Uniforms for school

[Serena]

We are not happy. The whole school system has changed to uniforms.

I just get this feeling that uniforms for school was a way to get sponsorship for the schools. We send the stores a boatload of money and they give some back to the schools.
Everyone in the whole city system had to go out and buy new clothes and shoes for school. I know people buy new school clothes already, but normally they have things in their closet they are able to use and they don't have to buy a whole new wardrobe unless they choose to.

Black or khaki pants, long shorts, long skirts.
shirts with collars, button up, polo's, turtlenecks. black, white, red, or green
Solid black or white shoes
shirts must be tucked in and everyone must wear a belt.

The list of things they don't allow and things that are required is two pages long.
Oh, and one little thing I just thought was mean. If you are overweight you may ask for permission to leave your shirt untucked.

These kids wear jeans and t-shirts. It's cheap, or can be, and no one cares how much you spent. Now that is the main thing they are not allowed to wear, no jeans, denim of any kind and no t-shirts of any kind.

I still say if they had enforced the dress code they had, then this wasn't needed at all.
They could have done it gradually at least.

This might be a good idea in the long run I don't know, I am just not happy with it right now.

 

[ducklite]

Target has very inexpensive kids uniform pants and tops.

This week they are on sale, $6.99 for tops, $8.99 and $10.99 for shorts and pants.

Their regular polo's are $5.99 and their "regular" khaki's and jeans are $9.99, so it's really only a few dollars per kid more for uniforms over "regular" school clothes. You could probably get away with one pair of shorts and two pair of long pants, as well as three tops to start. That's about $50, plus a belt which is about $4 and shoes which I would think need to be bought anyhow, right? Solid black shoes at Payless are $9.99.

Frankly if it cuts down on gang related activity, girls showing thier hoochies off, and guys with their drawers handing out, I'm all for it.

I attended a school with a uniform, and there were definite advantages as far as cutting out the mean girls cliques and such. The uniform I wore could only be purchased through a uniform supply place and the prices were outrageous. This is 30 years ago, and the pants and skirts were $20 each, the mandatory blazer was $55, the mandatory sweater was $25. We had to wear a white or pink blouse that we could purcahse whereever, and shoes had to be closed to and back with less than a 2" heel. It cost almost $200 for three bottoms, three tops, the blazer and sweater, and that was before the mandatory gym suit. My mother would have jumped for joy at $10 pants and $7 tops!

Anne

 

[freckles and boo]

I don't know. I am a big individualist and I wouldn't mind if my kids' schools went to uniforms. It would simplify our lives considerably.

 

[Serena]

I've seen the uniforms for kids in grade school. My girl is a sophomore and wears a 9 in juniors. It's not so easy finding stuff, I went to three stores yesterday. I even went out of town thinking it'd be easier.

 

[CEDmom]

Personally it would resolve a lot of headaches with my DD7 deciding what to wear to school every day. If she's this bad now I'm not looking forward to the teen years .

As far as things in her closet going to waste that really wouldn't happen since she changes out of school clothes each day when she comes home and there's the weekends.

 

[ducklite]

I've seen the uniforms for kids in grade school. My girl is a sophomore and wears a 9 in juniors. It's not so easy finding stuff, I went to three stores yesterday. I even went out of town thinking it'd be easier.

Did you check Old Navy for the pants? They usually have khakis for about $20.

Also check out the sale racks at the better department stores, all the summer stuff is on sale, and Liz Claiborne makes longer shorts and khaki's, I'll bet a lot of it is marked to 50% off about now.

Anne

 

[Serena]

Did you check Old Navy for the pants? They usually have khakis for about $20.

Anne

No, I went to target, kohls and penney's. I'll try Old Navy, thanks.

 

[Wish Upon A Star]

I wish all schools could enforce the dress code, but, it never happens, that is why many schools are going to uniforms.

For instance, I work in a high school with over 2100 students, it is extremely hard to enforce the dress code for many reasons. Students and parents alike are told what is appropriate attire for school, yet several students are sent in my office on a daily basis(especially during the warm weather) because of what they are wearing. They have to call their parents and get a change of clothing sent to school. The problem with that is, they are losing classroom time over something as wearing a tank top, or their pants are so baggy that not only can you see their undies, but they could end up tripping and hurting themselves. Which is not only a disruption to the other students, but to the teachers who are trying to teach their classes.

I think having schools go to all uniforms will alleviate the nonsense of the unacceptable clothing as well as other issues including things getting stolen.

I think you would have a different opinion if you walked into your child's school and see what everyone else's child is wearing and then maybe you'll see why uniforms would make a world of difference.

 

[Kath2003]

Black or khaki pants, long shorts, long skirts.
shirts with collars, button up, polo's, turtlenecks. black, white, red, or green
Solid black or white shoes
shirts must be tucked in and everyone must wear a belt.

Sounds like a pretty lax uniform with a choice of colors and styles. Will save you money and hassle in the long term, most likely. My school uniform was much stricter - set styles of shirts, trousers and skirts. Everything was navy except shirts which were white. Shoes had to be black, as did back packs and coats. We also had to wear a tie.

 

[MichelleVW]

I would LOVE it if my kids had to wear uniforms....but I don't think we will ever get that lucky.

 

[diznygirl]

Uniforms do NOT keep the Haves from separating themselves from the Have Nots - there will always be that cattiness - and ways to tell.

Uniforms also do not make children better dressers - they can be just as sloppy in khakis and a polo as they are in jeans and a t-shirt.

Uniforms are not magic.

 

[freckles and boo]

Uniforms do NOT keep the Haves from separating themselves from the Have Nots - there will always be that cattiness - and ways to tell.

Uniforms also do not make children better dressers - they can be just as sloppy in khakis and a polo as they are in jeans and a t-shirt.

Uniforms are not magic.

True. But I would never again have to explain to my daughter why orange and pink combos are only for the very experienced fashionistas!!!

 

[Serena]

Uniforms do NOT keep the Haves from separating themselves from the Have Nots - there will always be that cattiness - and ways to tell.

Uniforms also do not make children better dressers - they can be just as sloppy in khakis and a polo as they are in jeans and a t-shirt.

Uniforms are not magic.

I know, she had a stricter uniform in middle school and it made no difference that I could tell. I had looked forward to highschool where she could wear what she wanted.
Part of it also is that my daughter has an eye-catching shape, and she wore loose, baggy t-shirts and sweatshirts to cover up. Now she won't be able to.
I may be happy about this next year, but not right now.

 

[MrsPete]

These kids wear jeans and t-shirts. It's cheap, or can be, and no one cares how much you spent.

The same thing can be said of uniforms. People'll spend more this year during the transition, but once uniforms have become a part of life, you'll see that they'll be available in expensive versions and cheap versions -- just the same as the clothes kids wear right now. People who care about saving money will start using the same money-saving tricks they use for other kids' clothes: buy out of season, buy used, etc. In the long run, uniforms are a huge money saver.

 

[slk537]

Are these public schools with uniforms?? Our public schools here have dress codes, but from what I've seen they seem to be quite lax...

DS starts kindergarten this year at one of the Catholic schools here and his uniform is going to make my life so simple: solid sweaters or collared shirts in navy, light blue, white or red with khakis or navy pants (shorts in September and May). I have about $150 in shirts in my checkout on target.com which should get us through most of the school year. He can also wear navy or gray sweatshirts and he can wear anything that has his school or the Catholic high school logo on it (so the HS adds green to his wardrobe). Everything matches with everything else.

He loves red, so that is helping him. Unfortunately his all time favorite color is orange, so I've promised him he can get an orange backpack and winter coat.

 

[MrsPete]

The uniform I wore could only be purchased through a uniform supply place and the prices were outrageous. This is 30 years ago, and the pants and skirts were $20 each, the mandatory blazer was $55, the mandatory sweater was $25. We had to wear a white or pink blouse that we could purcahse whereever, and shoes had to be closed to and back with less than a 2" heel. It cost almost $200 for three bottoms, three tops, the blazer and sweater, and that was before the mandatory gym suit. My mother would have jumped for joy at $10 pants and $7 tops

There's an up-side to that though: Back when we were in a uniform school, I bought each of my daughters "the" red, white, and blue plaid jumper at about $60 a pop. They must've been made of iron. They wore them in warm weather with a white blouse and sandals, then in cold weather with a turtleneck and tights. Both girls wore those jumpers for two years, then the younger inherited the older daughter's outgrown jumper.

Those jumpers were expensive in the first place, but they were probably worn twice a week for YEARS -- and then I sold them at the school's uniform trade sale! The same cannot be said of jeans.

 

[smartestnumber5]

Sorry OP.

I had uniforms as a child and HATED it. My mother hated it too--always having to make sure we had the right number of the same exact shirt clean for the week--ugh. We had a much more strict policy then it seems you have including plaid kilt skirts . Uniforms were no cheaper because we took them off the second we got in the door and then wore another outfit for the rest of the day. So there were two outfits to wash everyday and we needed just as much in the way of normal clothing as we did when went to a school that didn't require uniforms. As I got to be a pre-teen we had trouble finding any that fit me and had to have my grandmother move the buttons. (I just love the caveat in your policy that the fat kids can ask to leave their shirts untucked! )

I, my brother, and my mother were sooo happy when my brother and I changed schools and could wear normal clothes. Actually now that I think about it, my school had "dress down days" every once in awhile during which we were allowed to wear our normal clothing--I guess the school knew how much all the children hated the uniforms and took pity on us!

I don't understand what's going on with schools and dress code problems that make them decide on uniforms. When I was in high school 7 years ago the big dress issues were: 1) people who refused to wear their ID, 2) shorts/skirts that were too short, and 3) tank tops (no shoulders were allowed to be exposed). Uniforms can't solve #1 and #2 (there were plenty of very short kilts in Catholic school) and I always thought #3 was ridiculous. My cousin has a child in middle school now and she was telling us that she had bought the kid a bunch of "hoodie" sweatshirts in different colors (the really light sweatshirts that zip up and have a hood--apparently nothing has changed in 10 years because that's what I wore as a young teen too!). The school then enacted a ban on all clothing with hoods and her daughter got in trouble for wearing one. My cousin went in to talk the principle and asked what exactly their reasoning was. He said something about how she could be pulled down the stairs if someone pulled on her hood while she was walking in front of them. My cousin pointed out that backpacks, purses, pockets, belts, etc would all seem to have the same danger and asked if they were they also banned. Eventually the principle told her fine, that her daughter could wear the hoodies. Ridiculous.

I'm just glad I chose a profession in which I can wear whatever I want.

ETA: Good luck finding the uniforms.

 

[Gina]

Our school district (public) has "standardized dress", and has had for a bunch of years. I think it's the greatest thing ever. The kids can wear solid khaki, black, navy, or gray pants or skirts (or shorts for 4th grade and under) and any color solid collared or turtleneck shirt. Their shirts must be tucked in.

They all look SO nice and neat, all the time -- yet they all look different, too. And DS has been able to match his own clothes in the morning since he was in kindergarten, because what doesn't go with khaki? The clothes they require are MUCH easier to find, and waaaaayyyy less expensive.

I can't understand why every school across the country hasn't gone to this!! It just really makes the kids look great, and they're less distracted by what other people are wearing.

 

[MM27]

I teach in an urban elementary school in Northern NJ and we adopted a uniform policy a few years ago. It was probably one of the best things that could have happened. They began in the preK-6th grade and then the following year added the middle school. I teach 4th grade and I can't tell you how happy I am that I no longer have to look at boys boxers because their jeans are falling off and girls that are wearing clothing that belongs to their little sisters. Our students wear yellow shirts and navy blue pants/skirts/skorts/jumpers. The ties and sweaters are optional. On gym days they can wear sweats or shorts in navy and they have a t-shirt with the school name on it. The school has a full closet of extras in case parents have financial issues and can't afford to buy the uniform or when the kids come without the uniform and say it's laundry day. I'll tell you from a teacher point of view, behavior seems like it's better and there is almost a better sense of community in the school.

 

[Olaf]

DS went to a public school with uniforms for Kindergarten and then we moved, and moved, and moved, etc. No uniforms since. I would love it if he had to wear them. The children look great in uniforms. They were required to wear a belt and tuck their shirts in. Does it cure all the behavior problems and designer tag envy? No, but it's a step in the right direction.