Why are girls uniforms so short ?

[Anetaaa]

I have a 3yo son and 2yo girl and now my 3 yo is going to school it gets me thinking. Why are school uniforms for girls so short ? I feel like I’m insane, because I was shown a skirt and to me it seemed ridiculously short and no one seems to see the problem ? I would never wear such thing myself especially to exercise. I don’t really get it, seems they are treated like this from young age and then they are being punished when older when skirts are too short ? Can someone tell me there are going to be some changes ? As also if my girl wears trousers won’t she be alienated by other girls ? 😔

Like how short? My DD5 wears her sisters old uniform and it's down to her mid calf, DD8 wears the same uniform (in a bigger size) and it is above her knee but we're almost at the end of the year so I'll buy her a size up. However, don't compare with teenagers as their skirts have always been short. My mum remembers getting caned if they couldn't kneel and the shirt touch the ground (the solution was to roll your skirt up at the waistband and if you saw a nun pull it back down).

I have seen lots of girls wear trousers at primary schools, not so much secondary where I do see too short skirts, never noticed the skirts being short in primary. For exercise they wear shorts. I think some secondary girls also wear shorts under their skirt.

And agreed with @Timetoread trousers/shorts are very acceptable.

Dd has trousers/dresses and skirts and likes the skirts best. They fall to just below the knee and she wears with thick tights. She only really wears the trousers if its really cold

I agree. Way to short to be worn alone.

Some of the school skirts I see are indecent. I can, quite literally see these girls bum cheeks. I know you’re told not to judge but have some self respect at least..

In general girl's clothing is worse quality, more form fitting and smaller than boys.

My niece wears dresses and skirts or pinafores but has shorts underneath so she can do handstands. The skirts are just above her knees. Some of the girls wear boys school shorts. There’s play equipment in the playground too so they’re often climbing or doing somersaults. I do see high school girls in short shorts and what can only be called a band just covering their bums. We wouldn’t have been allowed to wear those 😂

Most primary schoolgirls' skirts are knee length

Secondary school girls not so much.

But that was the same in my day and I'm in my 70s!

It's easier to move in a shorter skirt provided it isn't tight. I guess since primary age girls run about playing alot and don't have adult bodies so aren't being sexualised, the schools have shorter skirts on the uniform.
I mean if you don't like it then isn't there a shorts or trousers alternative on the uniform list? Surely there should be in this day and age.
Personally I'm of the mindset that girls should wear whatever they feel comfortable in and length is irrelevant as 1/2 an inch more leg on show is no excuse for anyone to sexually harrass them or for them to feel self conscious.
I'm a skirt and dress person myself. Hardly ever wear trousers. And it is easier to move about in a short a line or skater skirt. I remember at school having calf length pleated kilts that were a nightmare and would get tangled up in your legs if you ever wanted to run or climb.
As long as girls bums are fully covered I don't see what it matters where the hem of the skirt reaches after that.

I have two daughters in secondary, one wears trousers and one wears skirts. The skirts are just above knee length, or at least they are when she leaves the house!

As for primary, my daughter has just started reception and wears pinafores or skirts (she has some trousers but absolutely hates wearing them) they are about knee length. I think it's about a 50/50 split with the girls either wearing trousers or skirts

Wait until they are at secondary school !! My daughter was at Grammar and the girls literally chopped off the hem of their £60 skirts ! Daughter now 30. And embarrassed.

Put her in the trousers. She sounds like she may be tall for her age as most uniforms I have seen are knee length at least.

My daughter wears leggings to school - but I think we’re a bit more relaxed about uniform in Scotland. She’s 9 and doesn’t like skirts or dresses. She used to wear skirts. Can’t remember having an issue with them being too short (apart from when she had growth spurts and all her clothes were suddenly too small!). But I always put little shorts under skirts whatever the length as she was forever climbing or doing cartwheels at the park and I didn’t think the world needed to see her knickers!!

Let your daughter wear what she wants. I really don’t see why she would be alienated for wearing trousers…

Skirts are not too short, but teenaged girls, all over thexworld, will know the art of rolling the waistband to make them so.
You duaghters will be doing it in another 10-12 years!
Unless we have been obliviated by ww3 by then

I also think a lot is how the average waist size has grown. DD’s (13) school skirt is way above her knees but she’s a 26 inch waist. If I bought a skirt that would fit her knees, she would need to wear braces! I wish secondary school clothes still had the elastic band in which you could tighten!

Edit: She wore pinafores at primary and they seemed to fit better than a skirt.

Secondary age girls roll up their skirts. I didn't find that the primary age skirts were too short though. Do you have a choice of styles? The pleated ones give more freedom for running around in the playground.

Dd has never worn skirts or dresses to school. She's in year 7 now and lots of her year mates wear trousers.

No, she won't be "alienated by other girls" because 4 year olds don't give a fuck about what other girls are wearing. Are you expecting her reception class to be like mean girls?! Loads of girls in my sons' primary classes wear trousers. But also the skirts aren't short, they sit just above the knee and many of them wear shorts underneath as well. Some of them also have the checkered summer dress pattern in shorts for the summer term

At primary? Girls uniforms cone in every variety. Skorts and culottes pretty popular at dds school.
Secondary a whole diff story but that's not for you to worry about now!

Is she particularly tall? My daughter started school in age 3-4 skirts and then went down to mid calf. She's now in year 6 (age 10) and wears an 8-9 skirt that is knee length. She prefers trousers though and wears them most days.

Can't say I've particularly noticed short skirts on primary school girls where I live. Most of them wear tights under the skirts most of the year anyway.

”skirts these days are too short” has been a complaint for at least hundred years, honestly. I remember my father going off about it when I was a teen. I got into the attic, found his old yearbook from his final year of secondary in the 70s, and started flipping through pages and pointing. That was the end of that.

Shorter, lighter skirts and pinafores are usually easier to run and play in when small than the heavy knee-length ones, and don’t get trod or in the way when on the floor. Offer your children the option of trousers/shorts if available at their school, and if your DD chooses skirts get her soft shorts to go under. For long-legged, lanky girls it can be worth buying skirts bigger so the length is comfortable and having the waist taken in, rather than compromising on length to buy the right waist size.

Aren't pinafore dresses really useful as at 4 they are not as coordinated in more likely to get paint, glue, food etc. On them. I don't think they are short but perhaps that has changed in the last 7 years.