Homeschool uniforms: do they help attitude?

[CactusPair]

My ds has a bad attitude this year and I'm fed up. I'm thinking of doing a 180 turn and getting formal and strict to show in a tangible way that I mean business. The uniform would be simply neat pants and a polo style shirt. Oh, and socks. I'm thinking other changes, too, but the uniform is the one that I'm not certain about.

 

Has anyone used uniforms and noticed a positive change in attitude and approach to school?

 

thanks!

[Crimson Wife]

Catherine Levison recommends this in her book "More Charlotte Mason Education".

 

I've not tried it myself but I may once I start HS more than 1 child at a time.

[Guest Embejo]

Hi ya...

I'm new here... but just wanted to comment on this one.

Do you think that making a compulsory dress code is going to make your child want to learn? I'm really not sure clothing is going to fix an bad attitude.You might find he resents it and resists his school work even more. *shrug* dunno?

[MicheleinMN]

My ds has a bad attitude this year and I'm fed up. I'm thinking of doing a 180 turn and getting formal and strict to show in a tangible way that I mean business. The uniform would be simply neat pants and a polo style shirt. Oh, and socks. I'm thinking other changes, too, but the uniform is the one that I'm not certain about.

 

Has anyone used uniforms and noticed a positive change in attitude and approach to school?

 

thanks!

 

I haven't tried it yet, but one year my two older dc picked school uniforms as their fall clothing. It was wonderful to go to town with such neatly dressed children.

 

Michele

[teachermom_7]

We don't use a "uniform" persay, but we do have a dress code, a daily schedule, and each of my children have their own desk to use for school. The first year we homeschooled we tried the "kitchen table" format, and it just did NOT work for us!! My ds at the time was 3, so getting him to sit in a chair he could easily escape from was a disaster!! My daughter thought it was "play time" and wouldn't focus on her work.

 

We went to a much more structured atmosphere last year and it's been 180* turn around!! It's just like anything else ~ the more structured and prepared you are outwardly, the better your self esteem will be and the better you'll perform. Don't get me wrong ~ we are still VERY much of the mindset that homeschooling allows us to explore education unlike the "mainstream," but that doesn't mean no boundaries whatsoever for the children. Should something ever happen that requires your children to have to return to a regular school setting, you want them to be able to adapt quickly and easily, not be in "culture shock."

 

Our "dress code" is casual / play clothes ~ jeans and polos and daughter's hair (very long!) must be up and out of her face. I used to make them wear socks, but then they started "ice skating" on the kitchen floor between breaks!! We just got new carpet, so I don't require shoes :001_smile:

 

I do agree with what someone else mentioned ~ just changing the outside may not completely change the inside if it's mostly an attitude problem. But, if your dc are just needing a little more routine in their daily lives to make "sense" of where they belong, it wouldn't hurt to try.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Tammie in LA

[Vanna]

I agree with the other poster, I don't think uniforms will change the attitude. How about a "contract" or some other incentive program?

 

I don't know how old your child is, but I'd like to recommend a couple of books for you: Age of Opportunity by Paul Tripp and Heart of Anger by Lou Priolo are excellent parenting books for families with older children.

 

Last year, we had uniforms for outings/field trips. My kids loved them and with them being color coordinated, photo ops were aplenty wherever we went.

 

HTH!

[TCoppock]

I do not require uniforms but I have noticed a difference in my son's attitude once I started making him get dressed for school. When we first started I allowed him to just get up and start school in his pjs. He was way too relaxed and it showed in his attitude and work.

 

My DS loves his homeschool t-shirts and to him those are his "uniform".

[dymphna57]

As a preface, let me say that where I live all the ps children have uniforms. I think all the private schools do as well; I just don't know any.

I have homeschooled over 12 years and some years we had uniforms and other years just required being dressed. I think that the uniforms are a lot easier!

I noticed a big difference in the attitude of others to our homeschooling. They assume we really mean business, as we are dressed for school. That helps a lot when we are out visiting the library or nature walk; no one asks us if we are having the day off.

The kids like getting dressed quicker. The uniform is on they chose themselves for our home school and is comfortable. Most of them enjoy changing out of the uniform as a sign that they are finished for the day. Others just stay in them, as they are too busy to change!

When we were in the states, we had so many hand me downs to choose from that it made sense to just give up the uniform and have a dress code. Again, I think it made the kids feel like they were really doing something important (as well as having fun at home) and changing clothes was a rite of passage to playtime that would have been missed. I mean, think how much fun to show your brothers that you had managed finish your daily work hours before them!

I was worried that they would not work at all outside of school hours after they had changed but they seem to understand that some work was more relaxed and more suited to casual wear. They would continue reading and studying and even doing a few writing assignments but more the after school type of homework.

Would it help get you over one of the many homeschool humps?

If you discussed why you were considering prioritizing your home school time by various means including changing the way you dress, I think it might help. Be prepared to have you child point out that you should not make long chatty phone calls or spend time on the computer during the same prime hours! I know my kids know if I am serious and willing to make sacrifices to solve a problem or just want to make them suffer because of my frustration.

I love uniforms! I admit it.

[jennyt]

Hi,

 

I love this post. I put my dds in matching dresses when my eldest dd started grade 1 hsing because I just couldn't handle the decisions every day as to what they were going to wear. They had 2 dresses each - they wore them twice each without being washed and we had a day off.

 

When my eldest dd was starting grade 3, my mum found these school uniforms being sold off for cheap in her city. $10 for dresses and $5 for boys' shirts. Again, my dds got 2 each and my elder ds got 2 shirts. The uniform is so smart and uncrushed looking. I don't have to wash it every day which really keeps my washing down - lets face it, anything like that that saves time when your hsing is worth doing. It has lasted 2 years - we bought them pretty big but they still looked good. They're getting a bit too stained now after 2 years and, the rate they're all growing, we've run out of hem to let down. I was really tossing up whether to keep going with the uniform idea - I love it but I thought I was the only person out there that actually has uniforms, and I get so embarrassed when I run into other HSers at the shops or something. However, this post has helped my resolve - uniforms are smart, time-saving and give structure to our week. My kids never complain about them, although they do enjoy uniform-free days, so I shall push on I think.

 

Does it help them do their schoolwork? Only in the sense that I think we take our day seriously - as the previous post-er said. I also have separate desks for each kid and a daily schedule which my dcs follow for themselves without having to be reminded constantly by me. I'm an ex-highschool teacher so I don't think I could help myself in these things, but I have no regrets because it really does keep things simple.

 

Thanks for the post - a "brave" one from where I'm standing.

 

Jenny

[TMarie]

I do not require uniforms but I have noticed a difference in my son's attitude once I started making him get dressed for school. When we first started I allowed him to just get up and start school in his pjs. He was way too relaxed and it showed in his attitude and work.

 

 

:iagree: We've had the same experience: Getting dressed for the day helps kids focus.

 

Uniforms are an interesting idea.... I quit letting my kids wear worn-out "play clothes," because of all the times we've unexpectedly had to rush out the door in them. Now they wear their "better" clothes every day and they do get worn out quickly. Hmm...

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[JudoMom]

It makes sense to me that how your ds is dressed would impact his attitude toward school work. I know how I'm dressed impacts how my attitude toward work (think about Flylady--she's made an entire business partly based on telling people to get dressed and ready everyday). If I'm dressed, hair fixed, and makeup on I don't get sidetracked as much. If I'm in my pjs, not showered, etc., then I feel like lounging around and like I'm on vacation. I don't know the attitude problem your ds is having, but having him dress more seriously would probably at least have a small impact on his studies.

[Harriet Vane]

Give it a try. If it's more bother than it's worth you can always go back to not wearing uniforms.

 

After my dd was born, we moved to a 3rd-floor walk-up in a challenging urban setting. This was years before I was diagnosed with anemia--I was exhausted all. the. time. I wasn't really depressed about anything, but I was rather flat emotionally, and had a really, really hard time keeping moving.

 

One little trick that helped a great deal for a time was to wear an apron. When the apron was on, I had to be moving and working and productive. If I wanted a break, I took the apron off but kept it near, and tried to make my break extend a reasonable length of time, after which I would put the apron on and start moving again. It was just enough to trick my mind/attitude and help me form some better habits.

[CactusPair]

Thank you all for your posts. I appreciate your input so much. I'm going to consider the advice and books over the weekend, mull, and then make a choice.

 

Too funny about the ice skating with socks! With our wood floors here, that might be a problem, actually.:001_smile:

 

And Strider, I love your idea about the apron. I'm tired all the time and an apron might actually help more than all these supplements! That's something I haven't tried and I do have an adorable collection of old aprons from garage sales. A hair bun and an apron might be the game changer for myself.:001_smile: Worth a try for more mental energy-- and I'd look cute, which is always important in my book.