School Uniforms - Love them or hate them?

You must have been living in a dream if you have failed to notice that a) it's the start of a new school year and b) school uniforms (and the inability of parents to stick to it) have been in the news.

DD is now 16 and has left school. After years too numerous to count in which she just got up, put on school uniform and went to school, she is starting college. No uniform, and as far as we are aware not even a dress code! I blogged earlier in the year about how we went out to buy some clothes. And it may surprise you to know (or it may not) that I spent as much on 'some new clothes for college' as I ever did on school uniform at the start of term, in fact due to the uniform remaining the same, I was only ever replacing worn out or outgrown clothes, not 'this old thing that is no longer fashionable and any way I've worn it loads and everyone has seen it and I'm bored of it' so I suspect I'll be spending more from now on (actually not as DD is taking responsibility for her finances from now - but that's another post!)

So here is my list of reasons why I love school uniform. 

And before we meander down the 'but freedom of expression!' 'Personality!' 'Individuality!' my daughter is only at school (now college)  7 hours a day, and all the rest of the day, and at weekends, she can wear what she likes, be as individual as she likes, have a unique personality...

So I love school uniform because:

• It's easy. You know what to buy. They know what to wear. No arguments. It just is.
• Cost. You have to buy something, I've found uniform no more expensive than 'normal' clothes, and while you still need 'weekend clothes', you don't need as much as you do when you are wearing 'weekend clothes' all week!
• Speed of getting ready. Maybe it's a girl thing (!) but as DD got older, what to wear became a huge deal, for school it's nice to have no debate, no "I've worn this already" or "oh Jane hates me in that" or " but I said I'd wear the blue! Everyone is wearing blue today!" (see also Mean Girls, on Wednesday we wear pink)
• Differentiation of work and play. Some people may argue that school shouldn't feel like work but the reality is that it is and it does. Personally I don't mind that - I work and I'd rather not, it's life. It's nice to feel like you've left work behind and it's your time when you get home and take off a uniform.
• Durability - school uniform is practical, it's rarely built for trendy fashion, it's tough, hard wearing and stain resistant. Minimal ironing (I say minimal - I mean 'no') easy wash, quick dry.
• Every one looks the same. Rich or poor you are there in the same kit. Yes I know there is shabby uniform and posher branded blouses but on the whole you all look the same as everyone else. No bullying based on clothing (obviously there is bullying based on something else, but fashion isn't in the list)
• Responsibility - It's never too young to learn some responsibility to yourself. Knowing where your uniform is, looking after it, making sure to get it washed and ready for Monday. No 'oh I'll just wear this then' , you need to be responsible.
• Learning to obey rules - now I know loads of people will rail against this but the world doesn't work without rules. Where to drive, tax to pay, bin days, recycling, plenty of jobs have a dress code, or even a uniform, health workers must dress a certain way and be clean, police dress to be identified, as do other civil servants etc. Some rules are worth following and if you feel your school uniform is really terrible, form a pupil group at school and try and change it! 
• Identification. Uniform can be a simple way to see who is a child at your school. As a teacher supervising a day out uniform can be a simple way to keep an eye on everyone (I used to love the Brownie uniform on days out when I was a helper there for this reason) in a sea of T shirts and jeans, (and other school uniforms form other schools) your school uniform can identify you.

And no, school uniform doesn't help you learn better, but it doesn't stop you learning either, and denim shorts don't help you learn better either.

Feel free to disagree (or agree!) with me on Twitter or Facebook

For the record, DD liked wearing her school uniform. (Look at that lovely hat!!)

Your school uniform opinion #poll

— Tattooed Mummy (@tattooed_mummy) September 7, 2016

Phones at bedtime and teenagers

Teens that take a phone to bed are more tired in the day than teens that don't. Being tired can affect mental health. So a study has revealed. Did we really need a study to tell us that? I have a teen and like me she is addicted to her phone, though for different reasons. I'm a twitter addict while she is all about snapchat and youtubers. As soon as she arrives in a wifi zone (she has limited data) she is clued to a 4 inch screen. It was interesting to see in the study that using multiple devices is common too as Dd often watches YouTube on her laptop while listening to music and snapchatting, and checking Facebook!

At bedtime it's tempting to spend a few relaxing minutes laying in bed reading stuff on your phone (or in her case watching a quick video) rather than reading a book or just going to sleep. The temptation is stronger if the phone sits there by the bed (mine does as I use it as an alarm) and if you are a teen apparently the temptation is then to check each beep during the night.

I don't know about you but I put my phone on to 'silent' (no vibrate either!) at night. So when I do finally say goodnight to the little twitter people in the phone, I go to sleep and sleep soundly until daybreak. It seems though that teens can't do that - if the phone is there it must be beeping at each interaction. (though who the teens are that are awake at 3am and sending you a snapchat I do not know! "Me in bed - should be sleeping LOL") It seems, in short, that teens lack self control. Who knew. At a guess, parents, and possibly teens, pretty much all the people that didn't do the study..or maybe they did know but they needed it to be tested, referenced and evidenced.

It sort of comes with the territory that we, as parents,  are still doing the parent thing. Our children might be growing up, but they are not grown up and so we sometimes have to make difficult decisions they won't address. In our house the answer is pretty simple, the teen's phone has to be left (in silent mode) in another room where we can see it when she goes to bed. She doesn't get to have a phone in her bedroom. After all, the average teen is not going to need it as an alarm, they don't get out of bed without dire threats and cold water most mornings. It's no fun setting rules and being the mean parent, but it's still what we have to do.
Does your child have a mobile phone (or tablet, PC, laptop etc) ? Are they allowed it in their room at night and if so will this news make you change the rules? Do you have screen time rules?

School Uniform Rules

As usual when a new academic year starts the news picks up on the children that have been sent home due to school uniform infringement.

For my American (and other foreign land) readers, it should be noted that almost all British schools whether government run or private (and we call some of these private schools ‘public schools’ because they are not government run, but run by the public see here for more info) have uniforms. School uniforms in Britain range from the simple “grey skirt or trousers, white blouse, grey jumper or cardigan” type uniform, to the extremely strict style where each item is described in detail, styles of skirt and trouser are defined, jumpers or blazers may need embroidering with the school logo, blouses may even have sleeve length and collar types regulated, this strict type of school will probably also demand a certain colour and type of shoe (most schools state no trainers) and will have rules on other aspects of appearance such as makeup, jewellery and hairstyle.

when DD was smaller, at middle school

Parents seem to fall into several camps, the “they are the rules, lets either change them if we dislike them or stick to them” type (that’s me) , the “children should be allowed self expression, uniform is ok but hair and piercings are their own business” type, the “if I can afford it fine, if not you’ll just have to lump it, it’s mostly uniform and that’s fine by me” type, and the “you’re lucky I get them to school frankly, so shut up about looks and just teach” type.

DDs school is especially strict, even to the shop it has to be bought in (fairly sure that’s actually illegal but they ensure that the description of the uniform is so tight it can’t be bought elsewhere). The uniform however is really nice. The girls all seem to like it and I’ve not seem many infringements over the years, just the occasional rebellious wearing of the incorrect colour socks!

When I read some comments online about the news stories, and even personal stories, of children sent home, excluded from lessons or sent to detention for wearing incorrect uniform or flouting a hair colour rule I was not going to bother to get involved, after all it happens every year and every year it sorts itself by mid term. Then I read a piece by Quirky Kook about skirt length and commented, and realised I did need to shoot my mouth off blog about uniforms ..

As I have a teen I was mostly interested in that age group, after all, before then, you are very reliant on what your parents buy and choose, as you get older you tend to be able to take more responsibility for your own looks. Today I discussed it with DD. Surprisingly (or maybe not, she is a mini me) despite being a teen she likes the uniform and the rules. She has little patience with rule breakers. (they apparently once had a girl that had to wear a brunette wig to school to cover her blue and green hair; an interesting compromise) and DD likes the fact that at her school the rules relax as you get older, the upper years are allowed makeup and nail varnish. When I asked what she thought about kids being sent home she agreed it was silly but thinks it’s better if done now, early in the term, to make the point. But she also told me that at her school the office has pre-loved (haha) school uniforms, washed and repaired by the PTA, ready and waiting for girls that claim “I don’t have the right jumper/blouse/skirt” etc – they have new pairs of cheap correctly coloured socks too! What an eminently sensible idea, not least because for the average rebel the thought of wearing second hand kit is worse than conforming to begin with! As far as DD is concerned there is plenty of time out of school to wear her new “School Sucks” logo T shirt!

DD models her school uniform...yes they have a hat

I think if you are going to send your child to a school with a uniform policy (and no law says you must send your child to school of course) then you should be prepared to follow the rules (or maybe join the PTA or governors and try to change them if you really hate them). To me uniforms help to create cohesion in the school, can prevent some forms of bullying, make it simpler each morning for parents to get children ready, look smart and prepare children for a world that (whether you like it or not) has rules that need to be followed, including many jobs where a dress code is enforced.

How do you feel about school uniform rules? If you don’t like them have you tried to change them? Do you stick to the rules or does your child bend them?