To think that 5/6 year old little girls don’t need to wear shorts under dresses to “protect their modesty”

[Darthwazette]

Just what the subject like says really. I’d be interested to know other parents thoughts. I’m not a weirdo, this request has been made of my daughters from school and it makes me feel a bit icky.

I agree they shouldn't have too. Who is it to protect them from ? Other little boys ? 😐

I agree, but my dd insisted on wearing shorts at that age.

I agree. It should be child-led and if they want to wear shorts then that's fine, but insisting on shorts under a skirt is not.

I put them on my daughter because she cries about the grass being itchy but won't wear "boys grey shorts". I wish they would stop the summer dress nonsense and just make it grey shorts like boys. So much easier.

If I'm honest with you I have always put shorts on underneath my daughters dresses or skirts. When she was a baby she would wear them knickers to go over a nappy. In nursery she would wear coloured cycle shorts under a dress and now in school at age 5 she wears black cycle shorts under her dress.
As someone who used to work in an education setting, trust me when your little girls are upside down or kicking there legs up, knickers move and you see what you don't want to see. It's just a polite gesture to wear shorts underneath and protect their modesty. Even myself a n adult, if wearing a skirt or dress I wear cycling shorts underneath

I’m struggling with a 13 year old wanting to wear a jumper in this heat as the white shirt you might be able to see her bra top - we’ve had to buy some new vest type ones. Comments from other people in her year (boys) have made the girls very self conscious:(

When put this way, I see the other side more

I put shorts under my 6 year olds dress don’t care what others think

Same. I ensure my daughter has shorts on under dresses because while I'd love to believe that it doesn't matter, unfortunately it does.
In the past 6 years there have been three separate cases of paedophiles all within 5 minutes walk from our school. All of them were males who just seemed like normal folk.
I do not walk around presuming everyone's a paedophile but I do have the common sense to take what steps I can to keep my child safe. It doesn't harm them to add a pair of comfy stretchy shorts under a dress and it means they can sit however they wish without flashing their knickers.
I can't really see how anyone could have an issue with it tbh.

I put shorts under my daughter's dresses and skirts, she's constantly cartwheeling, handstanding etc and I don't want anyone seeing anything. I want her to have the freedom of wearing a dress or skirt if she wants to but have the security that her privates remain so. I don't see an issue with it? If your skirt blows up in the wind I'm sure you don't just let it fly up and let everyone see your undercrackers, you would pull it back down.

"Protect their modest" here is a euphemism for "not show everyone their vagina or bum when they do a cartwheel". Knickers move more than you'd think on small active children.

Also, my experience teaching Reception tells me that really small girls take their knickers off entirely way more than you'd think. And then sit cross legged on the floor with their skirt hoiked up.

Depending on her skin tone would she be willing to try a nude shade or a light blush pink? Both of those are barely noticeable under white whereas a white bra top will shine through. Just a thought.

I guess it’s “each to his own” but our primary school dresses were long enough to cover us adequately and we somehow picked up the vibe about modesty and not showing your knickers! Seems very old fashioned now.

When I see our local pre teen and teen Academy girls walking home from school for sure they don’t wear shorts under their skirts and my goodness me, there’s no modesty there.

It must be very hard for boys and young male teachers not to get glimpses of what would be better unseen sometimes. Dign if the times I ‘spose.

I really don’t see the need at school - all the adults are DBS’d, the rest are kids.

Out of school, I see the argument but I’d rather buy big pants that cover everything (like a swimming costume) and take a slight risk, than make them wear another layer on a hot day.

*sign of

So it's 'icky' for cartwheeling girls to want modesty but perfectly okay for an adult to obsess over children's underwear online ......ok then! 😂

I didn't either - but DD2 and friends were told off by dinner lady and started insisting - and then went to trousers which even in secondary school they all still wear in preference to skirts.

Spoke to school who denied it ever happened.

It has increasingly I think become normalized as a thing to do.

Sorry, as an adult you do this? Why? Are you doing cartwheels??

I my day we had gym knickers. I don't think the concept is very different, if you want to encourage your child to do cartwheels and hang upside down on the monkey bars without being put off for life by one nasty comment.

The name modesty shorts gives me the ick but girls underwear tends to be thinner material and cover less than boys underwear so it's a good idea to not flash them.
At age 5 other kids might not notice but you don't want your dd to be the child who is spotted cartwheeling when the other kids start to be more aware. She may be sharing a playground with 11 year olds who will know that you shouldn't flash underwear and if the playground is visible to the public through the fence, you don't want a random watching her.

I think you've misunderstood. It's the school who is calling the girls who don't wear shorts "immodest". It's not the children who have asked to wear them.

I think labelling a child "immodest" is pretty damn icky.

Just buy decent knickers and not the silly flimsy cheap stuff from the supermarkets

My 7 year old wears cycling shorts under her school dresses and skirts. It wasn't a request from the school. It's to protect her modesty. As a child there was a boy in my primary school class who wanted to look at the girls vaginas, makes me feel sick thinking back.

Maybe just put her in shorts to start with? Duh.

DD spends her entire lunch and break at school cartwheeling, doing back bends and generally throwing herself around like a lunatic. She loves to wear dresses but chooses to wear cycling shorts underneath so she feels more free to do those things. She's old enough to feel embarrassed if someone sees her knickers at school and I think that's perfectly normal. I'd rather she wore shorts and was completely active as she wants to be than pulling her skirt down all the time. School have never enforced it though I think they might make a gentle suggestion if a student was flashing knickers on a regular basis!