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.

My daughter is almost 25. She wore cycling shorts in primary. This is not a new thing 🤷🏻‍♀️

Because we teach our children (both boys and girls) that our underwear is private?

I've already said my DD (8) would be embarrassed if anyone saw her pants in the exact same way I would be as an adult, so should I not care about that? She may not be 5 but I'd assume this was blanket rule for the whole primary school, not just 5/6 year olds.

When would you suggest we teach them not to show their underwear off? (Again, this goes for both sexes).

WE used to tuck them in our knickers so they weren't in the way for handstands!

For their own personal privacy?

Not for the sake of politeness or modesty as far as I'm concerned. I pity any child who thinks that they have to cover up for the benefit of other people instead of for themselves. They are just little kids, ffs.

What if they like wearing dresses? They should be able to wear what they like. At the school where I worked girls could wear shorts or trousers, at local secondary schhols girls can wear trousers (shorts allowed this week) it's about choice surely.

It's difficult to unpick this topic.
I didn't factor not exposing your underwear in the equation when mine were small and concentrated on comfort and practicality.
So practicality meant that shorts were preferable, because skirts tend to get in the way while being active.
That said i brought mine up on the continent where there isn't a school uniform, little girls often get their hair cut short in the summer and both sexes under 8/9 wear only bikini bottoms to the beach, toddlers often without anything.

So some women who wear cycling shorts under a dress or skirt are overweight? There must be a lot of them on this thread.

This.^^

Have to. No matter how much weight I lose (I’m a healthy weight now) I get uncomfortable rubbing of my inner thighs. But light shorts and a dress on top isn’t hotter than shorts and a top. It’s still very airy and comfy.

girls' knickers aren't skimpy, but 'flimsy' is potentially due to the thin 'breathable' material, which vaginas need.

Very well put.

Can they not just wear shorts, and not a dress?

Imo as their parent it's your job to protect their modesty. Kids should be kids aka active, doing cartwheels, skipping, sitting cross legged etc but as a grown up you don't want them to accidentally expose themselves to peers/teachers/strangers so i think it's completely right to put shorts under dresses in order to protect them. Boys can do all of the above without showing their underwear.

I'm not sure I agree. We don't have shorts as part of the uniform so for boys it's trousers and girls have the option of trousers or skirts. Most girls opt for the skirt even though they don't find it comfortable, as there still seems to be a huge stigma around wearing the trousers for some reason, I'm not sure why to be honest. The boys don't have a choice, it's just one item. If the girls just had trousers, I think (in both the school where I teach and the school where I attended) it would eliminate any lagging over wearing them and a lot more girls would actually be comfortable.

Not all schools do this though.

I wear a culottes type underskirt. They’re very comfortable.

I put mine in a playsuit rather than a summer dress now which is easier and means she doesn't have to worry. It is a bit sad to have to worry about it but i can understand why .

Also, I’d feel the same for my boys. Their underpants are sturdy/normal, but I still wouldn’t put them in clothing that showed their underwear and think ‘well it’s no problem, their underwear covers their genitals so it’s fine.’

I could have written this. My LO wears shorts under her dress because at the moment she and her friends are obsessed with learning cartwheels. She is slim and knickers do shift around and I wouldn't like to be showing off my knickers or bottom accidentally. I don't think the school should insist on it though and ours doesn't. And if my daughter didn't want to then I wouldn't force it (although would remind her about cartwheels!)

Seriously this thread is odd, surely too many layers underneath is going to cause issues especially when older. Do little children need to know about modesty, it's unfortunate children can't be children.

Schools should stop having 'girls' and 'boys' uniforms - that'd help. I don't really want to see anyone's pants thanks, no matter what age they are. Within context of course. I can see a few PPs have already mentioned swimwear. That's different. I'd happily sit on the beach or poolside in a swimsuit, but I wouldn't go to work in one.

If girls didn't have dresses or skirts as uniform there wouldn't be any argument for or against shorts. The boys are already wearing them as part of their uniform.

Dresses/skirts aren't great for being active at breaktime. My DD wears shorts underneath so she's more comfortable doing the things others have said - cartwheeling, monkey bars etc. That said, that's her choice, not something the school have insisted on.

Personally, I don't generally wear skirts or dresses as I find them pretty impractical.

My 7 year old granddaughter wears bloomers. They’re a nice compromise between normal pants and cycling shorts.

wh is point of dresses or skirts. Would it not be more practical for girls to wear shorts and t shirt.

In principle it should be personal choice but the school would not be asking if there wasn’t an issue occurring, so why wouldn’t you want to react to that

It isn’t too many layers. It’s underpants and shorts. The dress will not be a ‘layer’ as such because it’s open. Do you send your kids out in just underpants with nothing else? I presume they do wear a layer over their underwear.