I've been doing the school run for almost a year now. And in that time, I’ve never felt any pressure to make an effort or dress to impress for it.
So, I was shocked and angered to read an article over the weekend, slating mums for looking "old and frumpy" on the school run.
This is not a catwalk
The opening of the article reads: “Rushing to get little ones out of their PJs and into their uniform is less of a priority as mums battle it out on the hardcourt-catwalk for best dressed.”
I firmly and wholeheartedly disagree.
I don’t want to make assumptions but I’m guessing the journalist who wrote the article doesn’t have kids and has never done the school run?!
I’ve never confused taking my daughter to school with London Fashion Week, nor do I want to impress her headteacher so he asks me out on a date! I’m happily married, thanks!
My priority on a Monday morning is making sure my daughter has breakfast, brushes her teeth and gets dressed with as little fuss and attitude as possible. If I have time to grab a shower and put on some make-up before we have to leave the house, then that’s a bonus.
It’s a wonder I manage to get out the door at all some mornings, what with the early-morning tantrums and forgetting whether she needs her swim bag or forest school bag?!
Old beyond my years?
My favourite attire – skinny jeans – also get a trouncing in this article.
“Not only are skinny jeans unflattering, they're drab and old-fashioned making you look older beyond your years," writes the journalist.
I’m sorry, I must’ve missed the memo that said skinny jeans are unfashionable. And it seems most of my friends and other school-run mums missed that too.
Whether they’re in fashion or not is irrelevant. I’m past caring whether I'm "trendy". As long as they’re comfy, clean and I feel good in them, I’m wearing them.
I wouldn’t say I’m old beyond my years, I just have better things to worry about than whether I turn heads on the walk to school.
I see a real mixture of fashions at the school gates - lots of leggings and hoodies, some who are obviously on their way to work and one lady who likes to wear a miniskirt and cowboy boots. But no one bats an eyelid because we’re all there to do one particular job - drop off our kids safely at school so we can get on with our day.
Give us a break
Yeah, I know I should expect nothing less from The Sun and the whole point of this article was to shock and anger. It was click bait on my Facebook feed and they reeled me in. But has tabloid journalism really sunk so low as to victimise mums for being “tragic” and “frumpy”?
According to the Facebook comments on the article, it appears I wasn't the only one who was angered by this piece of so-called journalism, with may echoing that what a mum wears should not matter, and that the priority should always be getting the kids to school safely and on time.
There are way more pressing issues in the world right now than whether a woman is wearing a cagoule on the school run. So, give us mums a break and write about something that is genuinely newsworthy.
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