It was only the second day and despite picking her outfit out the night before, this morning my daughter and I were already arguing about what she was going to wear to school.
There’s nothing fun about fighting, bleary-eyed before coffee, about wearing a pretty floral shirt with a striped, grungy hoodie. You just. Don’t.
In her last school, my daughter wore a uniform. Khaki or blue bottoms with a white or blue shirt, and a blue cardigan, and this morning when she was getting dressed I longed for the days of the uniforms because it was just so much easier, and in my opinion, so much better for the kids.
Some parents (and most kids) don’t like the idea of school uniforms because they want to be able to express themselves and not have to conform into what, generally, isn’t the most attractive attire, but I have a few points that might change your mind.
School uniforms make everything easier.
When it comes to shopping and getting dressed in the morning, there is no doubt that wearing a uniform makes everything easier on parents and kids.
There’s no searching for matching outfits at the last minute, arguing about what goes with what, or fighting over wearing spaghetti strap tanks or shirts with sayings that aren’t allowed.
You just wake up in the morning and pick one piece from your shirt pile and one piece from your bottoms pile, and you’re done.
No matter what, you will match. No matter what, you’ll be looking sharp.
This eliminates the need to spend hours upon hours and hundreds of dollars school shopping for new clothes every season.
Can I get an Amen to that, parents?
School uniforms are less expensive.
From my experience, school uniforms are exponentially less expensive than the clothes you will buy if you are school shopping for whatever you want.
Most uniform shirts are priced between ten and fifteen dollars apiece with the bottoms being a little more, but we were able to do all the necessary school shopping in sixth grade for something like $150.
This year, we spent over $500 on new clothes for my daughter who didn’t fit into anything nice that she already had.
As school uniforms are getting more popular in public schools, stores and websites are doing a better job of offering up uniforms in all styles and colors to make it even easier.
If you know your child’s size, you can get every piece of uniform you need from Walmart or Target online and never even have to leave the house to shop with your child — it’s like the gift that keeps on giving.
School uniforms level the playing field.
Yes, school uniforms make everything easier on parents, that’s for sure.
But what do they do for kids?
They level the playing field.
I knew what it was like to be the kid in school who wasn’t the most stylish (sorry mom, but you had no clue), and I got made fun of sometimes for the clothes I wore that I had no choice over buying.
I also remember the kids in school who wore the same clothes on rotation every other day or so because they were poor and didn’t have enough for a good wardrobe.
Then, there were the rich kids who flaunted their expensive jeans and shoes and bags and made everyone else feel bad for having less.
When all the kids wear uniforms, when everyone is dressed the same, there’s less of a likelihood that kids will get bullied, and more of a chance that they will feel like they fit in with everyone else.
It really seems like a win/win for both parents and children.
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