To ask if boys can wear coloured gingham school shorts?

[Makingitupaswegoalong]

DS starting school in September. I’ve never liked the grey boys’ school shorts. I think they’re horrible.

Could a boy wear the shorts version of the summer dresses in the warmer months? The ones like this:
https://direct.asda.com/george/school/shorts/light-blue-girls-gingham-longer-length-school-shorts/G008057152,default,pd.html?redirectFromInt=1&cmpid=ppc--geor-------_-dskwid-_dm&utm_campaign=pla:Fashion-School-_Performance_Max&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17501196607&gbraid=0AAAAADt8Wcm1oMWVYoBrMZRAaJmY4OxHM&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgIXCBhDBARIsAELC9ZgYG9pdeZibdgD76_xniRBLDqnyyvZArL9DdLA7VsYiWE5zGC1CWE0aAkIFEALw_wcB

The little boys round here wear a lot of brightly coloured patterned leggings.

Why couldn’t they were these shorts? Are they obviously girly? Would people bully him or think we were weird? I just think they’re nicer.

What’s weird about it?

Knees scab over and skin grows back - trouser knees don’t and there is a limit to how many times they can be repaired. Shorts use less fabric and are cheaper. Cost counts when you live on a tight budget, especially before cheap slave labour was making the “cheap” clothes in our shops.

Personally I think the gingham shorts are ugly for either sex but if you want to go ahead at least check they fall within the uniform rules first. If you are going to push your preference onto him be prepared to buy another pair when he comes home wanting to look like all the other boys. At this age most children don’t like to stand out from the crowd.

This is exactly the kind of thing I was thinking of, and the kind of thing he wears already.

It really wasn’t meant to be as big of a deal as people’s reactions have indicated!

I am probably a bit of a weirdo but I don’t generally go out of my way to be attention seeking or make big political statements!

Welcome to the school gates....

...yes there's a good number who do this. And if you think I'm one, you're in for fun!

If you are going to push your preference onto him

I’ve said I’m not going to do this about four times now!

I forgot to add my son is 9 most of the other boys at school wear the grey shorts but my son doesn’t care at all and hasn’t had any nasty comments at all from children or adults. I want my son to feel comfortable in his skin and to wear what he fees happy in. I think wear what makes you comfortable! He also has a bright pink and purple hello kitty backpack for school because that’s the one he chose!

Apologies for misquoting you. You said that society sucks because of parents who think that children should be able to express themselves freely. Is that more accurate? Still, hard disagree.

If it’s behind your back, how do you even know? And why would you care?

I wonder if they are sold more of a modesty short to be worn under the dress as an alternative to the tight stretchy ones.

Some girls wear those in green check at my sons school with a matching green gingham top, I imagine it’s because they find wearing summer dresses when playing football etc impractical but still like the prettier pattern of the gingham.
Mum of boys who 2 of which love colour, tie dye etc but they absolutely would not have wanted to wear gingham shirts to school. I’m pretty sure their uniform policy states that summer uniform is gingham dresses, shorts/green polos. Some girls wear the grey shorts and polo necks, summer dresses etc but I’ve never seen a boy wear the gingham check outfit.
Im all for being to express yourself, but why you would make your child be different just because YOU prefer how they look?
They would look awful in no time, I’ve picked my youngest up today and he is covered from neck yo toe in mud, I’m glad he’s wearing dark green and grey!

A boy in my son's class wears a school cardigan that usually only the girls wear. It draws attention to him but he doesn't seem to mind or notice. He has got a very strong leader like personality though. It wouldn't be something Id do though personally with my child as hed be sensitive to being "different".

I think, perhaps, you were just looking for a lighter alternative, OP. I know what you mean.

All 3 of my boys always loved shorts at school - cooler, no material to rub against legs, bit roomier (esp with one's with combat pockets on the side they got when a bit older primary). I always loved them with short-sleeved school shirt, tie & tanktop and/ or blazer- so smart. DS1 loved them so much it was a struggle to get him out of them when it turned colder, & he moaned so much that he wasn't allowed at secondary school 😆. Older 2 played/ play rugby, so I suppose shorts were what they were used to all the time, so seemed more normal & less formal than trousers.

Maybe you'll grow to like them. M&S do grey ones that are pure cotton, so they might suit?

My friehd in Canada's kids- even in secondary- had school tracksuit/ polo/ shorts made of sweatshirt. All the same so could hand down to either sex. Sensible!

And yet your OP is entirely about your opinions on grey shorts starting here:

DS starting school in September. I’ve never liked the grey boys’ school shorts. I think they’re horrible

I’m sure you will do as you wish, be prepared for your DC to want to look like everyone else within a few weeks of starting school with something different.

I am taking the points on board, by the way. I’ve never been very bothered what other people think and never been hugely fussed about fitting in and my husband is the same. Neither of us has ever been bullied, though: we’ve both just found our friends in life and not been that bothered or impressed by the ‘popular’ set. I’ve always been able to stick up for myself and I think if anyone has ever tried to be nasty they’ve never had a reaction so have given up. I certainly won’t be bothered by the playground mafia!

The important point is, though, DS is his own person. The likelihood is he may turn into a bit of a weirdo like his parents but he may not. He does remind me a bit of me as a child and so possible neuro-divergence is on my radar because I think I’m probably undiagnosed, but never seen the point of a diagnosis since I’m happy in my job and my relationship and found a way to make life work for me.

He’s his own person and it makes sense to let him start school from as neutral a starting point as possible so if he wants to fit in he can. Point taken! No gingham shorts!

I wouldn't put my boys in cardigans either. My youngest would probably prefer a cardi and they are easier to get on / off than a sweatshirt but I just couldn't.
I settled on a zip up fleece for him.

At some point I remember cardis being sold for men as well as women but men's cardis really seem to be a thing of the past or really old folk.

I really don't know why any one would risk their kid getting teased for clothing if they had the means to prevent it. I could almost understand if it was a hand me down or a charity shop find but why would anyone buy something for their kid if its likely to result in getting told 'no not suitable' or the kid refusing to wear it because the boys laughed at it.

Literally for the fifth time, I am not going to buy the feminine-coded shorts!

See, that’s weird, and shows they’re picking up these ideas from peers because lots of the boys at my DC’s primary school wear the school cardigan rather than the sweatshirt.

OP, do what your son wants. One thing I will say though is that those gingham shorts are quite thin and, I imagine, more prone to tearing than the grey ones.

Literally this whole thread started by you states in the OP (and subsequently) that the reason is your dislike of grey shorts. That is the point in your posts to which I and most others are replying.

HTH

I'm just thinking of the grass stains, yoghurt, baked beans, finger paints, snot and mud they'd inevitably get covered in. They wouldn't last a day on my child.

Your son sounds great!

What is HTH? Is it meant to be snarky?

I don’t understand why people keep replying to the original post when I’ve subsequently said point taken, this was clearly a bad idea.

I think what you’re missing is that people are shocked you’d consider this decision on your DS’s behalf when it’s your DS who will face the consequences.

If he was desperate to wear those shorts himself then that would be a different matter. Some kids like to be different and couldn’t care less what people think about it. Most don’t though. They want to be anonymous and blend in when making new friends or are somewhere new.

To want to make the decision for him to be different is quite an unusual parental move. And you saying that you don’t like the grey shorts is irrelevant. You’re not the one who is wearing them. It doesn’t matter what you think about them. I’ve never heard my son say that his school trousers or shorts were too grey or uncomfortable. I don’t think he’s ever even thought about them.

People are both lazy and self-important. So they can't be arsed to check for further updates from the OP and really think their opinion counts even though it's been made 50 times already and acknowledged.

Nothing you can do about it. I think you've taken the feedback really well. It wasn't a completely insane idea by any means.

Thank you! Have a nice day.

It really doesn’t matter that you don’t like grey shorts - they’re the uniform 🤷‍♀️
Would you send him in a different colour jumper/blazer if it was a colour you didn’t like? I think not 🤷‍♀️

Yes that is definitely something to reflect on.