Sweatpants OK for School? I Say 'No', Kids Say 'Aww, Come on Mom!" ;)

I don't care what they wear as long as it's clean, in good repair, and modest.

There's nothing wrong with wearing sweatpants. They are at school to learn...I don't know about you, but learning comes easier if I'm comfortable.

to me there are different kinds of sweats. Those ratty ones for fitness and sports and those that are more like clothes. They are more like fleece pants (sweats material) but are more suitable. My kids wear this kind when it is cold. Dressing in layers is not so good with kids because lets face it they will loose half of those layers. So a good foundation of sweats plus a jacket is ok when it is cold (and hey we are lucky to avoid alllll those layers, not everyone has the option).

I think the most important thing is that the kids are comfortable so that they can put their full attention on learning. I say let them wear sweats. Why pick this battle?

My kids are in 4th grade and I don't care if they wear sweats to school or not. My son wears basketball type pants (Nike) a lot and he has issues with jeans being uncomfortable. My daughter likes sweats (her favorites are by Justice) and leggings. She is starting to wear jeans on some days. They are not getting too relaxed in their clothes... they're still paying attention and bringing home very good grades. They can practice wearing career type clothing when they are in college. There is much more to respect than wearing sweats to school or not. Along those lines.... I'd much rather see people in church wear very casual clothes and getting something out of the sermon over someone who is well dressed but only there for recognition of others.

My kids are very respectful ..... I taught 2nd grade and I'll tell you that how a kid behaves is way more important in my "book" over how a kid dresses for school. (Now... skimpy little shirts, skirts, etc... can be a distraction and that's a different story!)

My boys wear sweats to school. I could care less what they wear. They are going to learn, right? Not make a fashion statement.
I feel like as long as they are clean then I am pretty open to whatever they wear. Sweats and sports pants are the norm in my house.
Also, just a thought. Are either of your kids plumping up a bit? The older one is getting close to puberty and a lot of kids plump up before they shoot up making jeans quite uncomfortable. My middle brother would not wear anything but sweats for a whole school year. It drove my mom nuts. But, he finally told her that pants were squeezing his belly and he was uncomfortable.
I say, pick your battle. In the end...is this REALLY that big of a deal? I vote no! :)
L.

Depends on your schools dress code, but it's not a battle I'd pick unless it's against dress code.

Clean, comfortable and COVERED would be my rules for school.....

Last year I worried about what he looked like and now I care a little less. He's still little (4 1/2 years old) and wearing sweats is easier for him to go potty.

He prefers to wear sweats because they are easier to pull down. The jeans often came home a little "wet" on the front because he couldn't get them down fast enough.

I guess when he gets older he'll figure out his own style. I live in yoga pants and dad wears work pants so he's getting a mixture of examples from us.

I have an 8 year old who refuses to wear jeans on PE days, of which he has 2 days in a row (Wednesday & Thursday) so I do allow him to wear *sweatpant/hoodie set or basketball type pants/hoodie sets...it is what he feels comfortable playing sports in...so I am OK with it...but only on PE days! *Not the kind with the elastic at the bottoms of the legs though...those to me are either PJ's/lazy weekend clothes or camping clothes :)

I do NOT agree with you about shorts though....summer time = shorts, IMO!!

As long as they are fine by school dress code, I wouldn't pick this battle to fight. Comfort is a big deal to some kids. Personally, I wouldn't *insist* they wear something nicer, but I would make sure they had the option of nicer clothes, clean and available, easy to see and access in the morning. I wouldn't go out of my way to pick up, find, wash, and take care of yucky sweats. The kids would have to be responsible to get them in their laundry baskets on Friday morning at my house for me to wash them. I would also fine tune their "sweat pants" wardrobe to discard any ratty looking ones and replenish them with nicer quality, maybe heavier weight sweats.

In 5th grade my DD started the annoying habit of tying up her shirt behind her back with a pony tail holder so it would be super fitted to her. I've seen this trend worn by other girls and I just don't like it. Which is one reason I"m glad we chose a uniform school for middle school. I don't think it helped one bit that I told her that wasn't a look I cared for, though as a Mom, I just could not hold back. I'm sure you all understand.

I have a rule with my 12 year old that I won't take her anywhere if she is wearing dirty clothes, or clothes she has slept in. That tends to force her to get her things washed reasonably often, at least.

I don't care what the kids wear to school as long as it isn't open toed shoes, too revealing like shorter shorts and shorter shirts, off season clothes like sleeveless tops in the dead of winter, or dirty wrinkled clothes.

It is school and we treat it like their job. It is their job to go to school and graduate. If they are comfortable then they learn better. I have no issue with them wearing sweat pants.

If you worked at a job where you would be getting on the floor to play, sit in a circle, run around chasing other people, played on monkey bars, kicked a kickball then ran a home run, turned flip after flip on the horizontal bars or climbed a rope ladder on the end of the playground equipment. What would you want to wear? Tight non stretch jeans and a cotton shirt?

I think if you were to trade places for a day you would let them dress comfortable.

20 years ago when I was in college many of my fellow students literally wore. Their pajamas to school. I certainly don't think wearing comfortable casual clothing detracts from learning. Three of my four school age kids are way too vain to wear sweats to school. Last year though, my 8 year old refused to wear anything. UT stretchy comfy pants. She absolutely would not wear jeans or "real" pants. This year she won't wear stretchy pants. I will never fight a battle about this. My 5th grade daughter wears shorts with leggings and boots. I think it looks ridiculous but she is clean, covered and in my opinion, if she wants to March to the beat of her own drummer, by all means! Shoot, have you seen how hideous the latest runway "fashions" always are?! One of these days they'll tell us sweats are the it thing lol.

Yes I let my son wear sweatpants. He is more comfortable, which, in his case, has a measurable effect on his behavior and ability to learn. I choose nicer ones and try to get matching sets if possible.
The only thing I have said no to him wearing to school is the shoes with blinkers on them. I feel they may be distracting.

If you say no, then that's the answer.

(I don't have a problem with them, and have sent my kids in sweats to keep them warm during cold weather.)

My teen daughters, not so much, but my son who is in 8th grade does sometimes, not the ones with elastic at the ankles, but ones he'd get at basketball tournaments, or something like that. I've noticed that when he has friends over, even when my daughters friends are over, they are sometimes wearing sweats, but the outfit still look well put together, as long as it looks good, I wouldn't mind!

I will not let my son wear sweats to school. It is too casual and you are right with all your thoughts. I just remember kids in school that would wear sweatpants and they were always getting "pants" in the hall. So you might want to tell your boys about that factor of dressing comfy. To me sweats are like pjs you dont wear them in public or to Walmart. ;-p

I think comparing school to work is like comparing apples & oranges. Do you have art class at work? Do you have PE at work? Are kids in business meetings & meeting clients at school? Of course not. Kids just trash their clothes anyway. Do you send them in button up, collared shirts, dress pants & oxfords every day? I'm guessing not.

I think it's sad that some of us are judging kids by what they wear to school. I really hope that attitude isn't being passed down to your kids. Isn't it more important that they are in a mindset to learn, and nice to people, and not worrying about how they look & who is going to judge them because they are dressed like they are going to church?

I agree with your thinking 100%. But, do your kids wear t-shirts? Because that isn't acceptable at work either.

But, my kids wear what ever. It is a battle I choose not to fight.

there is nothing wrong with wearing sweats to school. I let my kids. It's more comfortable. They don't do it every day. Maybe once a week or so. Fleece pants are great too! Also I would let them wear shorts when it's hot outside. Teachers usually dress more professional. Kids don't have to look professional. Also sweats are cheap. Kids will get dirty at school. They will get paint, food, and just dirty. I wouldn't want to dress them up like their teachers because then they will just get their nice clothes ruined

My son is 5 and ONLY wears jeans to school (or cords). I am very picky about what he wears and yes, I do look questioningly upon those who send their kids to school in sweats or lazy looking clothes - it is a child's place of work and this is where you begin the teachings of how to act in a job/work setting.

I didn't read many of the responses but we live in San Diego as well and up to this year my son lived in sweat pants. I do see your point but he was comfortable in them and it wasn't a battle that was worth fighting, so I let him wear them all the time. Now he wears only shorts and since it's cold outside, I kinda wish he'd wear sweats again!!

I agree, things are way to lax in terms of how kids dress for school. I think if kids feel that they need to dress up a little, they will feel that school is important...which it is!

Some posters are talking about their kids who are five, or in preschool, but for elementary-aged kids, I'm with you. Kids can be comfortable without wearing sweats; there are other options. Shorts can be either dreadful (too short, too tight, too like sports clothing) or they can be tailored and nice-looking so I would not rule out all shorts but would look at the particular pair. But sweats like I think of when you say sweats -- nope. But at least they cover you. I saw a girl today in a short-skirt and no leggings or tights -- and it was 31 degrees here today. If I'd been her mom I would have told her that her personal clothing choices were being overridden for this one day and she had to march back to her room and put on heavy leggings under that skirt, for the sake of her darned health!

I agree and I only let my son wear sweatpants if it's gym day or nothing else is clean. And, absolutely NO jeans with holes in them. I told him it's distracting to dress like that at school, kind of like muscle shirts (against the school dress code to wear). He was playing with the hole in his jeans one day at home while we were trying to do something and I remind him of this when he gives me a hard time about it. He's in Kindergarten and I feel like it's never too early to start having these kinds of rules. I spent 5 years living in the south and the schools I went to there had pretty strict dress codes and I always felt it was soooo lax when I moved up north. I couldn't believe some of the things kids wore to school. LOL!

Hi,

I don't think sweatpants are a problem at all. If they were to be super baggy or ill-fitting, then it would be innappropriate. But, I think its fine!

I would not have any problem with my kids wearing sweats to school, especially if they were respectful and doing well in school. I would want them clean and covered, and would not care it they wanted to express their personality with their clothing, as long as it wasn't offensive or disrespectful (my opinion is that sweats aren't disrespectful - I'm wearing some now). ;) I grew up in a California beach community (like San Diego is) and I wore flip flops and some kind of casual clothes to school every day. My parents never bugged me about it (my dad was a teacher), and I did very well in school.

My younger two go to preschool in sweats. They need to wear clothes that can be played in, have paint and dirt on them, get holes in them, etc. Nice clothes are not for pre-school!

My son in year 1 goes to a uniform school. I would probably not send him in sweats, but camo pants, or jeans. However, there are some sweats that can be dressed up and disguised as 'slacks' (I hate that word - it's so old!), but I think these are more in women's styles.

At that age, I wouldn't let them either I don't think... I take a lot of pride in my kids NOT going to school looking like the ragamuffins they are ;)

Once middle/high school hits, by all means, if it gets them there, they can wear whatever they want for all I care! ;)

I was starting to wonder if I was the only one who felt this way. I don't feel sweat are appropriate but even more so are the flannel jammy pants! Ugh! At this age, no. regular pants or jeans are fine. BTW, what is their argument as to whey they should wear them?

I agree with Rachel, in High School I would let them wear whatever (within guidelines of course!) as long as they are attending and participating.

By that age my son had given up sweat pants, or track pants, in favor of jeans and khakis for school. But many in his age bracket wore them - more the track pants (the ones without elastic at the ankles). I really didn't like them - thought they were more for weekends or after school time - so I just didn't buy him many :)

He is in high school now and the dress code bans sweat pants - so it is no longer an option. I ask him to keep his teeth and hair brushed and neat, wear clean clothing and hope for things that are wrinkle free. At 15 his friends will tell him if he looks bad. LOL

Mine wears cargo shorts in the warmer months - I don't have a problem with his wearing them to school or out to restaurants especially when paired with a polo style shirt and top-siders.

You are the parent, and are responsible for teaching them life lessons - one of which is "what not to wear". :)