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Original poster

“No onesies please as it makes the children in school jealous”

954 replies

Lemons1571 · 30/01/2021 15:43

A message from the head of our primary. Please could all parents at home please ensure their primary children are fully dressed in day clothes ready for their class 9am zoom. No onesies. Apparently the children actually allowed to go to school are annoyed seeing their classmates lounging at home in onesies / pj’s / loungewear.

Ummm, I’m sorry, I thought I heard you issuing instructions on what I must / must not do in my own house. What possible authority does a school have to do this? Kids forced out of face to face education. Being shown some lovely examples of the artwork done by the kids at school over zoom with the caveat “oh don’t worry I know you can’t do this at home”.

Read the room ffs. Just another request to put other people’s children before my own. As it happens my primary child gets dressed of his own accord, but if he wanted to wear a onesie then quite frankly anyone else’s opinion can fuck off.

Physically going to school = uniform worn as per school rules.
Physically barred from school = my house my rules.

No doubt I’m overreacting but it annoyed me!

OP posts:
islockdownoveryet · 31/01/2021 18:31

Reasonable request my arse , if you want your dc to wear onesie all day then so be it .
If I was told to not wear my onesie while I’m wfh I’d say no .
I’m a bit tired of people saying it’s not fair . Like the children at school jealous because they are not home oh yeah it’s not fair is it .
Nobody is getting a fair deal and I don’t feel that children at home are getting a better deal with their education in my opinion that’s not fair either is it .
Teacher was unreasonable in my opinion and I’d ignore.

BigFishLittleFish · 31/01/2021 18:36

My daughter hates being at home and it’s a massive effort on my part just to get her awake and on the call let alone changed. She’s started wearing clothes to bed instead of pjs to stop me nagging her

Serrina · 31/01/2021 18:38

I keep reading about safeguarding this and safeguarding that, since when were pj's/onesies "unsafe"??

ItsIgginningtolooklikelockdown · 31/01/2021 18:40

Yes those pesky safeguarding rules strike again

LaPampa · 31/01/2021 18:47

Can’t they just put a jumper on instead? I wouldn’t want pyjamas / dressing gown / onesie to be shown to people outside the house be that in person or on zoom, in a lesson or just on a personal call( outside of family). Easily solved by covering up whatever is underneath with a sweatshirt though?

I do all my work calls in a nice jumper, often paired with jogging bottoms.

Flatoutonsofa · 31/01/2021 18:54

You're clearly very angry and stressed, and I get that, but I feel you need to look at this from another point of view. "Physically barred from school," "forced out of face to face education." It's a pandemic. Do you think this is what the school wants? Of course not. All the school staff want to be back to normal. You seem very angry that some kids are in school and yours aren't. Well, if you were allowed in a school right now and you could see what it's like for the handful of kids that are in a mostly empty school with eery, echoing corridors you might realise that it's no picnic for them either. It's scary. Your kids' head teacher has made a completely reasonable request for pupils to be appropriately dressed for online learning. It's for their benefit too because school in your PJs is far from normal and they need to be in the right mindset for learning. Things are difficult for everyone right now. We all need to remember that.

pollymere · 31/01/2021 18:55

Children should be dressed appropriately for lessons and not in bed seems to be standard school policy. I think it gives them the right mindset for learning.

LouH1981 · 31/01/2021 19:03

My 5 yr old son doesn’t like wearing his uniform and he is really struggling with not seeing his friends. Our school made a similar request (but didn’t make it mandatory) but I left it up to him. No way am I having an argument with him every morning, when he is already upset about the situation, forcing him to wear something he doesn’t want to wear. So when he wants to, he puts
his school jumper on over whatever he has chosen that day. FWIW, he only has a 10/20 minute Teams meeting per day. I think he has given up enough in the last year and I am perfectly happy to cut the little guy some slack.

winniestone37 · 31/01/2021 19:06

You’re incredibly unreasonable and a huge part of the problem why teachers have constant battles on their hands from a select kind of parent. Get your children dressed. Retain an element of normality.

nannawend · 31/01/2021 19:07

What children need to accept is that families are different. Some have lovely homes, some don’t. Some have nice clothes, some don’t etc. When I was a child I was aware I didn’t have all the things my best friend had as my family were quite poor. BUT we were still best friends. Life is not always easy but we have to deal with it. Tough lessons but if you know that, then you deal with it and move on. I now have a life style my parents could never have dreamed of but I would never have achieved that had I not known that there was more to life than what I had as a child - apart of course from the live I had from my parents which could never be surpassed.

Msmcc1212 · 31/01/2021 19:08

I think the asking them to be in clothes rather than nightwear is one thing and giving the reason as it will make the others jealous is another.

Standards of dress fine. Teaches the kids the right attitude.
Saying it’s because the kids at school are jealous - not ok. Insensitive to those not able to go in.

Fembot123 · 31/01/2021 19:09

@LouH1981

My 5 yr old son doesn’t like wearing his uniform and he is really struggling with not seeing his friends. Our school made a similar request (but didn’t make it mandatory) but I left it up to him. No way am I having an argument with him every morning, when he is already upset about the situation, forcing him to wear something he doesn’t want to wear. So when he wants to, he puts his school jumper on over whatever he has chosen that day. FWIW, he only has a 10/20 minute Teams meeting per day. I think he has given up enough in the last year and I am perfectly happy to cut the little guy some slack.
Sounds a sensible approach ☺️
Callingallskeletons · 31/01/2021 19:10

It’s more than reasonable and I’ve requested the same for the children in my remote learning group

Do you rock up to work meetings in your pj’s? Gym wear?

Children at home (or rather the parents) need to engage with learning in the mind set of a working/learning environment - you can’t do that if you’re still wearing the clothes you went to bed in or are still half way through your breakfast

Teachers are constantly slated on MN for being lazy and the kids are missing their routines/peers/education - then the teachers get slated again for trying to build in some bloody structure!

Literally cannot win

nannawend · 31/01/2021 19:12

Perhaps those kids who are in school should be told how lucky they are to be at school and that the children in their onesies would swop places tomorrow. Liberal lefties get in the real world and educate your children for life and the real world.

SquatchWatch · 31/01/2021 19:13

My sons primary insists on FULL UNIFORM for 2 twenty minute zooms at 9am 🙄

nannawend · 31/01/2021 19:14

That should be ‘love’ live will do as well !!!

SquatchWatch · 31/01/2021 19:14

... So I've told them the camera doesn't work and he just has his mic on in his Pj's.

LizFlowers · 31/01/2021 19:15

@SquatchWatch

My sons primary insists on FULL UNIFORM for 2 twenty minute zooms at 9am 🙄
Bollocks to that.
Fembot123 · 31/01/2021 19:15

@nannawend

Perhaps those kids who are in school should be told how lucky they are to be at school and that the children in their onesies would swop places tomorrow. Liberal lefties get in the real world and educate your children for life and the real world.
😂😂😂 The school didn’t email the onesie clad children though did they! My DS would jump at the chance to stay at home, blaming the kids at school is a new low.
Luddite26 · 31/01/2021 19:18

YANBU. I have 1 gc at home fed up trying his best although his work keeps deleting when he sends it - glitches - bought himself a laptop with his savings because it was doing his head in.

1 GC gone back to school transpires her mum is an essential worker caring for her grandad. Gc does not want to be at school none of her friends there.
But i feel in the op the headteacher pits the 2 groups against each other.
Yes you might feel more like working if you are dressed for it but how many are losing the will to live at home. Head is out of touch. Hasn't she read Lord of the Flies? Head doesn't realise how hard it is to motivate at home learning.
And fuel poverty.

LizFlowers · 31/01/2021 19:19

@nannawend

Perhaps those kids who are in school should be told how lucky they are to be at school and that the children in their onesies would swop places tomorrow. Liberal lefties get in the real world and educate your children for life and the real world.
I don't think any kids should ever be told how lucky they are to have the basics to which they are entitled; neither set of kids, at home or at school, are 'lucky'. They are just where they are because of circumstances.

I'd hate to be in a freezing cold school frankly and would opt for being at home any day, nice, warm and comfortable - wearing whatever and no flipping cameras!

Liberal lefties get in the real world and educate your children for life and the real world.

Sometimes, so do others. Most of us just get on with things as best we can.

E17Stowmum · 31/01/2021 19:23

Did you add the words "as it makes the children in school jealous" and "Apparently the children actually allowed to go to school are annoyed"? School rules dictated by some children's feelings?

'No onesies' is clear enough.

EffYouSeeKaye · 31/01/2021 19:27

I for one really appreciate any parent who has encouraged their child to be up, fed and dressed ready for their zoom lesson. I can also see how this will help their child to transition more easily back to school (please God that is very soon!).

I also appreciate that some families are facing struggles I know nothing about and that the readiness of their children to learn will vary. That’s fine too.

I do not appreciate the ‘my house my rules* belligerent sounding shite that some people on this thread are spouting. If that’s your best reason for not maximising your children’s chances of engaging in a lesson and keeping to some kind of normal routine at the moment then I think that’s a shame for your kids.

Glitterbug76 · 31/01/2021 19:27

My daughter has gone through all through as I work in a hospital, she didn’t mind until this time the school children that went in had wear a uniform and the children at home we’re sat in pjs in there living rooms. My daughter was freezing sat in a cold class room.

Xerochrysum · 31/01/2021 19:30

People who are saying this is another teacher bashing, new low to blame kids in school etc, I don't think that's the reason people are annoyed by this request from OP's HT. The wording was wrong, " Don't wear the onesie because it makes children jealous." make it sounds like children at home are having great time, when it's far from the truth.
I think if the HT said please let the child wear day clothes to instill routine and right attitude to learn, or whatever, reaction could have been totally different.

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