Leggings are NOT pants!
No pictures necessary.
No discussion needed.
Girls, women, transgendered people, even men… Leggings ARE NOT PANTS!!!
If you put leggings on and your shirt does not cover your bum, go home and change. Please.
Whew.
Got that out. I’ve been holding that in since the summer. It really came to light when buying clothes for my daughter this past summer and still is a concern for me, and parents alike, I’m sure.
With the boys, it was pretty each to buy the same boring clothes for them; blue, brown, some black, some green. When the girl arrived, I thought we would be smacked in the face with a whole new array of colour choices and options. Sure, there are colours, but what is the deal with the choice of girls clothing available in some of these clothing stores??? low cut neck-lines, short shorts, and crop-style tops. There is NO way I was going to let my daughter leave the house in a crop-top style shirt with short shorts, or worse, leggings.
So as her tastes evolved and we were able to agree on styles of clothing she knows that leggings are not pants, and that no one wants to see, or needs to see her bum during the day.
As this post tossed around inside my head, I thought that all I would need to do is post “Leggings are not pants” and that there is an understanding that this is true, but the more I thought about it, the more I could not help but understand the longer-term issues surrounded by leggings, especially in young, impressionable children…
“What if I’m not skinny enough to wear them?” Does that come followed by, “I just won’t eat today.” Or is there a group ganging up mentality from the girls who do wear them against the girls who don’t? How about the girls who do not, cannot or choose not to wear them picking on a girl who wears them and shows too much…
Don’t think for a second that parents who dress their kids up in leggings don’t make a comment about their “ass”, and in the wrong child, at the wrong time of their life, could have long-lasting effect on their self-esteem.
UGH.
I’m all for leading a healthy life-style (well, my kids more than me right now) and being in the best shape possible, but that shape is physical, mental and emotional. To place too much emphasis on one over the others can have dangerous consequences later in life.
So I call on you, parents, to please make sure that the next time your child leaves the house – if they have to wear leggings – that they have a shirt on to cover up. Then give them a hug and tell them they are smart, kind, friendly and beautiful.
Here is a flowchart to help them (and you, if needed) understand this concept further.
Editors Note: Apparently The Urban Daddy is not so original is there are Facebook, Tumblr and Pinterest pages dedicated to this exact line of thinking… The Brooklyn Momma hit the nail on the head in her post, here. The flowchart is from her site.
The Urban Daddy® 