Boys and girls wearing kilts

[Ally68]

Hi
My dilemma is to do with the very cold weather we are having. When our children were very young, we made the decision to ensure that they grew up disciplined and smart. One of our rules is that both our boy and girl look smart for church on Sundays, and to that end, to reflect our Scottish heritage, they both wear kilts for this and other formal occasions.
Because of the cold weather, our daughter has been wearing thick cotton tights and boots with her kilt, whereas our son has to make do with knee length socks.
He continues to moan he is cold, and thinks that the fact his sister is allowed to wear tights is unfair, and wants to wear trousers. We have been resistant as once he starts wearing trousers, it'll be hard to change back.
Do you think we are being unfair, as its only for a couple of hours and although the kilt is a childs kilt, and not as warm as a mans, it shouldn't be that chilly?
We'd be interested to hear what others think.

It is unusual, Laura, especially nowadays.

It was pretty normal in the community where I grew up, in the Highlands, for boys to be kilted for Sunday services. Hats were order of the day too - something to do with a woman who had an uncovered head being shameless....

Hand on heart, the public school near here insists on kilts for the chapel service. I am not going to post a link to the website as it is a school but it clearly shows bekilted pupils going about their daily business.

Expat - those wee skeletons. What happened there? That really gave me the willies.

One of th scout troups in East Renfrewshire has the kids waer kilts as part of their uniform. My friend's ds goes to it, so wears his kilt weekly. Don't think it is common across the scout troups - althugh I do beleive that the kilt is an option for the "formal" uniform for all Scottish scouts.

Hi PB!

Why am I not surprised that the kilt wearing Scouts are in East Ren?

Can't see it happening at our local Scouts!

Nor ds'!

You can guess where they live!

as good Presbyterians, not only should your son wear the kilt with no underwear, sitting on a pointy stick for the entire duration of kirk service is mandatory too

Groups of Campbells and Lamonts used to fight each other, as late as the 19th century, over resources mostly, Otter.

There was one incident, there's an Edwardian castle there now (about to be sold along with the land) but of course there were other castles there, where Campbells went to seige Lamonts over alleged cattle rustling.

They promised clemency and leniency if the men surrendered, rather than going through the process of either starving everyone out or burning everyone out, a grim prospect in winter.

The Lamonts were desperate enough to fall for it.

Whereupon all the 36 men were marched to Dunoon and hanged, one after another, from one big tree, the same day.

It seems a very foreign concept now, but until relatively modern times, this area was very, very isolated, resources were limited, and travel at some times of the year was difficult or impossible.

thermal shorts underneath?

Or tights, why not, his sister is allowed to wear tights, why not him.

BUT- maybe decide which is more important, his going willingly to church, or his clothes.

That is awful, expat.
Our history is such a bloody and dreadful one.

Well, when there were no supermarkets, and the land wasn't the most fertile, if someone stole your livestock in winter the chance of starvation wasn't an unreasonable one. And it would probably be someone pretty desperate to nick it, because of course people were usually more armed these days.

That place sounds beautiful, expat! I'd love to see it.

So, this is a windup then?

a wee free wind-up, what fun!

I AM OUTRAGED!!! How, in this day and age can such laughably outrageous misconceptions of Scotland exist? How can all your Scottish posters sit back and let his happen? Let this go unchallenged?

"... were the kilt to school? Even in the height of summer?"

What feckin' height of summer would that be then?

Lol stanley at height of summer!

He needs Kids ski race training shorts

Problem solved

Went to church yesterday.
Both wore long socks- neither moaned (the hall is warm enough). Other boys are still wearing kilts.
Long winter overcoats kept them warm outside.
Daughter wasn't bothered as she has to wear a skirt with socks to school everyday anyway.
Son was happy as he belives we are not being stricter with him.
If they start moaning abou being cold again, we may reconsider.

Where are you, ally? I'm really curious to know!

I would also like to know-I just have a strong feeling that it isn't Scotland.

Do you go to more than one service on a Sunday?

Stanley - Everybody knows that last summer's 'look' was kilt and fishing waders.

my old school had kilts as part of the uniform (Sunday morning chapel and "going out" - was a boarding school). The cool n trendy 6th form boys were really into wearing it (trousers and blazers was the other boys option), as well as shorts.
Boys wore knee length socks (never properly investigated underneath ), girls wore either socks or wooly tights. To my knowledge no-one actually froze to death (although my hair froze regularly on the walk to breakfast in the winter [slatternly not-getting-up-in-time-to-dry-hair emoticon].

However, in real life at home, the only person who ever wore the kilt regularly was my old music teacher, who was admittedly fairly mad. No kilts seen every week at church round our way.

Oh lol at this.

So, rather than let yout son wear trousers to keep his legs warm, you think it is fairer to make you daughter wear socks as opposed to tights so both your children are as cold as each other. Presumably whilst you wear tights with your on the knee skirt and your husband wears trousers?

I expect you children to rebel in a big way when they are older, refuse to go to church and pretend to be English.

Expat - always love your stories. Hope you got the housing situation sorted now.

I would expect them to rebel in a big way too. It is all so unnecessary-just to have a pride in how they look to others. If my mother had made me do that, it would put me off kilts and church (by association)for life!

come on ally, where do you live and what denomination are you?

Aitch - she lives in 1832 in Walter Scott's version of Scotland.

Brigadoon.

Out of interest, what did you and your husband wear to church, Ally?

But the million pound question: is the laddie's name 'Mason'?