Dressing up is a way of expressing yourself.

We all know the extra bit of anxiety we get when we find out that our kids do not have a uniform in their school. Thoughts like -- What dress should I put on?  Is this outfit appropriate for school? Will they feel comfortable in the clothes? -- come to our mind.  The act of selecting and dressing the children gets increasingly difficult as the children grow up.  As the children start to grow older, they get more conscious about how they look, and what they wear to school.

Selecting outfits for your children for school doesn’t need to be as difficult as you may think. The main thing to think about is the weather, will the children feel comfortable, or will they feel cold in the outfit.  The next most important thing is to get the children’s consent on the outfit you have picked for them to wear to school.

But, as children grow up, especially when they touch upon their teenage years, the problem of selecting outfits for your children starts to get more difficult.  Teenage is the time when children go through different phases, which affect their dressing sense and their choice of outfits. Teenagers -- in fact all of us -- feel that their outfits reveal a part of their personality and even feel that it is a platform for expressing themselves. They venture out and try out different styles. This is the time when they start to experiment with how they look by trying out new hairstyles, new makeups, and different accessories.  They get influenced and inspired by looks they see in the internet, trends on social media, their favorite celebrities, and a people that they look up to. This is the time they find out what looks good on them what doesn’t, what type of outfits and clothes suit their body and what they could do in order to look better and feel the more confident.

But in the process of all this, the main question that arises is, is what they choose to look like “appropriate” for the school? With all the controversies surrounding school dress codes and how students, especially girls, dress up, many schools are drawing the line that borders on implementing a dress code to putting in place a sexist policy.

Nevertheless, there should be a basic set of rules underlying the general dress code for students.  The outfits should not be disrespectful, disturbing or distracting to the people in and around the school.  But the school should not go so overboard with their rules that it becomes difficult for parents and students to choose an outfit deemed “appropriate enough” for school.  Both parents and children should not be spending more time checking if the kid’s “collarbone is showing,” if the earrings are “too big,” or if the kids are wearing branded socks, than studying and education. Schools too should focus on education and extracurricular activities rather than on enforcing too strict of a dress code.  This way, dressing for school is not be a burden or chore to the parents, and the children can spend more time on actually studying or participating in their hobbies.

No matter how much stress you face each time you need to dress up your child, in a way not having school uniforms is good

No matter how much stress you face each time you need to dress up your child, in a way not having school uniforms is good, and is beneficial for your child in the long run.  It makes them independent and gives them the ability to make decisions.  Waking up early in the morning to select their school outfit, or even choosing it the night before, makes them decisive, which is a critical skill.  It also gives them the confidence to present themselves to the school and the society in whatever way they want to present, and stand up for themselves. Their outfit can be a platform to express themselves and make themselves seen and heard, as they do say actions speak louder than words.