School Clothes - Parcel Return Service,DC

Maybe its casual southern CA but I don't know of one parent who does that. They get messier at school than anywhere else. Too, my daughter's school (private, progressive) requests parents have their children 'dress for mess'.

But, if its important to you, I think a PC on the label would be fine. I do agree with Grandma T; you may not care about this in time.

Honestly I threw that idea out the window one week into kindergarten with my first child and even more so now that I have a boy in school. Unless it is a uniform (which it does not sound like it is) I would let the idea go. They get just as messy in real school with dirt, paint and cafeteria messes. I was less mortified at my son's choice of clothing as I spent time in the class and saw that all the kids just wear play clothes as well. I don't want to sound like my kids look like bums, they just save a few nicer outfits for looking nice when we go out to eat or something like that.

I think writing on the label is definitely the best way to do it. I would write only on the play clothes. That way, when school clothes become play clothes later, you can add the "P" to them later.

Remember, your child's clothes will get stained at school from all the art projects, writing, etc that kids do. So over time, the school clothes will probably become play clothes anyway.

Bless your heart. This must be your first child. With the second child, if they are dressed in anything more than underwear, you'll be happy. (Oh, who am I kidding? My youngest ran around naked with nothing but sunscreen on today for like an hour and I was okay with it.) Seriously, unless playtime at your in-laws involves Sharpie markers or fabric paint, I think you'll be fine. Whatever "nice" clothes your child now has, will be trashed by the end of Kindergarten (those kids play hard on the playground), and your child will have outgrown them anyway. Just let the kid start and finish the day in one set of clothes (unless she gets extremely dirty or wet somehow). Of course, I may have felt differently with my oldest child, but by now - they're going into 2nd and 4th grades - I've given up that battle and consider it a big win if they make it home with all the articles of clothing they left here with.

Wow. I'd like to hear from others on the forum that they have separate school/play clothes (and they change when they get home). If so, I'm not like "most parents." My kid is gonna play in her clothes, be they for school or for play, so I don't distinguish between the two. It's just not in my nature to have pristine-looking kiddos. Frankly, it's not in their nature either. (They aren't in grade school yet. Maybe that's the difference?)

I like kids to be dressed cute, and nice for school but in Kindergarten they still seem to get so messy. They finger paint and it gets up their sleeves and soaks thru the smock they put on and still stains their clothes. They spill spaghetti sauce on thier clothes at lunchtime, they play on the play ground at recess and get dirty, dusty, and sometimes fall and tear tights and pants and dresses. They get glue on their clothes, and clay stuck on them. Im shocked at how dirty my grand daughter can get just reading a book! I wonder how long the good clothes really stay good before they become play clothes. You might try sending a bag with your daughter so grampa and grama treat her things just like a day care would. Tell them not to worry about washing and that you prefer they fold it and put it in her bag when they change her. You will be the clothing transporter and bring back play clothes for a week at a time on Mondays.

My kids had school uniforms so they had to change every day. I think your little one is lucky to have separate clothing for play verses school. I think in order to totally avoid mixing up the clothing I would send a bag with her (like the reusable shopping bags from the grocery store) a big flat bottom bag that can sit in the corner. each day she can change and put her school clothes in that bag and each day you scoop it up and take it with you. leave 5 changes of clothing at the grandparents house on monday. so no mixing up no worries etc. but for your own piece of mind. weed out what you don't want to go to school and don't send it to your parents house.

What's the difference?
It's kindergarten, aren't they all play clothes?
Unless it's a uniform I'm not sure what you're worried about?

You will soon figure out to probably not care about this issue. Mine had play :shoes: for after school so they didnt get their good shoes all dirty, but that was it for the most part. Youre talking double laundry if they hafta change clothes when they get home from school.
If the grandparents cant tell the difference by looking at the clothes, I suppose putting an X on the tag would be your best bet...easier than putting PC.
just my thought.

I'm a mom and a grandma, and deal on both sides. Just take the day's school clothes home with you each day so you can wash them, you'll also see at the time you pick her up what clothes your daughter is wearing and will instantly know if she's in play or school clothes. Since the play clothes are "battered" cut the labels out of them and anyone, your daughter included, will be able to tell at a glance if they're play or school clothes.

Just for reassurance, when I was a kid we had play clothes and school clothes. I see the way my boys mess up their clothes when they play, so you bet when they're school age we'll have play clothes and school clothes. The only idea I can think of is to label the tag with a marker so the grandparents can tell the difference.

As for kids getting messy/dirty at school, I'm a teacher and I have no idea where this idea comes from. My students do not go home dirty and full of stains, which kids get when they're outside playing.

My grandchildren do not have play clothes and school clothes tho I remember having them when I was in grade school. Kids play just as hard and get just as dirty at school as they do after school. I suggest that you're creating more work for yourself than you need to have. More laundry as well as the difficulty of telling and keeping them apart.

I also suggest that if the grandparents can't tell the difference then there isn't a big enough difference for it to matter.

I suggest that we used to differentiate between play and school clothes because life was different back then. Kids had less "dirty" activity at school and washing machines were very basic and kids had fewer clothes. My mother did laundry once a week in a wringer washer. I wore 2 outfits to school for a week and one set of play clothes that I wore for a week.

My grandkids in kindergarten wore the same clothes after school as during school and then had a new set the next day. That meant only 5 outfits to wash/week. Much easier. Using your method it sounds like you'd have 10 outfits to wash and keep segregated.

Thats a great idea and I suggest you do so. For some reason my MIL thought it would be a good idea for my daughter to play in $30 white shorts that I cannot get the stains out of. >:(

I found out the hard way not to let her wear her nicest stuff to kindergarten! All of my daughter's school clothes can be considered play clothes, and I only put her in the nicer stuff if we are going somewhere together, or birthday parties, holidays, picture day, other events..I was very into preserving clothes too until they started school and it became inevitable! I don't think you're silly for wanting this, but just giving perspective from someone who felt that way too at one time! We hang nice clothes in the closet, all else is in drawers where she/daddy/grandma know to look if I'm not home :)

That's a great idea. Also, you could buy a purple or other color (if they okay it of course) plastic 5 drawer or 3 drawer organizer and label it play clothes so they know to put her play clothes that are marked PC in there so it doesn't get mixed up in the dressers.

I do it too. There are certain "nice" clothes (if she was in school they would be deemed school clothes) that I don't want ruined. When she gets older and rougher and goes to school she will have "play clothes". A majority of her clothes now she plays in b/c she's 2, but she has nice white shirts that I don't let her play in the backyard b/c there's a lot of dirt and mud in the yard.

i think your idea of labeling the tags is great! Maybe I'll have to start doing this for my husband too--he got our son "dressed" for a nice family dinner by slapping dirty and holy sweatpants on him with a polo shirt that was waaaayy too small haha

I don't know how old the grandparents are, but kids of my generation were always in the habit of changing from our school clothes when we got home. I did the same with my kids. Most people I know have their kids change.

It seems to me the grandparents would be familiar with this
A very simple solution is to send a tote or duffle bag so that whatever is taken off your kid after school goes into that bag and is returned to you at the end of the day. That way, they won't get mixed up with other clothes. You take out the school clothes, put the play clothes for the next day in. The play clothes are put on, the school clothes are sent home.
If the kids want to wear something already at grandma's house, then whatever you sent for that day is just returned home.
It's all kept in one bag without getting mixed up.

You'll get a system worked out. I'm sure the grandparents will be more than happy to accommodate you.

Best wishes.

i agree with christine a. i have 5 kids, 4 of which will be in school in the fall, K, 2 in 1st and 1 in 2nd and they come home dirty! the idea of play cloths went away real quick! they come home with milk all over em, dirt from outside, their lunch, art stuff, marker, you name it! if you do manage to get her home clean and want play cloths im not sure how to mark em, i do know i tried to mark tags once with a sharpie and it wore off so i wouldnt do that! good luck!

Funny! My hubby got my son dressed for preschool and still oversees dressing in the AM so I made a drawer full of clothes a tiny bit small or with a small stain or hole and labeled it PLAY ClOThES with a sticky note on the outside off the drawer. He would get mad at me if he pulled out clothes and put them on his son and then discover they had a hole, he claimed there was no time to change and child had to go to school that way and it was my fault !

I'm not "most parents" either ... and none of the parents in any of the states I've lived in have had their kids change clothes after school. The couple of families I knew whose kids went to private school and wore a uniform didn't make their kids change ... the kids wanted to change into something more comfortable ... although I also saw those kids out playing in their uniforms pretty often too :)

I never had seperate clothes for play/school either :) I honestly thought it was something that went out in the 60's.

Maybe get her a smaller tote bag she can stick in her backpack for her play clothes to take to grandparents house. When she changes she can put her "school" clothes into the tote.

Thats funny - I remember having playing clothes when I was young. I had to change as soon as I came home from school (we wore uniform) and put on my play clothes. But I don't do this with my kids, and I don't know why.

You could make her school clothes like a uniform, so they know the difference, like only a certain color for school, like a white t shirt and blue jeans.

I think by the first month of school all the school clothes will be just like the play clothes and it won't matter any more.

For your purpose to make things easier try to send a change of clothes that are play clothes in her backpack every day. That way she has the change on her and she can put the school clothes in the back pack as she changes.

In all reality I would just have the grand mother keep her inside to play and not have her change clothes.