The adventures of a school uniform

I used to laugh around when my Mum would say we’d grown over night – I mean yes I knew I grew, albeit very slowly and I stopped a little too young but over night seemed rather impossible.

Now I am a Mum myself I actually know exactly what she meant, I put my kids to bed and almost like a magic trick when they wake up their clothes no longer fit. It happens so gradually that I don’t notice they are growing until they put on trousers, leggings or even that school jumper they wore last week and all of a sudden I’m struggling to send them out of the door as their trousers look like they’ve had a fight with their ankles and jumper sleeves half way up their arms.

I worry what the other Mum’s will say and fear their teacher will think bad of me as I’ve not noticed they don’t fit. The thing is, those are the clothes I purchased in a larger size only at the start of the year, leaving enough room to grow into so they would last a little while!

Of course no-one bats an eyelid when Harry’s trousers are an inch too short or Emmy’s cardigan is looking like a 3/4 length, that’s because we are all in the same boat as parents. School uniform goes through a lot during its lifetime, I’ve teamed up with M&S to talk about our uniform tales, and boy are there a lot of tales to tell.

Life isn’t uniform

When I think about my school uniform back in secondary school I hated it – full length kilts and blazers had to be worn – BUT how it was worn was never really specified. I would leave my house looking rather presentable however by the time I had walked through the alley way by my house and got to the school gates, my skirt would be a good 5 inches shorter than it started due to me rolling it up at the waist and pulling my jumper out to hide the rolls. My hair would be taken our of the neat pony tail and my tie removed and the top two buttons of my shirt unfastened.

I wasn’t alone and most of us girls had this morning ritual walking to school, the teachers despaired but gave up telling us off.

I have visions of Emmy doing the same when she grows up but for now I am happy she doesn’t mind what she wears, well actually she does mind and prefers trousers or shorts so she can do cartwheels on the school field, run around playing with her friends, climb trees and hang from the bars without flashing her knickers….let’s hope that continues as she gets older.

Harry is always climbing trees, falling over and coming home covered in mud, paint or his school dinner. There are some weeks where 5 white school T-Shirts just aren’t enough – I seem to usually have 2 or 3 forever soaking in vanish in the sink in a bid to remove the Bolognese and paint stains from them.

I’m sure I am not alone here, please tell me your child is just as messy as mine and their uniforms are forever coming home looking like the school art corner….

What else happens to my kids uniforms during the school day?

There are countless tales their clothes could tell if only they could speak:

• Jumpers being used for goal posts on the school field
• Shoes being scuffed along the ground on the morning scooter ride to school
• Jumpers being used as capes playing superheroes in the playground
• Lost socks – just how Harry manages to lose a sock every single time he does P.E is beyond me
• Coming home from school on a P.E day with shoes on the wrong feet
• Lost clothing despite it being named in 3 different places
• Bringing home other people’s clothing, those who aren’t even in the kids classes
• Misplaced coats on a rainy day as many have the same ones (I do always name my kids clothes)
• Leaving coats in school on a Friday when they are needed for the weekend, Harry has actually left his raincoat at school over the half term which is rather annoying as we are away and I wanted to pack it
• P.E kits coming home from school for washing and then taking weeks to return to school as we forget
• Toothpaste stains before we’ve even left the house

Their uniforms certainly could tell a few tales.

Are there times when your kids have lost clothing, gained extra items or maybe they’ve used their jumpers to dry off the slide in the playground so as not to get a wet bottom? I’d love to hear your tales too.

**Posted in collaboration with M&S**

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