Uniform for girls who live in leggings

[oneplustwoplustwoplusone]

My nearly 4yo starts school in Sept. She is quite fussy about clothes, only really wearing leggings or cycling shorts and a T-shirt.

For those with less ‘girly’ girls what did you go for with uniform. I’ve not no chance in getting her in a dress/skirt/pinafore now. Jersey trousers should be OK but what if it is still warm in Sept?

Did you find that they changed their view on uniform over the first term? Don’t want to buy loads of other girls in her class wearing dresses etc changes her mind….

Why do they need it at all, though. There’s no evidence that uniform improves outcomes at all.

DD was at a non-uniform school. The kids wore hoody/T shirt and leggings/jeans/shorts with the occasional dress or skirt. Trainers or sandals.

No fuss, no bother, no endless MN threads.

I do agree that it’s best to present the uniform as a non-negotiable (dress, shorts, whatever is allowed) but just to point out that for nearly everyone in England at least, it’s not really much of a choice to “choose” a school with uniform - most areas don’t have non uniform schools as an option. I think there are a few in the London area, Islington / Lewisham etc, some in Oxford, a scattering around the country. But it’s only really a choice if it’s feasibly available to you and there are absolutely none round here for miles and miles.

Yes I don't know of any who are non uniform in any places I've lived

Yes, I know (I’m unusual in that in my London borough there are several non-uniform primaries, including two of the closest to me). But the point remains the same. You choose the school (within parameters, of course) and so you choose a school with its own uniform and rules.

What do those of you do whose child absolutely won’t wear it?

I am quite happy to follow the uniform rules for my kids, but I’m mildly worried by eldest who starts in September will just remove the clothes I tell him to wear / put on him and stand there in nothing (he has done this numerous times in public after preschool have forced him to change clothing out of his ‘preferred clothing’ in the middle of the street, in front of his preschool friends…).

I am sure there are sensory issues at play but nothing diagnosed and so primary school won’t accommodate.

I dont remember the last time that anyone posted about a boy complaining they dont want to wear a uniform they are given it and get on with it

”Fussiness” over clothes can be indicative of sensory issues - my DD appeared to be “fussy” over clothes when she was younger and would literally only wear leggings and soft t shirts outside school (and often the same ones over and over).

We now know that she is autistic. No amount of “telling her that this is the uniform and she has to wear it” would have ‘cured’ her of these issues and clothing is a daily cause of upset. None of this was apparent before she started school because she could obviously choose her own clothes at home.

If your DD might be experiencing sensory issues (rather than this being just a preference, for example), I would firstly look at what the uniform requirements are and how they might be adapted and then discuss this with the school.

Our school is thankfully quite relaxed about uniform anyway, but my DD wears a stretchy plain white t shirt and cycling shorts, with a soft grey jersey skirt on top for non-PE days (all of these were from ASDA). She would not be able to wear gingham or the hard teflon-coated dresses etc.

You can also get jersey school t-shirts (rather than the hard polo material) in all of the supermarkets which are softer and more like a t-shirt.

If there are sensory issues at play, schools are required to make reasonable adjustments even if you don’t have a diagnosis, so you can discuss this with them.

Otherwise, it it’s more of a case of her just not being used to uniform, you could take her shopping to pick some items herself and try them on in advance of school starting so she has time to get used to them?

Bit random. I’ve heard plenty from both boys and girls on here. My eldest was freaking out about having to wear trousers at high school, for instance, he was v upset and down about it. He did get on with it and soon got used to it, but he definitely complained. I bribed him with a nice pair of pjs he liked, told him girls have it way worse in terms of other clothes in the future in general, and that he should hang on in there, it won’t be for ever. He’s back in shorts in sixth form now, v happy, but has accustomed himself to trousers for extreme weather and necessary social situations.

Shorts here. I like the M & S tailored ones. They fit big. In winter she wears with tights under and in summer, just shorts

Kids at our school are running rampant in the woods and hanging upside from okay equipment. Dresses are SO impractical.

Lots wear shorts, lots wear trousers, some wear cycling shorts under their dresses.

Ours have different kit two days a week for PE which is leggings or cycling shorts (save wasting class time getting changed) so hopefully yours does too

My girl was never much of a dress girl.
It's going back a few years but my daughter wore soft jersey pull on trousers from Matalan. They were sold as part of the "school uniform" range but were practically leggings.
She also like "boy" shorts because they had big giant pockets for "stuff".

I never liked skirts and dresses during primary school... especially during reception. Tights are a huge faff and I just found it all really impractical.

I bought my DD those jersey style school trousers....they were stretchy but not quite leggings and had an elasticated waist with no zips or buttons. Much easier when changing for pe too.

My daughter prefers a short to a skirt she's very active and doesn't want to show her knickers when cartwheeling. She wears these.
Grey Pleated Elasticated Waist Girls School Shorts | School | George at ASDA

This. She can wear what she wants outside school. At 4 she needs to know that rules are rules and uniform is uniform, end of.

I don’t think that any child particularly wants to wear uniform but that’s life!

These in summer
Light Blue Gingham Girls Pleated School Shorts 2 Pack | School | George at ASDA

Next do nice skinny fit grey school trousers, they look smart but are stretchy and feel like leggings and can be picked up cheap on vinted to try!

my daughter was rarely out of joggers before starting school but wore those and is now in year 2 and has a range of dresses and trousers as uniform options, she decided she wanted to try wearing dresses sometimes too when she saw most of the other girls wearing them.

Just put her in trousers it’s not hard there are soft ones that feel similar to leggings. Leggings are not allowed at our primary.

I still laugh at remembering my son’s horror at starting school: “you mean I’ve got to wear all this stuff …. Every single day?!” 👀

I mean for a four year old that’s massively draconian right?!

If leggings and shorts are her current default, send her in in trousers.

You’ll know after a few weeks if she wants to change.

If the school has a prescribed uniform, you don’t really get to freestyle?
The clue is in the word.

There certainly is. This girl generally doesn’t wear a dress either so oranges and oranges not apples and pears.

Such hysteria about a girl wearing trousers. Talk of forcing a girl to wear a dress Absolute muppets.

They can use the trouser in September is not that hot. As soon as she sees other with the pinafore, dress etc she will ask for one.
She is 4.
I wouldn't worry.

"end of."? I like to think that children who dictated to and told 'QUIET, this is how it is, end of.' remember and reciprocate when they're adults and making decisions for their elderly parents.

At 4 she needs to know that she will be listened to and that her parents will help her to find a mutually acceptable compromise if there is something she finds difficult. A 4 year old being "fussy" about clothes, especially in a way that limits fancy dress nonsense, often means they have a reason.

Of course uniform isn't optional. the OP never suggested it was.

@oneplustwoplustwoplusone I'd get a selection of brands of stretchy trousers off vinted and find out what she likes. The sainsburys ones were quite leggings-ish and as I said before, the Next skinny ones are like loose leggings, no flapping at the ankles and although they have a button and fly they are stretchy and just pull up and down.

As she likes cycling shorts might she be happy with a summer dress with cycling shorts underneath if it's hot? That might feel similar enough to cycling shorts and tshirt for her to be comfortable. You can also get gingham playsuit which is all in one shorts and top which she might find more acceptable than a dress.

I totally disagree with those saying just tell her to wear a dress as that's the uniform and it's yough. She's entitled to an opinion on what she wears, as long as it falls in line with the uniform policy. She's bound to see other girls in trousers too, and she's allowed to wear them for school if she wants to.

As others have said, give her the option of trousers or dresses and let her choose. If she does turn around and surprise you by requesting a dress, if she finds that's what all the other girls are wearing, go with it. If she doesn't, there's nothing wrong with a girl having a preference for trousers and wanting to stay true to that preference.

She may surprise you. I remember teaching a classic 'Tom boy' one year, who did surprise her mum by requesting a green gingham dress in the summer term of her Reception year "like my friends wear". I've had other years where I have taught girls who prefer trousers and shorts and have never deviated from that, regardless of what the other girls wear.

Take her shopping with you, show her the options, and let her choose (on the understanding that she has to pick one, as uniform is compulsory, but she can have control over which one she picks). She may even want a mixture, maybe 2 pairs of trousers, one pair of shorts, one pinafore and one gingham dress. Let her decide.

I honestly wouldn't worry about it!