"Parents accuse schools of body-shaming as girls are told to wear shorts under skirts"

I'm amazed the school uniform rules don't allow girls to wear trousers, muffinthemoo. Most schools have allowed it for decades.

yes, agree. are there no other schools you could send her to.
it seems wrong to force children to wear totally uncomfortable clothing, just to get an education.
could you lobby about it.

My daughter would find the cycling shorts uncomfortable- there’s no way she’d wear them! And I manage to find her perfectly adequate knickers! She’s not a fan of trousers and we have trouble finding shorts that are suitable for her. She manages to sit on the floor/play without showing her knickers off and she’s at an age where she’s just starting to like a bit of privacy. The idea of modesty shorts really doesn’t sit well with me.

PaperMonster

My daughter would find the cycling shorts uncomfortable- there’s no way she’d wear them! And I manage to find her perfectly adequate knickers! She’s not a fan of trousers and we have trouble finding shorts that are suitable for her. She manages to sit on the floor/play without showing her knickers off and she’s at an age where she’s just starting to like a bit of privacy. The idea of modesty shorts really doesn’t sit well with me.

When my DD was at school, say 15 or so years ago, there was a craze for girls wearing boxer shorts, just like boys underpants. They seemed ideal but maybe they have gone out of fashion. All the girls in her circle of friends seemed to prefer them, said they were more comfortable than the skimpy ones.

I wonder if they do more traditional pants in the sort of shops Kate Middleton would use?

Sad it's come to this.

Baggs

I'm amazed the school uniform rules don't allow girls to wear trousers, muffinthemoo. Most schools have allowed it for decades.

I think all our local schools do, primary/senior/grammar. I assumed it was normal, if shorts are on the uniform list can they discriminate against girls? Doesn't seem fair.

Harassment b boys is nothing new, its just that now they have social media to pass photos on. I can remember in my days going to school on the school bus with boys who try to pull you onto the back seat, try to u undo your bra etc etc. We girls use to retaliate with some pretty hefty wacks around the head and some would even indulge in a fight. Once we decided to get our own back and picked on the bully and got his trousers off. It all calmed down after that. These days I am afraid you can't do that which to my mind is a shame.

Also we use to wear navy blue knickers, remember them, what boy would want to look at them

Theworriedwell, I used to wear boxers in my late teens, early twenties but I think they’d be more revealing than knickers on a cross-legged ten year old sitting in an assembly hall. Not that they have assemblies at the mo! I just don’t understand where people are seeing all these revealing knickers on children!! I buy knickers for my child - I’ve never seen any that are vaguely revealing! But modesty shorts are just flipping ridiculous!!

At grammar school we wore skimpy knickers under our navy blues so in fact we were almost wearing modesty shorts! Seems a good idea to me.

Please, if there are big pants for small girls, tell me where you are buying them. I have tried I think every one of the big high street chains and all the supermarkets.

Baggs the headmistress is a bit… off beat

My co-ed Scottish school, both primary and secondary, did not require us to wear uniform, except on special occasions. Most of us did wear our royal blue blazers most of the time, and my mum expected us to wear the white shirt and school tie as well. Of course, we had gym slips for hockey- blue sashes for inter- school matches and house colours for inter-house games. I don't think big navy knickers were specified but we all wore them for PE. In the 1970-80s, my sons, in primary school, had no compulsory uniform, so it came as a shock when we had to invest in high school uniform, and again when we moved north.

Muffin the Moo - my daughter has a selection from Morrison’s (these are her preferred ones as the material is very soft), Primark, Tesco and M&S. She has been given those short-type ones from both M&S and Tesco but isn’t a fan of them as they ride up her bottom!! I’ve also bought her some from the adult section of M&S which she likes to wear in bed! They’re a bit baggy around the bottom and she says they’re comfy to sleep in!!

PaperMonster thanks! I have tried M&S, Primark and Tesco but they all seem baggy around the leg openings?? At least they cover the bum. She’s a small six year old so I don’t think I could try adult sizes yet but that might be the answer once she’s a bit bigger. I also feel like all her pants are sort of low in the back - I seem to remember my pants as a kid coming further up my back?? I will give Morrison’s a bash next.

Muffinthemoo - my girl’s ten and has inherited my chunky thighs! So no worry here about wide leg openings!! I bought her the adult ones as she kept nicking mine to wear at bedtime!!

Oh Paper I have a well built leg myself but sadly my weans are like spiders…. all long skinny limbs!! Never had a problem filling out pants myself so this is all a bit unexpected for me! My granny always said with pride I had “a forearm like a blacksmith” shame that fashions in body shape changed eh!

PaperMonster

Theworriedwell, I used to wear boxers in my late teens, early twenties but I think they’d be more revealing than knickers on a cross-legged ten year old sitting in an assembly hall. Not that they have assemblies at the mo! I just don’t understand where people are seeing all these revealing knickers on children!! I buy knickers for my child - I’ve never seen any that are vaguely revealing! But modesty shorts are just flipping ridiculous!!

The ones my DD had weren't loose on the legs, and DD was skinny.

Girls knickers are definitely skimpier than they were in the 1950s, well the ones I see are, I have 2 GDs and they have clothes from all sorts of shops but I know one DIL buys alot from Next but I think they also have M&S and supermarket ones.

I searched everywhere for girls pants without cut away legs - (even the shorts style were not comfortable) and found some at Uniqlo . As I said earlier my gd thinks they are really comfortable

image.uniqlo.com/UQ/ST3/WesternCommon/imagesgoods/434581/item/goods_21_434581.jpg

I’d be very sad if this was ever enforced for primary children. Yesterday I watched my Gdd (6) performing all sorts of contortions on playground equipment, inc. ‘monkey bars’ in just her blue gingham school summer dress with ordinary pants underneath.
She was not in the least concerned about showing her knickers and IMO nor should she be, at that age.

There is more than enough sexualisation of children already.
Padded bikini tops for 9 year olds! I swear I saw something about those the other day.