to think hideous plimsolls are inferior to proper Nike trainers

[AtheneNoctua]

Why does she need plimsolls (which are clearly inferior in terms of their athletic quality)??

I know I know. Everyone has them and DD is very clear that I MUST buy them for her too. So i will. But someone explain to me why these hideous plimsoll things are preferred for the school sports day?

what a great school! making it easier for parents , some parents cant affored nikes or similar and this way all children are the same

I like daps.

Daps, I called them that (from Swindon) and kept them with my PE kit in a dap bag! Dh only an hour down the road in hampshire thinks i am mad

Oh yes melrose, my kids have dap bags!

i think they are rather cool in a seattle sort of way

yes, zippi has it...

Aaah all is explained! If you didn't grow up around the humble plimmy, then I guess they do seem rather a strange preference

hurrah for the Wiki

Ive been a canvas Converse girl since the early 80s (very miffed that everyone now assumes I am a Doctor Who fan because I wear them) but I am still MORE than happy to limit the children to cheap plimsolls/daps/pumps

i have my finger on the pulse lol

How interesting Chippy, and I thought it was the slappy dappy noise they made as you walked along!

We have pump bags round here (although nobody calls them pumps! )

Do you mean when the sole parts company from the canvas cadelaide?

a wider issue is that PE at primary school isn't exclusively sport

much easier to do dance / music & movement type stuff in lightweight flexible shoes like plimsolls than in trainers, however superior they may be for athletics

DS1's school insist on pumps (also a Cheltenham girl!) solely because trainers mark the floors inside.

Appreciate that most sports days would be outside though.

DS has plimsolls all year for PE - but they were allowed (note, not obliged, asked, or recommended) to wear trainers for sports day .

Since DS falls over at every possible opportunity and sports day was taking place on slippery grass his teacher and I agreed that trainers (which he has anyway as his main "home shoes") would be a good idea for him.

Next year when they do more 'proper' sports I think they may have the option of wearing trainers regularly for PE - at which point I have to decide whether to get him a second pair or to try and remember them on appopriate days. Either way, they won't be Nike (no principles involved, just lack of money!)

I'm sure DD has more shoes than I do. So I'moff to spend my lunch hour buying her yet another pair.

Woolworths - ~£3 (as opposed to ~£10 from independent shoe shop for, as far as I can see, exactly the same thing)

or priceless shoes

thats where all my shoes come from

if yopu want more shoes yourself the start shopping there

i could never afford them until i discovered that shop

DS wears pumps for PE which are left at school on his peg. Until one day I got to school early and caught him doing outdoor PE in his Startrite school shoes. I was not very happy but he claims they were hurting him but had not bothered to tell me. So I didn't want to buy any new pumps so near the end of term (DS has expensive startrite pumps with velcro due to odd shape of feet) so he did sports day (yesterday) in his trainers - Cica though so not much cred there. No wonder his school shoes are such a mess though.

YABU

Why would you not want her wearing a particular type of shoe in your presence...? I mean... really?

"But people will think we can't afford the ludicrously expensive shoes. What will the neighbours think?"

We call them gutties...

We call them gutties...

Normally when one type with quotation marks it is to indicate the words he/she has typed are in fact words spoken/written by another. But, I have not said what you typed. So would appreciate if you would not suggest I have said things I haven't.

My irritation is because I have to buy yet another pair of shoes when the ones she already has are not only as good, but better.

I just spent my lunch hour and then some going into town to buy the silly things. But, it turns out not all Woolies carry them. I'll have to go to the over priced store that is open Thursday night and get her the £12 which I realise now I should have bought over the weekend.

I believe that your foot (child or adult) should be properly supported and protected in a sporting shoe to help prevent injury. Maybe I'm a sports freak / trainer snob but I just think it's silly.

Anyway, since this thread began a couple of people have pointed out that the school may wish for everyone to wear the samething and not everyone will want to fork out for expensive trainers as I already have. Fair point.

However, I will add that my interest is the quality of the shoe and not the logo that is slapped on it. I am a runner and I swear by the Nike shoe for my particular skinny foot and callapsable arch. DD has the same foot.