To think we do girls a massive disservice?

[Sexnotgender]

Just dropped off at primary school, the vast, vast majority of girls are in stupid little Mary Jane type shoes with ankle socks. No jumpers.

The boys are in sensible waterproof looking shoes, long trousers and jumpers.

I stood next to a young girl waiting to go in and she kept saying how cold she was. I felt so sorry for her.

Why would they sell stuff no one wants to buy they have normal girls school shoes how many girls wear them?

Shops stocks what sells

I agree.. shoes not suitable for running in or kicking a football, skirts not suitable for sitting on the carpet, playing on a climbing frame or doing cartwheels.. it has deep and longlasting consequences.

What is the point of a skirt??

I agree with @CalistoNoSolo and uniforms should be unisex. There is absolutely no reasons why boys and girls should wear different type of clothes.

I could rant for ever about school uniform. Our one child who went to a no uniform school, was always weather appropriate as were most of the kids (there's always one who wears shorts all year round!). Different child, had uniform but wore warm boots, leggings and a poloneck under her pinafore, but a school change, boots were outlawed and they were only allowed tights and a short sleeved polo. DD had boys shoes, and we had the argument with school that they were boots (but weren't boots on the boys 🤷‍♀️). Mad shit. She ended up with Mary Janes and wet feet (wellies weren't allowed for the walk to schooll). The UK is crackers about this stuff.
My youngest isn't allowed a coat at their high school.

The flip side (though not related to school uniform) is that I was trying to explain to DS this morning that there is mens fashion and it's not just girls who get pretty outfits and beautiful hairstyles.

And a huge yes to @ByGrabtharsHammarWhatASaving about finances and being forced to get girls less good options just because of your income.

YANBU. Gendered clothing (and hair and toys and...)for children has got worse over the past 20 years. I really thought we'd got past this shit by the 90s but if anything, it's even worse than when I was at primary in the 60s. Most girls had short hair back then, too.

One of my kids always wore pinafores, she hated skirts, trousers or shorts because they wouldn't stay up. Mainly wore leggings and dresses at home. It never stopped her being active, she was a keen footballer out of school, but didn't play at school because the boys hogged all the space 🙄.

Those Mary Jane shoes are absolutely pointless. We have boots, and trainers. But the boots are much more expensive. I'd prefer just shoes with tops, but these don't seem to exist ...

One of mine has gone in in her Mary-Jane style shoes, the other is wearing ankle boots - both have the choice available (and allowed by school) for them. Both have trousers available - but one will adamantly refuse to wear them at all, the other will do so reluctantly on rare occasions. One will have gone in looking like the Michelin man with a huge thick coat, hat, scarf, gloves (she hates the cold) and the other is trying to tough it out in a blazer because she doesn't get cold like her sister.

Kids vary - round here there are lots of boys who are in shorts through choice still.

DD wears tights and a pinafore in the cold and the gingham summer dresses. In the summer. She's warm when she needs to be and hates trousers. Never stopped her hanging off the monkey bars, running around or climbing trees.

At our school it's mostly the boys looking freezing because they insist on still wearing shorts when there's snow on the ground.

Same here, my daughter wears trousers and ankle boots in this weather, with a school cardigan and her coat!

I'm school support staff and there has been quite a few kids with no gloves, bare legs, thin coats etc in these freezing cold temperatures and they then say to me their hands are cold 😥. I usually give them mine. I do get that parents forget, I'm a parent too but it tends to be the same kids and they never seem to have gloves.

I've sent my DSD to school with wooley tights, knee high black boots, a warm coats, hat and gloves. Nothing to do with doing girls a disservice, just stupid parenting. I've also seen boys in school shorts and ankle socks.

Its down to the parents to dress them appropriately. It's not like there isn't shops with racks of girls trousers, woollen tights and sturdy winter shoes/boots??

My DD wore trousers and jumpers and decent coats.
She had traditional 'girls' shoes, but relatively robust ones. In bad weather she wore wellies to school and changed when she got there.

100%. I wore lace up shoes, from the girls' section of Startrite in the 70s.and 80s. Lace ups for girls no longer seem to exist.

Also what is the reason for the ban on boots? DD's secondary is obsessed with this rule, but no explanation. As DD's ankles roll easily, I have written her a note to give her permission to wear ankle height walking-style black boots. She has to show that note every day practically, but honestly, I can't see what's wrong with them, and at least her feet are warm and dry.

Surely there's a winter version of the uniform - tights instead of socks, thicker skirt or even trousers, proper lace up shoes or ankle boots, a nice thick cardigan/jumper?

I'm not a big fan of Clarks in general, but was pleased to see recently that when I searched for girls' school shoes on their website then a number of good solid options (chunky loafers and lace-ups) came up as well as the pathetic Mary Jane flimsies. A number of their styles show up in both the "Girls' Shoes" and the "Boys' Shoes" sections.

I think they had a bit of a come-to-Jesus moment a few years back when people started pointing out how rubbish their Girls Shoes section was compared with their boys' ones. Also they were naming the girls' styles things like "Dolly Babe" and their boys' styles things like "Leader". It even made the newspapers and Clarks have clearly realised that that was bad publicity...

I find Tu (Sainsbury's) actually do a lot of good quality, hard-wearing clothes that manage to be attractive to both boys and girls. You have to ignore a lot of the silly stuff but it is there to be had. I dress my DDs largely in these and if Frugi sale items 😆

DD's class seems to have the opposite problem, the girls are sensibly dressed for the weather but a few of the boys are still in shorts 🥶

I think this is really balanced and sums up how I see it.

My DD is the only girl that wears trousers for non-religious reasons and I buy a lot of her clothes in the boys department.

So their parents bad parenting is doing them a disservice, not US or SOCIETY. My son's female friends are in trousers or tights and dresses. Both sexes are in shoes they can run around in. They're in jumpers and coats. Sorry your kid goes to school in an area with such useless parents.

YANBU! I have two boys and a girl and it's completely bonkers.

Our school uniform can be completely unisex, they all wear a school sweater and have the option of any dark plain leggings, joggers, trousers, or skirts. Any shoes are allowed. So it's really relaxed.

The boys generally wear sweatshirt, leggings/joggers and trainers, perfect for playing. Some of the girls wear the same but most wear little Mary Jane patent shoes, knee socks/tights, and a skirt.

this was never my girls. they dressed up warmly and appropriately and still do. we arent doing girls a disservice. some parents are. they arent instilling confidence in their daughters to be who they want to be or who they are.

We have the choice to opt out of the daft expectations for girls. My DD1(9) went to school today in a pinafore, polo, thick tights, cardigan and waterproof black boots. On PE days, she wears joggers instead of shorts or leggings when it’s cold. My DD2(3) will be going to pre-school in her school top, fleece and joggers. She’ll likely be in trainers today as they’re more practical for her and boots won’t go over her joggers.

It is harder to find practical clothes for girls but they are available.