Nursery World - Dolly Babe or Leader?

You have probably been following the stories in the papers on Clarks*.

I am quite surprised it has taken such a long time to come to the surface. If you work in a nursery it won’t just be footwear that is loaded with gender stereotypical impressions and constraints. Large flouncy dresses that are almost suicidal for climbing, bows that snag, and then of course there are the shoes…

When children start nursery we talk to parents about clothes that need to be comfortable. Easy to change, easy to move in and not ‘special’ because they will get messy (very messy). It seems to make little difference as I see a range of fashions and styles – often better suited to pass the parcel than a day spent in a mud kitchen. As I pack some poor child dressed as Elsa (complete with wedges) into a full set of waterproofs and wellies, I vow to corner the parent about ‘appropriate clothing’ at home time. The response is often one around the morning battle of refusing to leave the house dressed conventionally. Now, I don’t want to be a killjoy, but would you wear your dinner suit paintballing?

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