Principal Calls out Parents for Wearing Pyjamas to School

A principal of an elementary school in England is the source of much discourse after she sent home a letter to parents urging them not to wear their pyjamas when dropping off their kids at school.

The head at Skerne Park Academy in Darlington, Kate Chisholm was driven to write the note because parents of her students were increasingly coming to school in PJs. Some, incredibly, were even wearing bed wear - including slippers - to school assemblies!

While it seems to state the obvious, Chisholm urged parents to "take the time to dress appropriately in day wear that is suitable for the weather conditions.” For this she has been both applauded and condemned by parents from all over.

In trying to "raise the bar," she rightly wants parents to set a good example for their children. In the letter, Chisholm claimed the dress sense of parents was a “pretty poor indictment of the parenting skills of some of our families.”

Obviously attending any event wearing pyjamas brings new meaning to the term "casual dress." Any self-respecting parent should not be attending a school assembly looking like they just rolled out of bed.

However, not everyone needs to dress as though they are headed straight to a board meeting when they drop their child off at school. After all, some people work from home. Some walk their dogs. This hardly calls for a power suit. For some people (hi!) just getting their child to the school gate on time every morning, with a meal in his belly and boots on the right feet, is nothing short of a Nobel-worthy feat.

My son's appearance - not mine - is my primary focus; I don't have the time or the inclination to doll up for the sake of other parents or faculty.

While I don't wear PJs, I am partial to clean jeans or yoga pants. Nor do I typically have time for much more than a splash of water and moisturizer. On occasion - if things are really going like clockwork and my son is cooperating with the routine - I will go all out and slap on a bit of makeup, but that's the exception, not the rule. And doing so doesn't make me less of a parent.

Having said all that, Chisholm is right to tell parents to make an effort, provided she keeps a firm grip on reality. Sometimes you can't have it both ways. You can either have a child at school before the bell or you can have a smartly dressed parent... I know which should take precedence.