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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to not be bothered about ds3 doing PE in his pants

80 replies

racmac · 01/05/2009 19:12

DS 3.6 goes to nursery and every Friday they do PE - last Friday being the first time they used aparatus (sp?)

They apparently removed their shoes, trousers and jumpers and did PE in their vests, pants and socks. Im really not that bothered about it but some of the other parents are in a real state - saying its not right they should have a proper PE kit and that its disgusting they have to wear their pants.

They are making complaints to the nursery teacher and want a stop put to it immediately.

AIBU in thinking its not that much of a deal or should i be concerned?

OP posts:

Kathyis6incheshigh · 07/05/2009 15:56

I think at the age of 3 or 4 they wouldn;t be picked on for not wiping properly because they mostly can't at that age. It's when you get to 7 or 8 and there is only one kid in the class who's smelly that it becomes a pretext for bullying.

seeker · 07/05/2009 16:01

What's the difference between pants and shorts?

melonian · 07/05/2009 16:04

But 3 year olds aren't bothered about dignity. Body-consciousness only comes with age, which is why I think its fine to let them run around in the nude at home or on the beach until they have a problem with it. Why do we impose our embarrassment about our bodies onto our children so young? Plenty of time for them to have body hang-ups in their teens.

sparkle12mar08 · 07/05/2009 16:04

Shorts - for me it would be the fact that it's an extra layer. I don't know why this makes me feel 'better' about it, it just does. And it's the same with the socks thing - I know it's not rational, I'm not trying to pretend I am. The paedo argument I don't waste my time on, so it's not that. I think I feel an affinity with the 'dignity/respect' reasons?

mw14 · 07/05/2009 16:07

sparkle, presumably you'd be happy with plimsolls, as they give the extra layer, without exposing the children to the same risk of injury? That said, many, many schools require their children to do gymnastics and dance type activities in bare feet, even if "proper" PE kits are worn.

sparkle12mar08 · 07/05/2009 16:16

Yes, plymsolls would be fine, no problem, it's just the idea of his bare feet on a surface where outdoor shoes have been worn inside. I know I'm nuts - we don't always take our shoes off at home and they both play all over the floor. I think what it really is, is that I wouldn't there to make the judgement of whether it's an 'okay' floor or not It's my control freak thang coming out.

I'm really going to have fun when they're teenagers aren't I?

Mumcentreplus · 07/05/2009 16:16

I really don't care...they are frickin 3yr olds!...yeah coz they are really worried about dignity whilst climbing the curtains nude (I have seen it done)..lmao ..but I would only think about the hygiene aspects perhaps.. altough thats nbd at that age..I actually remember when I did PE in my vest and knickers..didn't bother me at all..

branflake81 · 07/05/2009 16:17

we used to do PE in our knickers at my primary school in the eighties until we were about 7. I don't think it's a problem at all.

seeker · 07/05/2009 16:25

At our primary school, they do equipment PE in bare feet even though they have plimsolls. The teacher says that even plimsolls are too dangerous for climbing the wall bars and so on, particularly as many children's don't fit properly.

Children are washable, you know!

mw14 · 07/05/2009 16:25

Did you always wear shoes in your PE lessons, sparkle?

mw14 · 07/05/2009 16:26

It is much easier to feel what's happening on wall bars etc with nothing on your feet. Seeker's DC's teacher is right.

sophieandbelly · 07/05/2009 16:40

i dont think its a huge deal, altho i think given the choice i would rather my child wore p.e kit to b honest.

Bathsheba · 07/05/2009 16:46

Our preschool has them change into shorts - they leave their noraml tops on but change into their shorts - its an exercise in teaching them about dressing and undressing as much as its a requirement for PE..

In our previous preschool they did the full change into polo shirts and shorts (no uniform in either preschool) - I suspect it took ages but it was an important learning thing for the children.

I don;t understand why they had to take anything off in the first place in the OP's case..

sparkle12mar08 · 07/05/2009 16:50

mw14 - actually I think we didn't, no. It's just, I don't know, it feels ... odd...

Ds1 is a very boyish boy, a typical rough and tumble, eat the dirt kind of boy. And we actively encourage it. I have no idea, other than the control ishoos why this gets to me

DorisIsAPinkDragon · 07/05/2009 17:04

Sperkle- do your children not run bare foot in the grass (shock horror OUTSIDE!!) ???

I really think there are so many more things to worry about than vest and pants as PE kit.

And as for the learning to change stuff, yes but surely learning to change is easily covered in the home environment as they grow it is far more FUN, to do PE than pratice changing

mw14 · 07/05/2009 17:11

Bathsheba, I imagine the school want them to remove their outer clothes so that skirts, dresses and loose clothing don't get caught on the apparatus. Again, safety is the watchword.

cestlavie · 07/05/2009 17:13

Do people who are objecting to this actually have or have had 3 year olds?

I only ask because 3.5 year old DD in the last 2 weeks alone:

decided to take all her clothes off at the leisure centre reception whilst I was paying for our swimming lesson so she could get in the pool faster; and

stripped down to her pants so she could play in the (public) water area at the kid's zoo at London Zoo (yes, we would have brought swimming cozzie if we'd known but really didn't expect a zoo to have a wet play area)

She didn't seem to have any major issues with her body or dignity. In fact, I rather remember her being less than charmed at the fact that she had to put clothes back on at the zoo afterwards...

BernardsCat · 07/05/2009 17:41

I think they need to because tis about self confidence changing and self image.

katiestar · 07/05/2009 18:01

I agree with numberfour.
Would people argue that,for example, an adult with a mental age of 3 should not be afforded dignity ?

Mumcentreplus · 07/05/2009 18:17

they are not adults...they are children

katiestar · 07/05/2009 18:35

Mumcentreplus Can you explain why that makes a difference if they have the same level of awareness ?

Mumcentreplus · 07/05/2009 19:44

well for one thing the adult person with a 3yr old mental age has an adult body...are you saying an adult with the mind of a 3 yr old is the same as a 3yr old?..will men/women with the mind of a 3yr old be prancing around doing PE with actual 3yr olds?

sparkle12mar08 · 07/05/2009 21:10

Doris - yes they do! It's just me, I know that, honestly I'm not trying to be awkward. Ds1 is 3.3 so he does all the usual boy stuff - he gets more physical freedom than most of his friends tbh. I don't think I'd let him run around utterly naked (even at home) but he spent 90% of last summer in just his nappy when we were at home - no socks! Elsewhere I'd insist on shorts. So I know it's irrational, this thing about PE and the hall floors - I know that, I just don't know why I feel that way!

DorisIsAPinkDragon · 08/05/2009 10:08

Ok so long as you realise it's irrational

on another note I was thinking about this last night. >

Surely one of the most obvious reasons that children of a preschool age do PE in vest and knickers is cost. If your child only attends once or twice a week (or like my friends DD attends 2 different pre-schools) the cost of buying PE kit would be prohibitive for families on lower incomes, and make preschool more ex-clusive, particularly in these credit crunch times, when many pre=schools are struggling anyway.

Just a little more food for thought

mw14 · 08/05/2009 12:37

A good point, Doris. It probably wouldn't be a problem for most parents, but this would xacerbate the problem for the few who may struggle.

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