What do girls wear under their uniform?

[flamingoland1]

I have DD starting next week and am wondering whether to get something to wear under her dress like cycling shorts. Do kids wear them to cover their knickers?

In my country we used to wear them under our skirts so wanted to ask what people in Uk do. Many thanks.

@psychopompos that's exactly what I thought! Petticoats! 🤣
Not sure whether she's being serious or not!

[quote Parker231]@modgepodge - schools no longer have the powers to dictate on skirt v trousers. If your DD wants to wear trousers she can. Same case if a boy can wear a skirt. I would challenge them on outdated policies - doesn’t help treat children about equality.[/quote]
To clarify, I’m a teacher, my daughter is nowhere near school age yet.

There are only girls, no boys at the school. They are required to wear a very specific kilt from one supplier. I don’t know whether equality comes in to it, as everyone attending the school is equally required to wear a skirt. As I say, this hasn’t come up before, I have no idea what the head would do if someone wanted to wear trousers.

It’s a private school, not sure if that changes things, I expect when parents choose the school they know their daughter will have to wear a skirt by attending 🤷‍♀️ (That said, there’s a state secondary down the road, all girls, and they all wear skirts too...)

In all my years as a primary teacher I have literally never once encountered a young girl feeling the need to wear cycling shorts under her dress/skirt/pinafore. It seems to be a Mumsnet thing. Some girls wear culottes or playsuit summer dresses, but not knickers AND shorts AND a skirt/dress.

Boyshort type underwear in solid colours (black, red) seems to be the choice at our school. skirts don’t do a lot to cover up private areas, and regular knickers gape often. I’ve only seen regular knickers early in reception.
i have boys btw - but girls’ pants are on display a lot if they play
.

I wore knickers, I figured if anyone looked under my dress they would have seen knickers which they probably see on washing lines, washing baskets, on tv, in shops etc so not sure why knickers need to be hidden?

I've bought my DD some soft comfortable black short type knickers. They look smart and uniformy and they cover everything so she can get on with playing :)

@seayork2020 because s lot if girls’ knickers cover absolutely nothing. The crotch moved to the side etc. I wouldn’t let me son playing out with his penis hanging out if his shorts, so i would send a girl in pants that cover everything. Boyshort style seems to work well as the crotch is wide

My sis got cycle shorts for her 3 yo DD who is starting in school nursery.
It just seems wrong.

its up to you. Most kids just wear their pants, but its not uncommon to wear little shorts under skirts too

I don't know where all these people are coming from saying there's gaps in knickers. Surely they're just the wrong size if they're gappy. I've never had gappy ones on my child

Dd have always worn bicycle shorts - mostly because they spend most of playtime upside down on cartwheels, on climbing frames etc. I don't want there to be any barriers to them being as active as possible.

Dd1 liked wearing culottes, and uniform shorts, but dd2 won't go near them.

My girls both live in shorts (sometimes leggings/joggers) when not in school. So for them the skirt is worn over the shorts, rather than the shorts bring worn under the skirt IYKWIM.

I don't want there to be any barriers to them as active as possible.
What would the barrier be if they didn’t wear shorts?

Lots of girls wore cycle shorts under their dress/skirt at primary school.

DD always wore shorts or trousers; she hates skirts and dresses as they are no good for playing in.

Girls pants never cover up properly. Teacher friends tell me how awful it is when children sit cross legged on floor - most girls in pants are showing everything. It isn't appropriate. Boys don't sit there with their willies out, so girls should cover up too.

I dont think visible underpants is a good look. Mine wear cycling shorts, tights or leggings under skirts and dresses.

Yes, the gussets are so flimsy and move around. Why would you not want your child to be adequately dressed?! When they are young they hang upside down, do the wheels, sit all legs splayed open. I wouldnt want a boy to br sitting with his left testicle hanging out. It's just not appropriate.

@Jellycatspyjamas

I don't want there to be any barriers to them as active as possible. What would the barrier be if they didn’t wear shorts?

Spending a great deal of time with their skirts around their ears.

You don't see many sports/active people wearing skirts/dresses and for good reason. Tennis players wear skirts but will usually wear well designed full close fitting knickers underneath. Well designed clothing means they can get on with being dynamic, sporty & active and not have to worry about their arse, belly, groin being exposed due to them wearing feminine style clothing.

It's not something boys have ever had to worry about as they mostly wear shorts or trousers.

If your daughter feels good hanging upside down on the jungle gyms in her knickers that's great and your/her choice.

Don't really know why you'd be bothered about other girls wearing comfy stretchy shorts and being active.

This silly debate has been raging on MN since MN began. Yawn!

I’m really not bothered by girls wearing stretchy shorts, I am bothered about girls getting a message that they need to cover themselves with multiple layers of clothes to take part in daily life.

My child’s knickers cover her perfectly well, there’s no barrier to her doing whatever she wants in terms of play or activity. She doesn’t worry about her arse or groin being on display because she has perfectly fitting pants covering her arse and groin. Which is what they’re designed to do.

All the girls in Dds class have worn black cycling shorts under their uniform Unless they are wearing tights since about year 3 or 4.

I think it's a bit like having a big hole in boys' trousers and people can see his underwear whenever he does a cartwheel 😂

Pretty sure they wouldn't like that!

Am I the only one who thinks this is rather odd and an inappropriate question?

It's not an odd question at all. OP wanted to know what her DD could wear to school to ensure she isn't flashing her bits. She's been told by lots of people that their DDs wear cycling shorts

My DDs all asked to wear cycling shorts under their skirts from about year 3 onwards. Even now at secondary, my DDs wear cycling shorts underneath their skirts, and it's really common to do that, unless they are wearing tights.

Which is what they’re designed to do. unfortunately, most girls pants seem to be designed to be cheap, tiny, have cute characters on and be pink. As with a lot of girls’ clothes, functionality hasn’t crossed anybody’s mind.