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.

@Tandora maybe it’s just about the girls feeling comfortable and not about others being embarrassed? Maybe the child wants to wear them ! Maybe young children don’t think in terms of modesty, maybe it’s just what they want !

Saying this peice of cotton is underwear and must never be seen, and this peice of cotton is designated shorts and so is fine to be seen is nuts in my opinion

I don't think that's what people are saying at all. What people are saying is that if a girl's knickers are not up to the job of covering up bum cheeks and labia when the child is cross legged or upside down, then a pair of light cotton shorts will do the job. Nobody is saying knickers should never be seen. (Although I'd prefer not to flash mine) You can even buy actual nice soft cotton knickers that go some way down the upper leg, and they are just knickers and are fine, and nobody will be shocked by seeing those knickers. No shorts required if you have non-flashing knickers. It's when knickers are not doing their job of keeping private parts private that light exercise shorts come into their own. There are knickers now widely available to wear with dresses, for girls and women who suffer chub rub or don't want to flash their arse cheeks when they bend over. I know many people, girls and women, who have welcomed the advent of these comfortable undergarments, to wear under dresses.
This seems to me a whole massive fuss about defending female rights to 'wear what they like' I completely agree that adult women should wear whatever they want, wherever they want. They are grown ups with autonomy.

But having been a TA in primary school for more years than I care to remember,
I'm sure there would be a few mothers of the girls in the front row who would reconsider their child's undergarments if they'd had the sometimes sad and sometimes startling views of ill fitting and frankly inadequate knickers.

It's never the boys. I've never seen one willy in all the years I've been there.
I've seen more female genitalia than I care to remember. It's really not rocket science. Let the girls have underwear that covers their genitalia.
It's not anti-feminist to want to keep your private parts private.

And I have 3 daughters, no sons, and 5 nieces. So I'm fairly conversant with little girls and how their underwear can often let them down whilst they are completely unaware.

It’s called decency, adults don’t sit with their legs open and underwear on show so nor should a 12 year old girl.

No one has to conform to your standards of “decency” with regard to their own body and boundaries, let alone a 12 year old CHILD. She can sit however the fuck she likes and so can any adult woman for that matter. If you have a problem with that, that’s for you to sort out.

She can as long as her privates are kept private yes.

If it’s about girls feeling comfortable then no need for them to be told is there? And no need whatsoever for the school to get involved.
Girls can chose to wear shorts as a when they like, and sit however they bloody well choose. Simples.

I think maybe you’re being silly. How often do you exercise your right to display your genitals or underwear? On the bus? At work? I predict that you don’t.

I would say it was a safeguarding issue if a member of staff didn’t, discreetly, indicate to a 12 year old to change the way they were sitting, for their dignity (not saying modesty).

The girl undoubtedly was unaware of what she was showing and I’m sure her parents would much rather their child’s labia were kept private than her right to ‘burn her bra’ upheld.

So tell me, if your daughter came home and said the boys were sitting with their legs open and you could see their scrotums or penises through their gapey shorts, you’d tell your daughter ‘they can sit however they like’, off course you’re not.

So we can all sit with our legs open and underwear on show or more now because it’s our body? That would be classed as public indecency 🤦🏻‍♀️

I do it to prevent chub rub 😂

Have you seen the episode of Friends, where Phoebe’s boyfriend keeps putting one leg up, whilst not wearing underpants?

Gunther walks past and says “Dude. Put the mouse back in the house!” 😂

I’m a teacher and I will absolutely ask a female pupil to sit differently if she is flashing her genitals. That’s just common sense.

I put shorts under dresses on my daughter from when she came out of nappies. Once she is old enough to sit with her legs together (i.e. not have to sit cross legged on the floor at school!) and not hang upsidedown etc then she can wear what she wants. Until then, I want her clothes to allow her the freedom to do what she wants without issues, in the same way boys can.
It's not protecting a child's innocence to let them display their underwear while playing or sitting down for carpet time. What a weird viewpoint.

I put shorts on my 3 year old but probably because I'm projecting my own worries on to her. I know it's irrational, but it makes me feel a little better.

She also has a habit of picking her undies out of her bum in the most 'unladylike' ways and I wouldn't want her, or a member of staff in her school, to be put in a position that could cause any concern or end up on a safeguarding file.

@Rapunzzel yessssss you have hit the nail on the head with everything you have said!!!!!

@Tandora no sorry I disagree with you. As I said earlier in the post, I'm a secondary school teacher, and I do not want to stand on front of girls with their skirts yanked above their knees, legs wide open, lots on show!!! And as others have mentioned, we are not just talking about material of a knickers being on show here!

Honestly, undoing a wedgie wouldn’t end up on a list in school, I promise you.

These girls are wearing school uniform. They are not wearing comfortable clothes that they have chosen. Why do you care so much that they are allowed to flash their undies when everything else they wear is under school's control? It would make more sense to me, from the point of view of comfort and choice, to say they can wear anything as long as their underwear is covered.

Same dont see any issue with it !!

@Tandora who’s telling them ? As I said maybe they want to wear them . Or are girls not allowed to choose what they wear anymore?

@7eleven I work in a school as an ADSL and while on the surface I agree with you, some teachers get overzealous with reporting and I have seen some very ridiculous concerns.

I have also had to send girls home this week to change because they are only wearing 'modesty' shorts! I felt uncomfortable as a female member of staff, nothing left to the imagination at all.

I find this really strange.
Children are being sexualised earlier & earlier. This wasn't the case a few years ago with my 2 girls who are now 18 . It seems to be ok for teens to wear revealing minis & leggings. But not appropriate for tiny innocent children to show their knickers.

Exactly. @SparklingMarkling putting a pair of tight fitting shorts on your dd won’t protect her from paedolohiles sadly.

Why do you want them to show their knickers? What is the advantage? It's not about sex it's about dignity.

When people are given weird messages at a young age about sex and sexuality, they are likely to have messed up views when they are older. This is playing out now in society (notice how cultures who are more relaxed in this area aren't as peverted in general)

Many people on this thread really do say so.
Some even tried to explain etymology of the word underwear as "under clothes and therefore never visible"...

This thread is so long because half says "two layers are unnecessary, well fitting knickers, maybe boxer style, should do the job" and second half says "it is underwear, it is private and it should never be seen".

I love the look of these, although they are pricey, gulp!!

What are they like for size? I really struggle to get the right size pants for DD (4) because she's super skinny and if I buy her correct age they usually fall down and annoy her... But smaller sizes are often too shallow from crotch to waistband iyswim! Or too narrow in width so they don't cover her bum cheeks 🙈😂