Summer Dresses and Underpants...

[glowfrog]

hello all

My 5 year-old DD is in Reception. It's that time of year for summer gingham dresses and I'm wondering whether I should get her shorts to wear under her dress and over her pants...

It seems OTT and I've surprised myself by being uncomfortable at the thought of her pants showing. It's not that I worry about pervy grown-ups, it's very much that it feels "rude" if they show.

Is there any kind of consensus about this??

I wouldn't at Reception - I would really worry if a child of this age cared!

By about Y5 if your child feel self conscious, that's a different story. Though most girls seem to stop wearing summer dresses around that sort of age anyway!

Some pants don't cover all of the bottom. Girls go to the loo and are moving around a lot and sometimes lose knickers don't sit right.

It's not the handstands or climbing frames that is the most noticeable. I think it's when the children are sitting cross legged on the school floor then their skirts and dresses do not cover their knickers.

Are those cycling shorts pure cotton? I'd be worried about hygiene if my daughter wore tight-fitting man-made shorts every day.

"I am shocked little girls are encouraged to wear shorts underneath dresses" they aren't and the vast majority don't wear shorts under summer dressed just as they don't wear shorts under skirts or tunics in cold weather.

My DD is in year 6, has worn gingham deesses every summer so far and never asked for shorts, neither have I heard any other parent mention their daughter having them.

mrz

In the winter girls tend to wear tights so it's not an issue. But no, girls are not encouraged to wear shorts as far as I'm aware. It's my own irrational reaction!

Many of our girls wear socks summer and winter admittedly knee socks in colder weather but they don't seem to notice

My DD's primary didnt allow trousers or shorts for girls and summer dresses were compulsory after Easter holidays. My DD never asked for anything to wear under her dress and her dresses were always long enough to cover her up. They were told by the teacher how to sit on the floor (sweep back of skirt/dress under your bottom and push front of dress down to the floor).
I often sit at the front of assembly in my school and all the girls sit cross legged on the floor but I've never noticed any visible underwear.

H&M sell knickers (think they class them as boxers) which are more like short style and give a bit more coverage. My DD wears them under dresses/skirts in summer and finds them comfy.
Sorry would add link but H&M website isn't working.

Backforgood-girls knickers used to be a lot bigger and made from thicker material. There isn't much to the ones you can buy now! They are very small, thin and don't cover properlh

DD wears cycle shorts (from cotton) underneath her dress but only because she gets heat rush very easily.

I don't mind knickers as long as they are a good fit and cover enough ;-).

Our school doesn't have a policy other than to allow the girls to get shorts out of their PE bags if they want to do so.

IME it's not something that the children themselves instigate until year 2 onwards. And for my older DC it was definitely precipitated by the boys laughing at being able to see other girls pants.

Dd 4 wears boxer style knickers from h&m under her summer dresses. They come in a 3 pack and have girly colours so she's happy plus not showing off her bits when she sits with legs open. Which is all the time.

Yes I was going to say as well a sort of knicker that's like shorts.

m2.hm.com/m/en_gb/productpage.0395864009.genericdevice.html

These look nice.

M&S various colours available

My dd requested shorts in reception, I think probably because there are a lot of Muslim girls at her school who tend to cover up.

She's worn a mixture of the short type of knickers mentioned by pps and above the knee leggings over the years.

I believe these are a thing this year. Dd (7) is a gymnast so is often upside down at school playtime. She chooses to wear short cycling shorts under her summer uniform.