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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To buy school tops in the wrong colour

208 replies

katiestar · 27/07/2009 19:51

Our state primary school stipulates either the school sweatshirt which is bright red or bright red jumper / cardi with grey skirt/ pinafore.
I have bought my DDs dark grey cardigans to go back to school in for the following reasons.
1 They always get stained because the school doesn't have enough whiteboard markers so children have to use their hands , which inevitably ends up on their top.

2 Only buy uniform from M&S and their stocks were decimated , but had grey in every size.

3 Won't look too diffreent colour-wise from those wearing a pinafore.

3 Am really pissed off at the school who have agreed to be my placement school for a course I have been doing , but failed to return some paperwork in time for the deadline so I have wasted £200 and many hours for nothing.Not really relevant to the school tops but indicative of my feelings to the school.

5 MOST IMPORTANTLY looks lovely against their long pale blonde hair

OP posts:
ForExample · 27/07/2009 20:20

YABU and a bit of a plum.

MaureenMLove · 27/07/2009 20:20

Just the sort of parent they need. YAB unbelievably U!
Your name will be flagged up on the staff room notice board from day one. Nice start.

KnickKnack · 27/07/2009 20:20

setting a good example, fine...but doing something positive about it...ie letting the school know what your concerns are...Not just doing what you like (because they will look pretty)

KnickKnack · 27/07/2009 20:22

maybe this is a pisstake thread? surely no one is such a numpty in real life?

FabBakerGirlIsBack · 27/07/2009 20:22

I can't see properly and I thought you had said a bit of a pain, ForExample.

Northernlurker · 27/07/2009 20:22

Op - you appear to be a complete fruitcake from these posts! Come on - if there's a uniform, there's a uniform. You can't just pick and choose the bits you think are pretty.

BlackLetterDay · 27/07/2009 20:22

I'm tempted to do this too for a different reason, I'm sick of the sodding things going missing. I asked in the school office and they looked but said they must have gone home with other children, 5 of the bloody things and they were labelled. The uniform is royal blue, I was thinking a nice red would stand out . Don't think I'd be brave enough tbh.

If your dd's dont mind I would go for it, and I don't agree that all children hate to be different.

thisisyesterday · 27/07/2009 20:23

ok, but sending them in the wrong uniform isn't doing something about it.

it's saying, hmmm, i think X and i';m just going to do it, even though i haven't ever mentioned it to you and you have no idea i'm unhappy.

it won't fix anything. it will just teach your children that you have no respect for rules and that they can be broken if it suits them

if you have a problem with the uniform then speak to the school. talk to other parents and see if they feel the same. maybe ask them to provide aprons so that clothes don;t get dirty.
you can;t just decide on a solution by yourself and go and do it

KingCanuteIAm · 27/07/2009 20:25

If something is wrong you should do something about it?

OK, lets look at that statement... you are saying the uniform is wrong and should be stood up to? Well, no because you are still sending them in uniform?

Erm, cardigans are wrong and should be stood up to? No, you are still sending them in cardigans.

Well then, it must be that you think red is wrong ... yes I am glad you are teaching your children to take a stand against the colour red, I cannot imagine where the world will be in the future if our children do not take a stand against the colour red

YABU, and petty.

kneedeepinthedirtylaundry · 27/07/2009 20:26

How annoying for them to have wasted your time and money. Hope they apologised.

RustyBear · 27/07/2009 20:26

Sorry, but whiteboard pen will stain even dark grey cardigans.

Why not just buy them a whiteboard rubber each?

Though, actually, even if they are surrounded by erasers, most children will still prefer to use their hands or their sleeve, it's just the way kids are.

teamcullen · 27/07/2009 20:28

Do any other parents feel the same way about the uniform. if so,you would be better writing to the school governers asking:

Who choose the uniform? (did parents have a say?)

When was it last reviewed?

Is there any plans to review it in the near future and would the parents be involved in the process.

I dont agree with you buying what you think looks better. How will your dd feel when she goes back in september and looks different than all her friends and they all say "ahhh... you've got the wrong colour."

My ds has to wear shorts right the way through winter! But thats the uniform policy, its not up to me to tell him he can wear long pants. If I dont respect the rules how can I expect my kids to.

snice · 27/07/2009 20:28

I'm sorry but reception aged children do notice differences in uniform - have seen it happen and seen child crying because he had the wrong jumper

Original poster
katiestar · 27/07/2009 20:30

If it gets to a stge where they didn't want to wear grey then they don't have to.We have plenty of stained red ones.

OP posts:
Tortington · 27/07/2009 20:33

you've done it now so nothing anyone will say can make you feel you are in the wrong.

however i thing its really mean to send your kids into school not looking like everyone else....cos you couldn't shop anywhere else except M&S

LuluMaman · 27/07/2009 20:35

you're just not answering any questions.. you are clearly convinced you are right

I remember in reception DS pointing out the children who did not have the right uniform

if you don;t like it, write to the governers, or head, or LEA.

but it seems you just can't be bothered going to different shops

AnyFuckerLikesItUpTheBum · 27/07/2009 20:35

grey stains just as easily as red

not a valid excuse, you are just being contrary

your kids will notice btw, when the other kids point it out to them

crokky · 27/07/2009 20:35

I can see you are obviously angry, but you have to deal with it in an adult manner.

You need to write an (anonomous) letter stating your concerns about the uniform.

Why do you only buy uniform from M&S? I look at the list of what the child needs and find it from somewhere - I don't just not bother or make up the rules myself. If that means getting uniform from more than one shop, well that's just life!

So you are cross about your course - understandably. However, you should try and rectify it by either contacting the people who set the deadline or however you can. You should also have monitored the progress of such an important letter and tried to help whoever needed to do it as much as you possibly could.

You need to take action to sort things out, not make them worse!

lucykate · 27/07/2009 20:38

my dd's school uniform is a red top, we've never had a problem with staining, and believe me, dd is not the cleanest of children.

maybe the problem is with the m&s uniform you are sticking with, have you tried any other brands?

thirdname · 27/07/2009 20:38

well my dc DO NOT mind wearing different clothes. Yes, they do stand out especially dd with her pink dresses.

hocuspontas · 27/07/2009 20:41

We don't have any whiteboard erasers in our reception class, children just rub them off with their hands and then dust their hands off. I do as well. I can't see how it 'stains'. Are your dds using their cardigans to rub it off? Even then it just sort of crumbles and you can dust it off. Is the staining a result of them writing on their cardigans with the pens? I would've thought a bit of extra care would suffice. Grey will show the marks as well I would think.

allaboutme · 27/07/2009 20:44

buy them the right uniform and also a board rubber so it doesnt get stained
take up the placement thing seperately. silly to mix up anger over this with your childrens uniform purhases

Jackstini · 27/07/2009 20:49

Stop moaning and just ask the school to provide aprons & remind kids to roll sleeves up etc.
And buy some vanish...

Original poster
katiestar · 27/07/2009 20:59

I am sure grey will stain too , but I don't think it will look as obvious
The more I think about it the more reasonable it seems.If school are taking a photo or anything then they can just take them off.It's not as if its not a 'uniform' colour skirts ,trousers and pinafores are in that colour.
In the playground they can wear any colour coats , so they can't object to grey there.I suppose in the classroom they could tell them to take them off but I think that that would be extremely petty and I don't think they will for a minute.
If my DDs don't want to look different then they don't have to.But I strongly suspect by the following week there will be half a dozen kids in their classes wearing grey !
I prefer M & S for school uniform as it just seems to last better IME (not that we have a very wide choice locally)

OP posts:
MaureenMLove · 27/07/2009 21:04

Well, if you think you're being totally reasonable, then just do it. Clearly, nothing any of us say will change your mind, so either you are trying to cause a stir or you really couldn't give a shit what anyone else says, so pointless starting a thread in AIBU.