In Dallas suburbs, children frequently wear costumes to school, with events like "Neon Party" and "Adjective Day" occurring regularly. Parents report a growing trend on how often kids dress up, especially in elementary and preschool. Schools vary significantly in this practice, with some hosting dress-up themes weekly while others just a few times yearly. Many parents feel overwhelmed, especially during the busy holiday season, as they have to plan outfits for numerous themed days, contrasting sharply with their own simpler school experiences.
For the "Neon Party," they wore white T-shirts and the school turned on black lights at lunchtime. For "Adjective Day," when the kids had to wear something, anything, that they could describe with adjectives, Katie's youngest put on a Little Mermaid outfit: scaly, wet, shiny, glittery, beautiful.
Some schools have just a few a year; others do them as often as once a week. Katie, a 38-year-old health-care worker, told me that her kids' school had a different dress-up theme every day in the two weeks leading up to Christmas.
With the dress-up events, "it's like, 'Oh my God, now I also have to think about what you are wearing to school each of these days.'"
Back in my day, I hardly ever wore a costume to elementary school, except for Halloween. Spirit week was a high-school affair, so my parents didn't have to do anything.
Collection
[
|
...
]