Arbitrary bathing suit requirement for class field trip - thoughts?!

[jdsf]

So, DD11 is in 5th grade and her class is going on a field trip to a local watering hole next week. This morning she informed me that the girls are required to wear one-piece bathing suits, but the boys don't have to wear shirts. There are a few things that really bother me about this:

1) totally reeks of sexism here, why is it okay for the boys to show off their entire torso but the girls have to cover it up? I object to this on so many levels.

2) DD can't even wear a one piece. She has a long torso, is developing breasts but has a "Hank Hill" butt as I like to call it, so she wears a different size top than bottom. If we were to find a one piece that fit her torso, it would be saggy in the butt/crotch. She is not willing to wear a t-shirt over her swimsuit, I don't blame her, we both hate the feeling of wet fabric clinging to our skin.

3) I am not going to go out and buy a swimsuit for one field trip that DD will never wear again. Sorry.

4) This pool is notorious for women going topless, and there are a number of older male weirdos who wear thong speedos there. Even if these kids are wearing two piece swimsuits, they will still be the least scantily clad.

Also, these are YOUNG KIDS. They aren't teenagers who will be beating off behind a bush somewhere at the girls in their bikinis if you're one of those people who likes to think of the worst possible scenario.

Oh, and her school has NO dress code. They let kids wear two pieces for water day and at the school festival where they rent the giant slip n slide.

Her teachers are both female. One of them even has pin up girl tattoos. WTF????

[cristeen]

I'd be taking the matter up with the teachers and possibly the principal.  Since this is against the norm for the school, short notice like this is completely unreasonable.  If there is something else going on here, then that info needed to come home from the school in written form (i.e. a bulletin) so that the kids aren't playing "telephone". 

[erigeron]

I wonder if they had a string bikini come off some girl who didn't have the curves for it to stay on properly. Legislating what swimsuits are allowed doesn't seem like a proper business for the school, to me, particularly when it can be hard to find appropriate  swimsuits in stores. I too would talk to the teacher.

[Linda on the move]

have you called the teacher (or emailed) and asked what the deal is?

it sounds very inconsistent with the other school policies. If it weren't for fit issues, I'd recommend just buying a cheap suit at Target (or whatever) and not making a big deal of it. But since your DD is very difficult to fit, that won't work.
 

[Youngfrankenstein]

I'm sure there are reasons besides "beating off" that they've done this.  Contact the teacher and find out.  I am not a "believer" in women being topless in public.  Maybe they've had problems in the past.  

[mtiger]

Given that 11/12 yo's are having sex... I wouldn't be so sure about boys not beating off. Just something to bear in mind.

That said? I'd likely get boy shorts and a top and call it good. Serves the same purpose as the one piece, but the pieces are wearable otherwise.

[rachelsmama]

Originally Posted by jdsf 

4) This pool is notorious for women going topless, and there are a number of older male weirdos who wear thong speedos there. Even if these kids are wearing two piece swimsuits, they will still be the least scantily clad.

So if you were taking the one-piece rule literally, it would mean no-tops-allowed.  The school really needs to rethink this rule for soooooo many reasons. 

Would your daughter wear a sun-guard/rash-guard?  She'd get all the coverage of a t-shirt, but the fabric is a whole lot less annoying when it's wet.

[chel]

A tankini would solve the fit issue for your daughter.
I know plenty of parents that don't allow bikinis so I don't find it unusual for a school to have similar rules. A weeks notice isn't that bad.
Never seen a place that requires males to wear a top, so no matter how unequal, don't expect otherwise.
Personally, if there are lots of weirdo adult males around I would reconsider sending your daughter at all. Even in a "duggar" swim suit i wouldn't want my kids in that type of adult environment.

[Youngfrankenstein]

Originally Posted by rachelsmama 

So if you were taking the one-piece rule literally, it would mean no-tops-allowed.  The school really needs to rethink this rule for soooooo many reasons. 

Would your daughter wear a sun-guard/rash-guard?  She'd get all the coverage of a t-shirt, but the fabric is a whole lot less annoying when it's wet.

Even though I told her to just wear the one-piece, this would be kind of hilarious! 

[whatsnextmom]

Personally, I'd just get her a rash guard and call it a day. Bikini's would be against our school dress code (no bare mid-rift.) I know on 8th grade "ditch day" the girls AND the boys were required to wear rash guards or T-shirts if they didn't have a one piece or wet-suit. Part of this was modesty but honestly, I think the larger part was sun protection. That was pretty much the only swim oriented field-trip they ever had. 

[ollyoxenfree]

Personally, I don't object to 2-pc swimsuits but I think a school is entitled to set a dress code for students. It's preferable to reach some sort of consensus with parents. It's usually done by consulting the parent advisory council/home and school association. Since this is last minute and seems somewhat arbitrary (there's no other dress code in operation), I'd contact the teachers to discuss it. 

I agree that a tankini is an obvious solution to fit your dd and there are a few shops at our local mall that sell tops and bottoms separately, so hopefully there are similar shops near you. A rashguard is a good idea too - they're handy to have anyway for UV protection and for a little extra when it's cooler. My kids and I have several and every summer they get a lot of use. I'm always glad we've got them.  

[jdsf]

Thanks for the responses.

The swimsuit she bought was separates and there is a tankini top that match the bottoms, so we may go that route even though she still isn't too into the idea.

The other option is I can just take her out of school early and bring her separately, which seems like kind of a d-bag move, but I don't want to spend $15 on another piece of clothing when she's growing really quickly and will likely need another swimsuit in a few months (and we swim year round at the gym, so it's getting expensive).

So far as not taking the kids to that pool, we go there all the time. We didn't raise them to think being naked is weird or gross. I just question the intent of some men showing off all their junk. Boobs I have no issue with.
 

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by jdsf 

I just question the intent of some men showing off all their junk.

kind of a double standard, isn't it? Guys who are serious about how quickly they are going to get across the pool wear fitted swim suits, AKA - speedos. To say that a tankini is unreasonable and a tee shirt is just wet fabric and feels icky but that ALL males should wear huge baggy swim shorts so no one will be able to tell if they have a penis just seems a little silly.

[jdsf]

Oh, I wasn't saying they shouldn't wear speedos. I said "thong speedos". No reason you need your ass hanging out to swim faster.
 

[tinyblackdot]

at 11/12 there are A LOT of girls that are fully developed, my guess is that the teachers dont want a situation where girls are walking out in string bikinis. Could you just buy her a rash guard top and call it a day?

[jdsf]

They are actually 10/11 and my DD is the most developed of them all, but still barely. A lot of kids who go to this school are low income and I'm guessing other parents wouldn't be able to go out and buy a new swimsuit, either. It seems very classist to expect parents to buy something for this event when it's unnecessary AND they can wear their two pieces at school the next day for water day.

[ameliabedelia]

We were actually at a water park today at the same time that a school field trip happened to be there.  The kids looked to be about 5th grade to me.  I didn't really think about it until I read this thread, but none of the kids (not even the boys) had an exposed tummy/midriff.  The boys all seemed to be wearing a t-shirt or rash-guard (mostly t-shirts) and the girls seemed to be split between wearing t-shirts or rash guards on top.   I don't even think any of the girls had a regular one-piece on.  So, I'm guessing this school had an even stricter dress code (which extended to the boys).   I would guess it was for sun protection as much as modesty..as the shoulders/back tend to be most vulnerable to sunburn it seems.
 

Anyway, I agree about getting a rash guard.  My kids all have them and generally wear them anytime they will be at the beach/pool during mid-day or prime sun hours.  We don't do sunscreen, but I do use rashguard shirts to protect the shoulders/back.

Also, I realize that not everyone owns a rash guard or can afford to buy them, but where I live, I would say they are very, very common as a wardrobe staple for children.  I probably see over 50% of all kids at the beach/pool wearing a rashguard top.

[tinyblackdot]

Originally Posted by jdsf 

They are actually 10/11 and my DD is the most developed of them all, but still barely. A lot of kids who go to this school are low income and I'm guessing other parents wouldn't be able to go out and buy a new swimsuit, either. It seems very classist to expect parents to buy something for this event when it's unnecessary AND they can wear their two pieces at school the next day for water day.

Oh well that is crazy.

[TiredX2]

Originally Posted by jdsf 

Thanks for the responses.

The swimsuit she bought was separates and there is a tankini top that match the bottoms, so we may go that route even though she still isn't too into the idea.

Then I would send a quick email to the teacher saying that my DD was going to be wearing a tankini and that you assume that will be fine.  A lot of people aren't used to tankinis being an option.  My LDS friends who would NEVER let their child wear a bikini not only buys her daughters tankinis but wears them herself.  They're just so much more practical (easy to go to the bathroom in).

[sharon71]

I allow my daughters to wear 2 piece suits and bikinis. with that I teach at a Christian based child care center and the girls have to wear one piece swim suits when going on field trips to the pool or water park,I don't really like the rule but since my soon to be 7 yr old will be attending during the summer I bought her a cute one piece suit online at old navy for $14 today. Personally I do think the boys should be wearing rash guards but not t-shirts which can pose a drowning hazard in the water.