Mums start debate on kids being allowed to express themselves in school

What side are you on?

Even though school is over (or nearly!) for most kids, year on year this subject is up for debate. While we all want our kids to be true to themselves, sometimes schools don't allow it. Whether it's a uniform, bows or piercings, a lot of primary schools ban them as they may be distracting throughout the working day. However, this mum has a problem with it. She believes that kids should be able to express themselves in whatever way they want and think it's unnecessary for schools to ban items. She wrote on Mumsnet:

"I like to think I'm quite a 'progressive' parent and I like my children to express themselves how they feel most comfortable, they tend to pick and wear what they want over the weekends and I do let them occasionally change their hair colours with semi permanent safe dyes. "I agree with school uniform but my daughters school doesn't even allow hair bows, she went in with a few braids and bows in the other day and came home with a messy ponytail in and told me the teacher had taken them out. Teacher explained it's against school rules to have more than one bow in their hair. "Aibu to think rules like no nail varnish, no hair accessories and no hair dye is just ridiculous rules? How is this going to effect their learning?"

The question posed caused a huge debate on the site, with many disagreeing with the mum. One said:

"Expensive fads put pressure on parents to spend money on nonsense, cause falling out between kids and are a source of drama for everyone (including teachers) when they inevitably get lost."

While another wrote:

"It’s easy to sit there and say 'I can’t see why...' but actually, the staff can. If it didn’t cause issues, they wouldn’t think they needed a rule, because rules take time and effort and conflict to enforce."

However, some did agree with her as one mum said:

"I'm with you. It seems incredibly strict for primary. On the whole I agree with uniform, but I also think kids should be able to express themselves freely. In my country of origin we don't have school uniforms. I had lots of crazy hairstyles and dubious fashion choices, but I see it as part of growing up and finding out who I was."

What side are you on?