Girls wearing trousers at primary...

[tiredandbusy]

Hi!
DD transferred schools to one that's nearer (we can walk), smaller etc this term (yr4). She's always worn mostly trousers to school as well as skirts and summer dress. She was told by the girls at her new school that trousers weren't allowed but I dismissed it as absurd.... no teacher mentioned it...

Today, I asked the head and and was told that yes indeed the governors set the uniform policy and girls are not to wear trousers. Her reasons included not finding a style that suited all girls....? (boys are clearly all of identical build), no other girls minded, and we all have rules we have to live by...

I tried to reason with her politely that my daughter was more comfortable in trousers when that was what she decided to wear, warmer, quicker to change after swimming, less scraping of knees, no knickers showing when playing and cartwheeling.... She just dismissed these like I was being overdramatic and said that the kids can't just decide for themselves what to wear - I suppose it isn't really life or death but grey trousers ARE a part of the uniform - just restricted to those children with penises - and it is this I feel is unfair. She just wants a choice.

I was invited to write to the governors to request a review of the policy - I might suggest to DD that she do this??

Am i making a mountain out of a molehill?

Boys can be prone to fungal infections too - maybe they should all wear skirts.

Yes we all have to abide by tiresome idiot rules in life - but surely we should challenge these daft rules. Surely we shouldn't feel so powerless so as to accept the rules imposed on us that are irrational and fairly whimsical.

When school impose silly rules I find my respect for the school ebb away, I can't help it. I think these are supposed to be intelligent people responsible for our children and they don't seem to be able to make a decision based on a rational argument. Hopelessly old fashioned in the worst way possible.

A secondary school close to us has a no trousers policy for the girls - good old fashioned stuff, maybe ? The girls wear skirts that are so short they could barely be referred to as belts, modesty alone should convince this school to put the girls in trousers. Apparently peer pressure means that all girls except the nerdiest comply with the school belt - leads me to wonder if the school is run by perverts who enjoy staring a teenage girls barely covered limbs.

Thrush!

Well fuck me that is the best excuse I have heard yet.

It's sexism pure and simple. Nothing else is relevant.

As for worrying about boys in shorts all year round, my DSs love their shorts! I'd be hard pushed to get them into trousers even if they were allowed! And the wear the shorts so long with knee socks pulled right up that there's barely a gap between the two! plus it saves on replacing the trousers that are wrecked at the knee...or repeatedly sewing trousers hems back up!

It's a uniform - you wear what the school says to wear. Why would you want to leave dd open to bullying if all the other girls are in skirts? Sorry to sound harsh but kids are cruel. She may nor feel comfortable but I didn't feel particularly comfy in my old school kilt or hiddeous gym knickers but I still wore them.

If you feel that strongly then write in but I don't get why there's an issue. But then I don't get why girls wear ties at school - when do women ever where ties in the work place?

If the girls at primary are bullying a child because she is wearing a pair of trousers then the school needs to address the bullying issues. Jesus! you can't blame the child who's being bullied because they have funny hair, freckles, wear trousers, have funny feet etc, you have to blame the bullies, you have to teach the little shits who insist on everyone being like them that they are wrong.

Crikey, at DS1's school girls are encouraged to wear trousers/shorts as they are more suitable for the active curriculum. Gingham dresses are banned as too restrictive around the arms.

What school is this tiredandbusy? Despite my support for obeying the rules I cant believe a state primary can do this in 2011.

We all wore skirts at school all the way through and I can't remember a single instance of it being uncomfortable or inconvenient, although thirty odd years ago there was not this absurd paranoia about girls showing their knickers when doing handstands.

"No trousers" does seem a slightly daft rule; but surely it's not a big deal? If you put your daughter in trousers when the rest are in skirts: (a) she will stand out in a way which may be uncomfortable for her; and (b) you are saying that one only need comply with rules with which one agrees. This may be ok now when you are doing the picking and choosing but it is a message which she will not forget when she is a teenager.

You may in time have other battles you want to fight with the school. I'd keep my powder dry

30 years ago we didn't wear uniform at primary school - I though it was a modern thing for state schools. And I hated wearing skirts - showing your knickers was something we wouldn't have wanted to have done at primary either, without hearing a chorus of I know what colour your knickers are! all day - so I'm not convinced that's new either.

Dainty and fragrant. I shall have that on my gravestone.

So I am the only one who thinks that skirts are nicer looking and better generally. Hey ho. Even if I thought my DD should be wearing nasty shiny trousers, I wouldn't kick up a rumpus about it at school. I'd save the rumpus for something that really matters.

The skirts do look better - especially on the fatter girls who can look awful in those hideous grey school trousers. That said, I think the school is wrong to impose this so called rule.

Yes. Fat girls look awful and all girls might get thrush.

Sound reasons and no mistake.

To all of you who think it shouldn't be an issue to send your dd's to school in skirts I would like to introduce you to my dd1.
At the age of (just turned) 6 she is literally HORRIFIED of having to wear skirts or dresses. Even culottes have become a no-no because they are too skirt-like. She has been in tears when I have tried her to wear a skirt. Luckily her school has no problem letting girls wear trousers and she wore shorts right through the summer, even though she was the only girl in her years to do so.
How would you feel if your boys were forced to wear skirts? That's how it is to her.

i feel really uncomfortable with wee girls showing their pants. some girls in my ds primary school wear trousers and others wear cycling shorts under their skirts

Do fat girls look better in skirts? (can't say I felt that way myself).

Are tights less likely to cause thrush?

Agree re. pants. It's a great shame if small primary aged children are feeling they have to be 'modest' by wearing cycling shorts under their skirts.

I had to wear skirts at senior school - but we were always forced to wear gym knickers over our knickers all day precisely so we couldn't flash our knickers. Also weren't allowed to wear patent shoes in case of knicker reflections.

Not sure who they were worried about seeing this, other than the aging music master there were no males to be seen. Think the fence and wall acted as a magic exclusion zone around it. Not for nothing were the girls known locally as Dunn's nuns! (and choosing the next headmistress with the surname 'tucker' was just asking for trouble

None of this is the point.

Not allowing girls to wear trousers (or boys to wear skirts) is discriminatory.

the end.

All the other twaddle about knickers, fatness and thrush is not onlu ludicrous, it's irrelevant.

Wow, does this still go on? Both my dds wear trousers to school and always have. I would be livid if they were told they couldn't!

Well, I am a regular and my daughter attends a state primary. And trousers for girls are very definitely NOT on the uniform list.

In fact, when DD1 was there and wore trousers every day, the Head announced that all girls were to wear skirts.

DD1 couldn't give a toot and continued to wear her (Asda and Tescos) uniform trousers.

DD2 is less abrasive than DD1 (can't think where DD1 gets it from ) and she's quite happy to wear skirt and tights.

But I object to her not being given the choice to wear trousers, which are warmer in the winter (she can wear tights under her trousers) plus she's tiny and all the skirts that fit her look babyish (age almost 10 wearing age 5 clothes)

Winnie - your arguments are at best spurious.
really? you think that a girl is more likely to get thrush in trousers than skrits? Tights are more likely to cause thrush than trousers - because there is no gap between the tights and the bum, and they're nearly always a synthetic blend.
If parents are putting their DCs in trousers that are causign thrush, then uyes, they're the nasty polyester, or they're too small - buy bigger ones!!

I hate wearing trousers myself, but I would vehemently oppose a rule that said my DD couldn't wear trousers for her own comfort.

And the school's reason for not findign trousers that suit all children? What the actual fuck??!!!

and yes, i agree that trousers would be better on Swimming and PE days for ease of changing.

(i'm also rather shocked that there are primary aged girls who are concerned about showing off their knickers and wear cycling shorts {which are one of those thrush candidates} under their skirts :( )

I don't understand how skirts are harder to put on than a pair of trousers. Easier surely as both legs go down the same hole

It's not the skirts that are harder - it's the tights in winter that make it harder.