Kids wearing shorts to school

[daisax]

It used to drive me crazy with my niece and nephew, but I've started paying attention to other kids at bus stops and walking, and it's pretty universal in our area. The parents will be bundled up at the bus stop sipping coffee and talking, and the children will be wearing hoodies and shorts!

The coat industry must have taken a nosedive in the past 10 years!

My niece and nephew also say that the classrooms are brutally hot, so they often take the hoodie off as well once they're in class.

I wonder if it also has to do with the tremendous weight they carry in their backpacks -- my nephew's backpack is easily 30 lbs, and his sister's almost as much. That alone will work up a sweat when walking a decent distance!

 

[seashoreCM]

Been there done that although not to school or to work.

I was not permitted to wear shorts to school. No air conditioning in schools in those days (boys wear long pants, girls wear skirts with leggings permitted in winter) either.

I have seen plenty of folks who are adequately dressed only above the waist or only below the waist, for example a nice winter coat, gym shorts, shoes suitable for winter. Been there done that.

>>> classroom hot in winter
OT: Time to bring it up at a school budget meeting, cut down expenses and thereby cut property taxes.

 

[mom2travel]

DS is in 8th grade and wears shorts almost always; also a sweatshirt is his "coat". I gave up once he was in middle school, figured he's going to need to learn to make decisions on his own so it might as well be now, and in the grand scheme of things this is minor. DD likes her coat to walk to school but always has it in her backpack after school, but is only 3rd grade so I'm sure that will change. DS also has the no space in his locker problem and a packed schoolbus. Here our weather could be 30s when they leave for school at 7:30am and close to 70 in the afternoon. I guess DS plans for the afternoon temp... Me, I'm freezing just thinking about how cold it is out!

 

[SHAYMARAYSMOM]

I have a guy at my work who wears shorts year round. He also only wears a thin jacket in the winter.
I get cold just seeing him

 

[LivelyLissa]

Jeeze, I must really be in a fog. I just can't believe so many people wear shorts, flip flops and the like to school.

I went to public school, but my husband went to Catholic school (which is why he had to wear the tie). Even in my public school we had a dress code.

My kids are still young and I pick their clothing. I anticipate huge fights down the road because I have a thing about dressing appropriately when you are in public. Flip flops do not leave the house on my kids feet...ever. I still have the power to make sure their clothing matches and is free from stains (although that's getting harder as the kids get harder and harder on their clothes).

Doesn't make much sense to me to freeze your tushy off to be cool (no pun intended). Of course, I never was the cool kid in school. Maybe it was the coat and Geranimals.

 

[mdrob214]

Because kids can be stupid! Really, they just want to be different. I guess if they want to freeze and they're smart enough to know better, then let 'em. It was 13 degrees here yesterday morning when DD left for school. And both coats were left here on the hook. Oh well! I wasn't the one who was cold. She's 14 and smart but sometimes...

 

[DwarfMaster]

I remember high school.....standing in 2 feet of snow, waiting for the bus, in my shorts!

 

[Mrs.Toad]

Even in my public school we had a dress code.

My dds' school has a dress code, too, but as far as shorts/skirts go, it's just the fingertip rule. They cannot be shorter than the tips of your fingers when standing up with arms hanging down at your sides.

They're not allowed to wear flip flops or any other backless shoes though. But that's a playground safety issue, so the middle and high schools probably don't that rule.

 

[DawnCt1]

I went to school in the "old days" before tights were invented and we had to wear dresses or skirts to school. I wore knee socks and ankle socks depending upon what I had and what I was wearing. If it snowed, I wore snow pants and boots, which I hated, because I had to take them off when I got to school. Yup, and I used to walk, but uphill only one way. I think skirts and dresses aren't as warm as shorts.

 

[traviesojmt]

Jeeze, I must really be in a fog. I just can't believe so many people wear shorts, flip flops and the like to school.

I went to public school, but my husband went to Catholic school (which is why he had to wear the tie). Even in my public school we had a dress code.

My kids are still young and I pick their clothing. I anticipate huge fights down the road because I have a thing about dressing appropriately when you are in public. Flip flops do not leave the house on my kids feet...ever. I still have the power to make sure their clothing matches and is free from stains (although that's getting harder as the kids get harder and harder on their clothes).

Doesn't make much sense to me to freeze your tushy off to be cool (no pun intended). Of course, I never was the cool kid in school. Maybe it was the coat and Geranimals.

My son almost always wears shorts. It also depends upon where you have lived. We spent 3 years in Alaska. We now live in CA. When others think it is cold here, we laugh because it feels warm to us. On the other hand, when we vacationed in Florida, we thought our skin would melt off because of the heat. We just were not use to that type of weather.

I have to say that I do not understand the correlation between shorts and inappropriate dress. My son is very well dressed. Wearing shorts does not make this less true. He is hot-natured. He is a very bright boy so I figure that he is smart enough to know when he is cold.

 

[Tink888]

This morning I was driving my kids to school and as I was peering through the ice that was forming on my windshield I noticed a group of high school kids walking to school. They were all wearing shorts, short sleeves and no coats.

Now I don't want to be a helicopter parent, but who lets their kids leave the house in shorts when it's cold enough for there to be ice on the cars?

I'm kinda thinking those kids are not the brightest bulbs in the bunch either.

When I was a kid, we were not allowed to wear shorts to school, even in the blistering heat with no air conditioning. My husband was allowed to take his tie off when it got super hot. When did all of that change?

This thread made me laugh. DS11 will be one of those kids wearing shorts to school when he's older. He'd do it now if I'd let him. He hates pants and coats. It's all I can do in the morning to get him out the door with his hoodie. Doesn't like socks either.

Like others have said, we let them because it's a battle not worth fighting. After so many years of fighting about it in the morning, I said to hell with it. If he's cold, he'll learn to throw on some warmer clothes. Any parent who think I'm a lousy mom is welcome to come over and dress him.

DS11 is a pretty bright bulb. That's probably why his internal thermostat runs so much hotter than mine.

 

[Aliceacc]

My kids' building is HOT!!!

And my son simply doesn't feel the cold. I always know that he'll be wearing 2 fewer layers than I am, regardless of the season.

So yesterday, when the temps were in the 50's, he left for school in a pair of shorts, a T shirt, and a hooded sweatshirt. He waited at the bus stop for 3 minutes, then was comfortable for the rest of the day.

He's 10 years old. He knows when he's cold and when he isn't. I don't trust his judgement on all things, but he's bright enough to tell me if he's cold-- or to go put on some warmer clothes.

We don't all share the same internal thermostat.

So I'm one of those parents who let their kids leave in shorts in December. And my son IS one of "the brightest in the bunch." He just doesn't get cold as easily as I do.

But as the the flip flops-- that's a battle my daughter will lose every single time. If she ever had to move quickly in a fire, it's not possible in flip flops. So that's something I think is worth the battle it causes.

 

[georgina]

My kids wear a uniform to school, so no shorts...but the girls wear skirts, even in the cold weather. Is that really any different from shorts?

That's exactly what I was thinking. I endured 12 years of catholic school, being forced to wear skirts in the freezing cold for a 15 minute walk, if my kid wants to run to the bus stop in shorts, go for it!

 

[TwinsinCA]

My son almost always wears shorts. It also depends upon where you have lived. We spent 3 years in Alaska. We now live in CA. When others think it is cold here, we laugh because it feels warm to us.

I grew up in Minnesota and now live in Southern California. I wear shorts nearly all the time. I get the "aren't you cold?" a few times a year.

My kids have worn shorts to school almost every day this school year. It is chilly enough in the morning to wear a light jacket. But when the high is supposed to be 70+, I put them in shorts.