue dress, I did throw that away as it was too big and didn’t look good

Yes of course

Children's uniforms get covered in paint, grass, whiteboard marker, and sun cream stains in the first few years. No one throws them out and buys new ones every week!

I used to teach secondary art. Anything splashy or messy all the kids wore aprons. Including year 11.

The school should be providing aprons.

I do! They always use the worst pain and pens at school that will not come out. I buy new when they outgrow or have unrepairable holes, not because of stains.

Could you send her with a stained one in her bag and tell her to put it on over the clean one before they start painting?
I would also message the teacher to let them know, and ask them to prompt the use of old t shirts/aprons. It's crazy they're painting with nothing protecting clothing.

I try to get the food stains and similar out, as ai would from regular clothes. But paint stains, from painting in school, on school clothes? Fine. If anyone objects say it’s the school’s fault.

As long as it’s clean (ie not smelling) it’s no problem!
And - don’t worry about throwing out good condition but face-stained stuff, once we have a bit of sunshine you can leave it out on the line and they’ll magically clean up 🧼

I figure if the school wanted them to wear pristine white shirts then they should be ensuring they aren't getting covered in paint/pens etc in the first place

I do - clean, ironed but stained. It's such a waste to keep buying new ones.
School have never said a word, no-one has accosted me in the street and accused me of being a slattern, the sky has not fallen in.

I wash them with bio powder and a bit of vanish on 40 degree wash. Then send them in. I do dry whites in the sun when I can, and occasionally soak them in some laundry bleach if they're looking a bit grey and grim. I can't afford to buy them new uniform bits more than once a term or so.

Thanks everyone! She’s in reception and she’s my oldest so I wasn’t sure if I’d make her look awful sending her in, but that seems to be the consensus!
She says they do wear aprons, but she seems to just be talented in covering herself! It’s also mud from outside, but that’s slightly easier to get out!

My daughter is in reception and I send her in with marks on her white clothes. Stupid colour for a school uniform if they want them pristine. My older kids went to a school with blue polos and the difference is astounding. I can't afford to replace them so have no choice.

Not only are my reception-aged child's white polo shirts stained, they are also now looking distinctly grey...

Yes, just send her in. I’d drop a teacher an email explaining the situation too.

@Blossomandbee

Could you send her with a stained one in her bag and tell her to put it on over the clean one before they start painting? I would also message the teacher to let them know, and ask them to prompt the use of old t shirts/aprons. It's crazy they're painting with nothing protecting clothing.

It's not crazy. There will be aprons available and kids are messy, even with aprons on. It's not like the teacher has anything else to do other than ensure that the OP's child gets changed into her special t-shirt before being allowed to touch a paintbrush 🙄

It’s fine to keep using them. My DD always got covered in paint even with an apron as they encourage them to take the on and off independently so still manage to get it all over!