Mums of very thin reception girls, pls help!

[kisaki333]

I have ordered (and mostly returned) at least £300 worth of school trousers in the last month I can't find a single one that looks ok and fits.
Some of the ones with adjustable waist can be adjusted to fit the waist but they look like she did a big poo in her nappy (she obviously doesn't wear one! )
To make it worse, all the adjustable waist ones are polyester. ALL the cotton pull ones I found don't have an adjustable waist. Whyyyyy???
So far we tried:
Next (best results so far but still bad)
M&S
ASDA found one slim fit that has really bad reviews saying it's much too slim lol. This one is ok, but feels poor quality.
Sainsbury's
Various Amazon brands with 0 success

Anyone managed to find something that actually looks ok on a slim petite 4.5yo and with good quaility? Preferably cotton?

And before you say about dresses, i don't want her in dresses, she is very active and a climber, she won't be able to do everything she wants in a dress.

In day to day she lives in leggings but the school won't accept those (how crazy is that, why not?!)

Just buy the Asda ones. Sounds like you have no experience of school uniform.

Quality is neither here nor there. They will be grown out of of before they are worn out, not worth spending a fortune on. Same with the logo'd jumpers. Buy one for photo day and plain from Asda as a spare.

4?! No she doesnt!

Two, a wash and a wear. Any more and again we are back to the "out grown before out worn" issue.

Dont waste your money.

Sadly no way to return second hand when it doesn't fit

We used to get M&S boys ones, they all had adjustable waists and the slim fit really are. DC both tend to very slim.

The solution I have is to buy next longer length school trousers in a younger size.
They do these from age 2-3, so if I was you I'd try a 2-3 long.

Define leggings... These ones worked for my slim 8 year old but they are quite like leggings in my opinion: https://tuclothing.sainsburys.co.uk/product/tuc140708596

I recently bought her trousers from M&S and they were a disaster so don't go for those!

One of my DC was in the 0.3 centile for weight at that age. Generic uniform clothes did not fit well! Fortunately our school uniform policy was worded quite loosely so I got away with sending them in grey adjustable waist leggings, which fit better than trousers. Can you get away with that?

Mum of a very petite child here. I have to have every pair of formal shorts (hot climate and won’t wear school skirt) altered even now she’s in high school. It doesn’t get easier!

Just sympathy - I had two very skinny kids, with skinny feet - school uniform and shoes were always a nightmare - I detest the things and the disproportionate effort I had to put in to ensure their shoes fitted and they didn’t look like they were wearing nappies. I bought from non uk brands, mind you that was before Brexit!

Leggings with wide/flared base? I use them for sports.

In the winter my daughter wears flare leggings which are allowed in her school (normal leggings are not) and a dress with cycling shorts in the summer.

My daughter and all her friends prefer the skirts and just wear shorts under.

Re trousers, rather than slim fit we used to buy next long (I find Next the most fitted to start with), but size down in age.

If you do this, I recommend M&S and next as ones that won’t break before she out wears them.

George on the other hand (which I used to buy) and gone downhill rapidly with things bobbling after a couple weeks this year.

Have you tried these OP?
https://www.marksandspencer.com/senior-boys-slim-leg-slim-fit-trousers/p/clp60450536

These M&S jersey school trousers are like leggings on the waist but cut like school trousers. Worth trying. www.marksandspencer.com/search?searchTerm=jersey+school+trousers&intid=normal&langId=-24&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&categoryId=0&typeAhead=

M&S do slim fit, so slightly narrower on the waist.
They do skirts, trousers, polos and shirts.
You might need to buy online rather than instore.

The OP has said clearly she doesn’t want a dress or a skirt, not sure why people keep recommending them. At 4, boys and girls bodies are the same, would people be recommending a dress for a 4yr old skinny boy if trousers didn’t fit well?

OP - are you allowed joggers? Our school allows them for reception and both boys and girls wear them (and the shorts version in the summer). Ours climb every day and get absolutely filthy, so we also have at least four pairs so we don’t have to do washing as often.

My daughter in yr1 now has always worn a pair of cycling shorts under her dresses (m&s pe shorts) or in winter she wears grey leggings under her dress as she doesn't like the feel of wearing tights. They are also easier to put on. School are fine with it. Infants are relaxed with uniform policy.

I altered them myself. It's a learning experience but can be done. Also try the boys' .

Hardly any girls, literally none in my DC’s school, wear trousers to school. They’re not remotely restricted by a gingham summer dress with cycling shorts under or a pinafore with tights. There wouldn’t be any issues with fit and she’ll probably be happier wearing the same as the other girls rather than an outlier in badly fitting trousers.

Some very odd replies here. Nobody can 'guarentee' that a stranger's children will want to wear a dress to be like all the other girls, mainly because it's 2026 and many of the other little girls will be wearing trousers too! There's nothing odd or unusual about a little girl wanting to wear trousers.

OP, it's a shame the school don't allow leggings or jogging bottoms in Reception. Mine do, and it's so much more practical for them. To whoever said she won't be doing much climbing as she's in school, a good EYFS class/unit will promote all 7 areas of learning equally, including physical development. They'll likely have a climbing frame and bikes etc in their outside area.

You've had some great suggestions (especially the leggings style trousers from Sainsburys, I've known several girls to wear trousers like this in school) so I don't have much more to add, other than to counteract the comments that suggests it's strange for you to want her to wear trousers.

I also wanted to add that the gingham playsuits are the most impractical invention ever for a little girl. They have to strip down completely just to go to the toilet. This can be fiddly and time consuming for a 4/5 year old, which can lead to accidents if they are desperate. Also, Reception children are highly unlikely to do this carefully, so the playsuit ends up on the floor. If you've ever seen the state of a primary school toilet cubicle after several 4/5 year olds have used it, you wouldn't be suggesting a gingham playsuit as a good idea! If you're going gingham, definitely go for the dress with cycling shorts underneath!

The OP has said clearly she doesn’t want a dress or a skirt, not sure why people keep recommending them

I think because the op has said that the child is active and cant for things in a dress, when in fact you can. Kids in reception just have cycling shorts under dresses and run around, climb on frames and do everything boys can. If you cant find suitable trousers it is an alternative worth considering until the child grows more.

we have this problem with both my kids. Nutmeg are the best for us.

Some very odd replies here. Nobody can 'guarentee' that a stranger's children will want to wear a dress to be like all the other girls, mainly because it's 2026 and many of the other little girls will be wearing trousers too! There's nothing odd or unusual about a little girl wanting to wear trousers.

It’s been really hot for the last month. Good chance it’ll be hot in early September when school goes back too. It would be really odd and an unusual to put a girl (or boy!) in full length trousers just for that alone. Most, literally every girl at my kids’ school and every girl I see walking to other schools in the local area, are in the gingham summer dresses and all the boys are in shorts. No trousers to be seen unless secondary age. Then once it gets colder most infant girls do wear pinafores. Most kids when they’re starting school want to fit in, if it’s her first OP might not have considered that her DD will be the outlier if she wears trousers so I think it’s reasonable to point that out. OP knows her DD best and if that is likely to bother her but it would be a shame for money to be spent on potentially expensive trousers because the usual high street options don’t fit and for her DD to come home the first week asking for a dress like the other girls. Finally, it doesn’t sound as if the DD even wants the trousers, OP just thinks that she can’t play properly at break in a dress which is completely incorrect and worth pointing out.

What activities do you think she'll be doing in school that she can't do in a dress or skirt?