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 remember being sent home to change into shorts when I was 5 or 6 (from my friends back garden a few doors up). We had been doing handstands and I was wearing a skirt, obviously showing my knickers sometimes. She said she didn't want her husband (my friends step-dad) seeing my knickers.....

You can get synthetic knickers especially for older girls/women and you can buy cotton cycling shorts john lewis anyday do cheap ones if anyone is interested so not sure what your point is?

I don’t know why I’m getting into this bizarre argument, but the idea that cycling shorts are some sort of terrible sweaty death trap is very weird and just wrong.

This is all new to
me, as a kid we never wore shorts under skirts or dresses but back in the 70 and 80 “modesty dressing” wasn’t a thing. My mum frequently let us run around in just knickers. However I do encourage my toddler to wear cycle shorts , tights or leggings under her skirt. Every one has a mobile these days and I am convinced that There are far more active peados around. I would not want a photo of my daughter doing a cartwheel in the playground to become porn fodder. It’s tragic.

It's very strange. During the summer holidays my daughter will wear cycling shorts most days. These will be paired with baggy t shirts. Very little difference to a school dress.

What health problems will she get? I'm pretty sure this is what I wore as a child?

If you have a child that is prone to UTIs or thrush then of course you wear what suits them best and their conditions but not all children (and adults) are. It's like the people who say 'bath bombs will give you thrush'. They may give YOU the individual thrush but that doesn't mean it applies to us all.

The ones I wear are 95% cotton and 5% elastane, too. They are just very short leggings, not actual sportswear.

Same for the 'cycling shorts' I buy for my daughter, though she tends to wear them with a t-shirt rather than a dress. Mainly for indoor sports lessons actually, since it's too cold for bare legs where we live. Though she has worn them with short-sleeved tunic dresses on holiday.

These leggings shorts, if that's a better word for them, are a very versatile, practical and comfortable garment! My daughter and I both like them.

There are two purposes here.

The first one is about privacy for the actual body parts. Both approaches can help with this one

The second purpose presented by many shorts supporters is about privacy for the underwear, no matter how well fitting.

And it seems that the same line goes with adults - some don't show underwear intentionally, but see a potential accident as just that,an accident, and some would be mortified and take precautions.

Isn’t it overwhelmingly more likely that the boys are wearing an outer layer (such as shorts or trousers) that covers their underpants completely?

It’s generally girls that have a uniform option that is open and so can expose underwear.

@Tandora
No I am not going to sit opposite a 12 year old girl who is showing unintentionally her body and ignore this
That's ridiculous!
I was v careful not to say anything about sitting 'ladylike'

Not at all! Most kids' cycle shorts are made of cotton!

Cycle shorts is obviously a bit of a euphemism because that's now what manufacturers call short cotton stretchy shorts - not really anything to do with cycling. They're not made of that synthetic sports gear material, if that's what you're thinking.

If boys underwear is better fitting why not just but the girls boys underwear? Or can girls only wear pink frilly knickers?

I think it more highlights how uncomfortable people are that they make this choice is the very unlikely scenario that someone will see up their dress or skirt. There are other issues at play here

I think it more highlights how uncomfortable people are that they make this choice is the very unlikely scenario that someone will see up their dress or skirt. There are other issues at play here

I find it weird that people find the choices other people make about clothes weird. 😉

No one has answered my question about bra straps on show. Why is that ok?

Because for the 100th time..... Its not about the knickers being on show, it's about how they don't actual serve their function of covering female genitalia! Not wide enough, too loose, the list goes on... Its not about seeing the knickers, it's about the flash of parts of the vulva that might be on show as a result of an ill-fitting knickers, as most knickers are. Even as an adult I get it hard to get comfortable knickers that fit and cover properly. If a brastrap moves to the side, you see a shoulder.

Ha ha, fair point 😄

Thanks for taking that in the light hearted way it was meant 😀

I mean, I don't particularly like that look either, but at least when you see a bra strap the part of the bra you see is the strap that covers the shoulders. You don't see the part that covers the breasts. Completely different. And if the strap moves out of position or falls off the shoulder, all you see is the shoulder. That's not the case with little girls underwear.

A better comparison to the knicker issue would be an ill fitting bikini top that could result a nip slip at any moment. A bra strap covers a strip of shoulder which is like saying what if my sock falls down and exposes my ankle - total non issue unless it’s the 19th century.

Why good grief? You don’t think little girls deserve to have their modesty protected? Are they not human? Or are they some separate species that are not allowed a modicum of privacy?

@spacie Goodness, that takes me back, good old navy blue gym knickers, with a small pocket tucked in the front. They totally gave you modesty.

@bendmeoverbackwards

straps are essentially just sitting on the shoulder so doesn’t take a genius to work out the difference.

I do not want to stand on front of girls with their skirts yanked above their knees, legs wide open, lots on show

that’s your own issue though and shame on you for shaming/ sexualising a child !

Sorry but I think it's totally inappropriate for a teacher to be able to see a child's private parts! As has been mentioned numerous times now, it's not about seeing underwear, it's about ill-fitting underwear not doing it's job and seeing their actual genitalia! Under no circumstances is that appropriate!