A question about school shirts

[Noseynoonoo]

DD is going into Yr 1 and is progressing from polo shirts to a proper cotton collared shirt. He is inheriting his DSis's shirts but he is saying the collar is too tight. They do look quite tight but no digging in.

Are girls shirt collars narrower than boys shirt collars (we're talking aged 5 shirts here). He is quite skinny so surprised that this would be a problem.

Any thoughts gratefully received.

Yes I think they are smaller for girls. Mine have to wear blouses all the time we have M&S and always size up a year.

Girl's shirts are made differently and the collar is smaller, yes.

Oops, the one going into Year 1 is the boy.

Girls shirts usually button up on the opposite side as well as having narrower collars, so you probably need to buy DS his own shirts.

Girls shirts usually button up on the opposite side as well as having narrower collars, so you probably need to buy DS his own shirts

Or buy boys shirts for both of them.

It takes some boys ages to get used to the feeling of a collar/tie when all they are used to is soft open necked things or t-shirts.

I teach a boy who is about to go up into Yr 7, he always needs telling to do his top button up, he says it strangles him, it doesn't when done up I can pull it at least an inch away from his neck with ease, he's got an Australian father so is much happier in board shorts and t-shirt!

Or buy boys shirts or both of them

What's wrong with buying them their own shirts? They are different sexes and therefore their shirts should button on different sides and probably have different sized collars. I'm sure a girl doesn't want to walk around wearing an oversized collar anymore than a boy wants to wear one that's too tight.
School shirts can be picked up relatively cheaply from most supermarkets and considering they get worn for 38 weeks of the year they are very good value.
I appreciate that if stuff can be handed down then it should be, but boys and girls have different bodies and their clothes are made differently. When they get a little older the girls shirts will be tapered in at the waist and bust; would you still expect a younger brother to wear those?
If money is a real problem then by all means hand them down until it becomes impossible due to changing body shapes, but otherwise spare the kids blushes and make them comfortable in their clothing.

Perhaps because if you have children on both sexes, you may need to hand them down. Not every one thinks it is a good idea stoke the consumer culture by throwing away serviceable clothes.

We are talking about year1 children here. If bust/waist have developed enough for clothing to require darts, then you perhaps need to consider seeing your GP for an endocrinologist referral, as puberty in 5/6 year olds needs monitoring and perhaps intervention.

We are talking about year 1 children here

Hence why I said 'when they get older the shirts will be of different shapes'. But even at this age the collars are often different sizes and the buttons are on a different side.
Would you put a son in handed down daughters shoes because they are in his size? I guess you wouldn't because they look different and will be moulded to the girls feet. Well the OPs son has complained that the shirt collars are too tight, which is likely true given that girls shirts have slimmer collars, so chances are that he needs boys shirts.
I hand clothes down between my boys and am very supportive of thriftiness, but would never expect my youngest to wear handed down clothes that are uncomfortable and don't fit properly.

May I point out that I did not post this in AIBU. I did not ask AIBU to put my son in an item of clothing that does not fit him just so that I can save a couple of kid - tight wad that I am?

I asked whether boy and girls shirts are made differently, even at this early stage. As it happens, I can't find Aged 5 shirts in any stores anyway so I am not even sure that there is a solution. I can assure Runningchick123 that my DD and DS have very similar bodies. Whilst this is still the case I will pass on clothes that are still fit for purpose, rather than chucking them away.

I have no desire to put my children in ill-fitting clothes as I always had hand me downs, not even a bra that fitted me correctly because I had to have my sisters old ones and given that my DSis is 4 years my senior, I was rarely in fashion.

I am going to ask DH to check the shirts tonight to see if the perceived tightness is due to wearing t-shirts all summer or whether it is genuinely too tight.

I apologise and take on board my telling off.
From a more helpful perspective, I found a size guide for 6 year olds (couldn't find 5 year olds) and it says 6 year old boys have average neck size 11.2 inches and girls 10.6 inches. Half an inch might not sound much but my husband couldn't wear a shirt with a collar half a inch too small as it would be very uncomfortable.

Size guide on left of the page on this link:
edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/07/06/bmi.neck.fitness/index.html?hpt=Sbin

I suppose if you can get a finger I between the shirt and your sons neck then it probably fits okay. If you can't get a finger in then its probably too tight.

Thank you RunningChick123.

DH checked the shirts this evening, was able to get his fat finger in and DS decided they were fine after all, acting like he had no idea what all the fuss was about!

As it is, they'll all be stained by the end of week 2 so I'll be keeping an eye for new ones anyway.

Ace clothing bleach will get rid of the stains and keep them looking new.