To think girls shouldn’t wear sandals in the park?

[Canyoucreateoneplease]

It’s been a beautiful day here so I was at the park. DS was on the climbing which is huge, designed for older kids, not toddlers.

There were so many girls crying and panicking getting across it because their sandals were getting trapped. Their feet were sliding out of them because of their angles, and their dresses were hindering them.

AIBU to think girls who are going to park should be put in sensible trainers and trousers? The boys were managing with ease because they were suitably dressed. A substantial amount of the girls were struggling because of what they were wearing.

Yes, this.

Agreed. There is a big difference between sandals typically worn by girls, and sandals typically worn by boys.

Although saying that, I rarely ever have my boys in sandals anyway - they're not as practical as trainers. They're in trainers almost all the time, and occasionally in crocs for easy slip-on shoes eg for after swimming. Surf shoes for the beach, and obviously school shoes at school.

She's completely right though. Why do you have a problem with that?

Read the thread.

Short skirts/dress (like tennis skirts/netball dresses maybe), but I see girls in playgrounds all the time in long dresses (think Elsa or princess dresses). You can't seriously think they are more practical and give more freedom of movement than shorts? There is a reason you don't see women competing in cycling races or running sprints or rock-climbing wearing long flowing dresses... 😅

Truly depressing to see the debate on what females 'should' wear starting in the playground.
Why are people so conditioned to think it's ok to pass judgement on females clothes, shoes, behaviour, speed, ability...and the list goes on.
I've observed children of both sexes in apparel which I could consider a hindrance, but as it's NONE OF MY BUSINESS I carry on my day without comment.

See when I was young everyone, male or female wore these in the summer.

https://www.marksandspencer.com/kids-jelly-sandals-4-small-2-large-/p/clp60722429?color=PINK&extid=ps_ps-pla-pmax_ggl_kw_ch__-UK-_-_bau&cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=20189587561&cq_con=&cq_term=&cq_med=pla&cq_plac=&cq_net=x&cq_plt=gp&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19965637887&gbraid=0AAAAAD7g6bT9CtV_2lpMFYou2CFENa6LZ&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0an5u7-VjwMVP5dQBh0QqC0QEAQYASABEgJSpfD_BwE

cheap and practical.

the really cheap ones had absolutely no grip at all though.

Wow, so you actively remove your child's choice and ability to engage in play on purpose as a response to her choice of clothing? Despite the fact that (as many PPs have attested to) girls can and do play perfectly happily and safely on play equipment in parks in dresses and sandals?

And yet it's people letting their girls wear dresses and sandals responsible for lower levels of engagement in sport amongst girls, not parents going out of their way to exclude their own child from physical activity of they want to wear anything typically designated as feminine.

Wow

I don’t disagree, I always put my DDs in what I consider practical clothes regardless of where we where going, shorts under skirts and dresses so no problem hanging upside down, many a time their skirts would just come off and left for me to pick up. I don’t like sliders & flip flops anyway and open toed sandals are reserved for mainly evening wear, it’s always trainers or the shandal type, but even then my DDs wouldn’t like sand or stones getting in so would prefer trainers. Even now, my tween & teen will wear sliders around the house but will automatically change into trainers if we go out for comfort and practical reasons.

I loved my jelly shoes.

But they gave nightmare blisters, would slide about once you got sweaty, and I can’t remember boys wearing them. Even those ones, you can see by the colours and glitter that they’ve got girls in mind.

It’s depressing to see adults dressing their girls in clothes which will perpetuate the myth that boys are better at running, climbing and kicking balls.

I couldn’t agree more.

Shame on you OP for starting this thread commenting on what little girls are wearing at a playground. Literally non of your business!

OP you are so obviously right. I'm a schoolteacher and the attitudes of some of these parents on here make me despair to be honest. Well done for raising an important issue though. We discuss this in class sometimes when looking at gender stereotypes in English Literature lessons - many of my teenage students are far more switched on than some of the parents commenting on here 😳

Madness to suggest that the OP should feel shame in any way for raising an important issue like this on a parenting discussion board 🙈

DD has got blisters twice, from wearing the very sensible black unisex Geox trainers I bought for her to do PE at school, and another time on her ankle from wellies at forest school.

Not once from her Startrite sandals, even though they are gasp pink and have shudder sparkles on them. And they even have straps with buckles.

We all know shops market boys and girls clothes differently. Hardly a revelation. Lots of parents, me included, buy across sections all the time. The bigger point is kids don’t need us hovering over every bloody choice they make. They wear the wrong shoes, they figure it out, they learn.

My kid’s got strong opinions about what she wears, somewhere between a unicorn and a ninja. Sometimes she picks something impractical and learns pretty quickly by living in it. She refused a jumper for the millionth time, so we didn’t take one. She had one cold stint out in the park and now she’s the one grabbing it on the way out, no reminder necessary.

Maybe if kids had more bodily autonomy, we’d see fewer body image issues and a stronger sense of identity. Turning every misstep into a telenovela just reeks of nothing better to do.

I hope you tell your students that what a woman or a man decides to put on their body is their choice and their choice alone and no-one else should be telling them what they should be comfortable in!

I repeat - many of my teenage students are far more switched on than some of the parents commenting on here (that includes you).

Yeh, I've had blisters from trainers too before. But instead of being a muppet deciding to wear sandals instead to do sport in, I got better trainers 😅👍

🙄🙄 Why are you so keen to defend the clothing that prevents girls from being able to enjoy outdoor play as much as boys?

You’re a fool if you’ve read this thread and emerged with the view that the problem is the colour of the shoes.

And yet the boys don’t seem to be forced to learn from these wrong choices when it comes to shoes. You never see 7 year old boys wearing slippers, or wellies in 30 degree heat, or their sandals in the depths of winter.

It only seems to affect girls and their strong desire to wear ill fitting, strappy shoes which just so happen to perfectly match their dress.

Odd.

We are talking about children.

Feeling judgemental about what girls (and women) wear is not a feminist act.

If by "switched on" you mean "agrees with you to get you to stop droning on with your misogynistic claptrap" then yeh, probably. 😂

Anyway, I'm leaving this thread here. My daughter and I have a whole day ahead of sitting prettily lest we disturb the folds of our frocks and daintily attracting the attention of menfolk to carry us across tough terrain that we could never manage in our delicate women's wear.

Of course gladiators managed physical activity in tunics and sandals but they were men, and we women cannot be expected to cope with something as complex as a skirt or an open toe, nor to make such difficult choices as what clothes to wear.