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Island Living 365

Would wearing a suit make me a better parent?

January 27, 2016

Yesterday it came out in the press that a Headteacher had written to parents asking them to stop wearing pyjamas on the school run. If i’m honest my first reaction was to be a bit jealous. They have Mums that wear pjs on the school run?! Oh how glorious that must be. You see my school run is very different. At our school it seems like all of the other Mums are yummy Mummies and they all rock up looking wonderfully immaculate whilst wearing their beautifully ironed clothes and they are wearing actual make-up (not last nights). I on the other hand rock up with a birds nest for hair and mostly sometimes yoghurt stained tops and my mascara might be smudged. This is not because I didn’t take it off properly the night before. Absolutely not *cough*. By the way am I the only one who removes her mascara the night before but then finds that some has magically reappeared under her eyes the next morning? Yes, I’m more your slummy Mummy. The shame.

 

So I would quite like it if other parents wore pjs if only to make me feel less slovenly! However, I can also see the Headteachers point too. It is about the negative associations with wearing what should be your bed wear out of the house, it doesn’t create the best impression. Don’t get me wrong I love a good pj day but I would never wear my pjs out of the house.

 

But then again should this not be our choice to make? As adults should we not be free to decide what we want to wear on the school run? What I don’t like about the letter is that apparently it calls it a

 

“pretty poor indictment of the parenting skills of some of our families”

 

Now that I have an issue with. I don’t agree with the sweeping inference that is being made here. Does wearing pjs really make you a bad parent. Does the clothes we wear really reflect how good we are as a parent?

 

I mean if I wore a tracksuit does this make me a Mum that isn’t as good as the Mum who is wearing a suit? What do jeans say about me? I live in jeans.

 

 

Oh no now I feel like I have stumbled into a whole minefield. As well as getting my children ready for school, feeding them, washing them, brushing their teeth, making the packed lunch I now need to think about what I wear because it clearly is telling the whole world what I am like as a parent. So perhaps I need to go and invest in a variety of suits for the school run, so that I can create an impression of being a very busy and important person and therefore fantastic parent. Perhaps power dressing is the way forward for school runs.

 

Also will I be judged for what my toddler wears? This morning it was a princess dress over her jeans and top and finished with wellies. What does this say about me as a parent?

 

 

I do agree with the Headteacher to a certain degree but I do think that how she handled it could have been better. Perhaps a quiet word with some of the parents asking them if they would mind not wearing their pjs on the school run but I don’t think it was her place to tell them. The Headteacher is there to run the school and to ensure that the children are getting a good education so i’m not sure how a fews pjs on the school run impacts on this. But like or not we are judged on our appearances and perhaps this is something I need to remember more too.

 

But the Headteacher might want to realise that a lot of fashion can look like Pjs. In fact the spring fashion look is exactly that. Slinky nightdresses might start occurring on the school run. Now I would like to see what the Headteacher says then!

 

#FabFridayPost

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Filed Under: Musings, Parenting

  1. reimerandruby says

    January 27, 2016 at 8:06 pm

    I do agree with you, what parents wear doesn’t define how we are as a parent! Don’t judge the book by its cover shall we say! I love pj’s myself on a lazy day at home but I don’t like to wear it outside where everyone can see especially as I don’t wear bras underneath it, lol Lovely post! #BloggerClubUK

    • islandliving365 says

      January 27, 2016 at 8:13 pm

      Thank you for your lovely comment! 🙂

  2. Elizabeth (Plant Based Bride) says

    January 28, 2016 at 1:33 am

    That seems like a completely inappropriate thing for a school official to say to parents… Children’s clothing is under their jurisdiction as far as dress code. But parents? Not so much. I’d likely wear my PJs just to prove a point… haha

    • islandliving365 says

      January 28, 2016 at 7:31 am

      Yes, I think I would feel the need to rebel too! I understand the Head’s point but I don’t think it has been handled right but then I guess we don’t know what was the lead up to it… x

  3. motherhoodtherealdeal says

    January 28, 2016 at 11:25 am

    Maybe if they were wearing pyjamas it would suggest that they were too busy taking care of their children to take care of themselves rather than spending more time preening themselves which could suggest they were a better parent! Thanks so much for linking this up to #coolmumclub did you catch you were our fave link up this week? x

    Talya – http://www.motherhoodtherealdeal.com

  4. islandliving365 says

    January 28, 2016 at 11:29 am

    Yes I did, thank you I am delighted to be a “cool” mum for the week! It has made my day, actually week! And yes I completely agree with your comment on the parents that wear pjs because they are probably too busy taking care of their children. Well that is my excuse for my very slummy ways 🙂

  5. rhymingwithwine says

    January 28, 2016 at 12:35 pm

    I kind of see where the headmaster is coming from… but then I read the quote from letter and nearly spat my (tepid) tea out! To insinuate that our clothing has anything at all to do with our parenting skills is outrageous in my opinion!

    Ps. I do not use eye make up remover. Removing mascara is my pillow’s job now. It’s all about delegation ;0) x
    #coolmumclub

    • islandliving365 says

      January 28, 2016 at 3:17 pm

      haha, glad I’m not only the one with mascara issues 🙂

  6. islandliving365 says

    January 28, 2016 at 3:16 pm

    Yes, agreed, I don’t think the letter was the right way to go about it. Thanks for your comment 🙂

  7. 2teens1preteen says

    January 29, 2016 at 9:05 am

    Oh this really made me smile! I’ve got some friends who make a huge effort on the school run and I look on in awe and then I have others who have actually turned up in odd shoes (seriously!) and do you know what I love them all – maybe that is being 40 (give or take a few) and i love my friends for who they are and all their idiosyncrasies – think the headteacher should embrace those that are brave enough to turn up in PJs – sisterhood power and all that! Surely better to have the confidence to be who they want to be and not to conform – shouldn’t we embrace that? Oh I could go on and on! Fab post though #coolmumclub Happy Friday

    • islandliving365 says

      January 29, 2016 at 9:18 am

      Awwww thanks! I agree it is our individual sense of dress that reflects our personality and we should embrace it all. Love the odd, I may have nearly done that once! shoes 🙂 x

  8. Complicated Gorgeousness says

    January 29, 2016 at 11:38 am

    I want to be all those women in your pics ha. It is mad the pressure we put on ourselves, My youngest goes on transport to special school and 7.50am and I always make sure I am dressed and have lippy on – why, why? For the bus driver? I may rebel and stand on the pavement in my PJs haha x Great post

    • islandliving365 says

      January 29, 2016 at 11:40 am

      Yes, I say lets rebel! I waste far too much time worrying about what I look like on the school run. Thanks for your comment 🙂

  9. debsrandomwritings says

    January 29, 2016 at 12:41 pm

    Hi Emma, a couple of years back I read an article saying that supermarkets were going to stop Mums shopping in their PJ’s and found it hard to believe that anyone would do that (shop in their PJ’s. Now I have to believe it.

    I love a lounge round the house day wearing PJ’s and my sixteen year old is never out of them in the house, but you have to draw the line somewhere or there is always the risk that parents will think it’s acceptable to let children go to school wearing PJ’s. Our clothes do not make us who we are, but I have to agree with the schools policy (maybe not how it was handled).

    Saying that though having a quiet word doesn’t always work as there are people who take offense and make a noise (like the lady in the news this week). However if I were to encounter a Mum in her PJ’s doing the school run, I’d probably thank her for brightening my day.

    Since I stopped wearing waterproof mascara I don’t get the morning after panda eye, when I did use it took two lots of eye makeup remover to get the stuff off.

    #BrilliantBlogPosts

    • islandliving365 says

      January 29, 2016 at 12:43 pm

      Yes, I agree about not wearing your pjs out of the house. It isn’t for me personally. Hmm I might have to think about a different mascara, thanks for your tip x

  10. Life Love and Dirty Dishes says

    January 29, 2016 at 1:43 pm

    My neighbour does the school run in her PJ’s at least once a week. Part of me admires the fact that she couldn’t care less what people thought. Thanks for linking to #FridayFrolics

    • islandliving365 says

      January 29, 2016 at 1:45 pm

      Good for her! We should all worry less about what others think 🙂

  11. Jess Powell (Babi a Fi) says

    January 29, 2016 at 2:50 pm

    I think a lot of the school run uniform depends on where the school is – ‘leisure wear’ is really big here, complete with ugg type boots, so it does look like PJs and slippers. Just with a full face of make-up, of course. 😉 Personally I can’t see how it matters to the school what parents wear, so long as parents are making the effort to get kids there and support them, who cares? I read the Ofsted report for the school and it made their approach much more disappointing – they have a high number of kids from disadvantaged backgrounds and in care, so you’d think they’d be chasing any engagement from parents, not alienating them. (You can probably tell, it really got my goat!!) #FridayFrolics

    • islandliving365 says

      January 29, 2016 at 4:41 pm

      You are absolutely right in what you say, you really would think that they would be dealing with the bigger and more pressing issues, unless they see this as playing a part of it but like you say as long as the parents are supporting their children and getting them in that is what matters. Thanks for your comment 🙂

  12. The Breastest News says

    January 29, 2016 at 7:55 pm

    I agree with what you’re saying, not everyone has the time to get fancied up for the school run and bigger issues should really be tackled. I do like a pj day some times although I would never wear my pj’s out of the house or on the school run. I like to make a point of getting up and getting ready for the day and my kids do the same 🙂
    #BrillBlogPosts

  13. Crummy Mummy says

    January 30, 2016 at 1:56 pm

    Great post! I wrote a blog post on this myself this week and went on This Morning to talk about it – I think as long as the kids are fed, watered, dressed and on time it really doesn’t matter what the parents are wearing… #justanotherlinky

  14. crummymummy1 says

    January 30, 2016 at 1:57 pm

    I wrote a blog post on this myself this week and went on This Morning to talk about it – I think as long as the kids are fed, watered, dressed and on time it really doesn’t matter what the parents are wearing… #justanotherlinky

    • islandliving365 says

      January 30, 2016 at 5:37 pm

      I wanted to catch you on this morning but missed it 🙁 I agree it really shouldn’t matter what we wear!

      • crummymummy1 says

        January 30, 2016 at 8:43 pm

        The clip is on the blog!x

  15. Nadine Caring in the Chaos says

    January 30, 2016 at 2:28 pm

    I had not at all considered wearing PJs on the school run- but now this has been brought to my attention it might be something I now include! Great post x

    • islandliving365 says

      January 30, 2016 at 5:41 pm

      Haha, let me know if you do a pj school run!

  16. bumbismom says

    January 31, 2016 at 6:10 pm

    I am all for comfort when it comes to clothes. Great post. Thanks for linking up with the #FabFridayPost

  17. Life as Mum says

    January 31, 2016 at 8:16 pm

    A great post. Totally agree . I don’t understand why parents (ones who do) decide to actually wear pyjamas outdoors, especially on the school run.
    Thank you for linking up to #justanotherlinky

  18. islandliving365 says

    February 1, 2016 at 8:34 pm

    Your Cubs story made me laugh :-). I am very jealous of you being able to stay in pjs if you felt like it. Thanks for your comment x

  19. ethannevelyn.com says

    February 4, 2016 at 1:19 pm

    Honestly, I am those ones who turned up in yoga pants, tracksuits, and leggings. Okay, I can see the suit thing is empowering and power showing but really it is none of the school business. The line has been stepped over. I can see where the school is coming from – but if I had to go in in my pjs as my last option then I would – the school can shove it up into their indicator for all I care! Great post! Thank you for linking up with #FabFridayPost

    • islandliving365 says

      February 4, 2016 at 1:37 pm

      Haha, I like your phrase “shove it up their indicator” Thanks for your comment 🙂

  20. Something Crunchy Mummy says

    February 4, 2016 at 9:40 pm

    I totally agree with you, what we wear doesn’t reflect our parenting ability. I think people need to stop judging. Thanks for linking up to #justanotherlinky xx

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Hi, I’m Emma

Mum to two girls and wife to Mr C.
We used to live in wild and wonderful Yorkshire on the edge of the moors. We have now moved to the rather lovely and sunny Jersey, Channel Islands. Read about our adventures here.

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