Going a step further with school dress code

[Anonymous]

If your public/ private doesn’t have a uniform or strict dress code, do you ever make your kids go a step further? For example my mom made us look professional for public school (an UMC public school ) and wouldn’t let us wear denim except on special occasions, no shirts with words, ect. But the school had no real dress code

[Anonymous]

I do not allow my kids to wear pajamas to school. But they can wear sweats and athletic gear.

[Anonymous]

Why do something that is going to “other” them from other kids? No, I’m not doing that.

[Anonymous]

I will not allow to let my kids wear shorts outside when its freezing cold. Also no PJs unless its a fun dress up day. I do allow my son wear dri fit material clothing/gym attire due to sensory issues.


Does anyone have recommendations for pants that have a similar feel and not restrictive?

[Anonymous]

I would be happy if I could just get my teenagers to wear a damn coat.

[Anonymous]

How old are you OP? I ask because mothers of a certain generation thought:

- you shouldn’t have long hair
-wear a 2 piece bathing suit
- be bare legged
Etc.

[Anonymous]

As long as you teach them how to look presentable and on which occasion to do so when it matters most, I don't think school is a place to have dress code demands. The kids are here to learn, not to project whatever social aspirations you think they need to project.

My kids spent their formative years in public in a wealthy school district. The kids all dressed in the same slouchy way. My oldest naturally tends to preppy, my second goes slouchy for high school but then dresses much better outside of school. She has a ton for formal dresses for her instrumental recitals. None of us like jeans in the family. I dress really well, because I love clothes. My husband dresses like a homeless guy.

Model and teach, but don't force.

[Anonymous]

Jeans would be dressing up now. My rule is no pajamas and if you slept in it all night you can’t wear it to school

[Anonymous]

I choose my battles. Making my kids dress up more than their peers would never be a priority. I try not to fight about clothes at all, but if I did, it would be for something like religious services or Thanksgiving, where dressing up is expected, not school.

[Anonymous]

My kids need to be showered, decently groomed and have on appropriate undergarments in public. Beyond that I don’t police their clothes as long as they’re following social norms.
My mom and grandma (who lived with us) were forever making unfavorable comments on whatever my sister and I wore each morning to school. My dad tried to stick up for us but it really affected our self-esteem and both my sister and I vowed not to ever repeat that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not allow my kids to wear pajamas to school. But they can wear sweats and athletic gear.

I don’t love pajamas for daywear but I’d rather my DD wore pajamas than look like a hooker. Some of the girls in her MS hardly have any clothes on.
DD wore grinch flannel pajama bottoms all day. I’m not complaining

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would be happy if I could just get my teenagers to wear a damn coat.

This!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Was your mother an immigrant looking to make her children look like they belonged? That would be the only excuse to do something so silly.

In the wealthy public school district we live in, kids know how to dress well for the right occasions, because their parents are wealthy and educated and knowledge comes from inside the house. But everyone dresses very casually to attend school. Someone who didn't would NOT fit in.

[Anonymous]

I do not care what my kid wears to school subject to some very reasonable limits — like no butt cheeks hanging out and no tube tops. Pjs and sweats are fine with me.

She also knows perfectly well that church and grandma’s house mean she must dress better. She isn’t ever going to show up for a job interview looking like a homeless person or like she is headed out to a club. That means she is just fine in my book.

[Anonymous]

No. My kid dresses more formally than I would expect her to, by choice. She likes shirts tucked in, loves dresses with stockings, and often wears a little cardigan with just the top one or two buttons buttoned to finish it off. I have never asked her to do this, and most of the other kids don't dress that way. She likes it though and I buy clothes she likes.

I think the teachers find it charming, some of the other kids find it off-putting, but the girls she's friends with admire her style. I wouldn't force a kid to dress this way, because if it wasn't a choice, I think it would feel bothering or embarrassing.

I bet some of the teachers and other parents think I make her do it. Oh well.