What would you do if your son was asked to wear pink for the day ?
@samtaylorskykierajen (7977)
Canada
September 11, 2008 12:03pm CST
Today is stand up against bullying day at the school where my children go and they were asked to all wear pink today . Now the idea behind the whole thing sounds good but my problem is they were all asked to wear pink . I have a son and he doeesn't own anything in pink so is unable to participate in this . He went to school today wearing his normal clothes but I am waiting to see how his day went . We would have loved for him to participate in this for the simple fact he was bullied years ago and it has affected who he is today and he will never again be the carefree little boy that he once was !!
Do they have a day for this in the schools your children go to and if so what color are they asked to wear ? What would you have done if your son was asked to wear pink for the day and you didn't have anything for him to wear ? Do you think it would not have been a better idea to pick a more neutral color such as white that indicates good then to wear pink ?
15 people like this
19 responses
@babygurl03 (268)
• Canada
11 Sep 08
They could have had the girls wear pink and the boys wear red or everyone wear red or yellow even . I don't have any kids in school cause I don't have any kids yet . I don't know if they have a day like that in the schools because I don't have any there yet but we never had a day like that when I went to school .
5 people like this
@moneyman123 (194)
• Canada
11 Sep 08
I think another color would be better because not everyone has pink . I don't own any pink and wouldn't know what to wear if I was told to wear pink for the day . It is good they want to stop bullies but they must see not all boys don't have pink and if you only had boys in your house it would even be harder to find .
5 people like this
@danishcanadian (28953)
• Canada
11 Sep 08
Both my husband and my step-dad own lots of pink shirts, because they were never afraid to own anything that's pink.
I'm not saying anything about your son, just simply the men in my family own pink shirts.
If no pink shirt is available, maybe a pink ribon, a pink hat, a pink flower, SOMETHING, ANYTHING! I think it's a great idea.
If absolutely impossible, the white shirt is a good idea.
4 people like this
@samtaylorskykierajen (7977)
• Canada
11 Sep 08
We couldn't find anything in the house that he could have wore , I had suggeted his sisters hat but it was Dora the Explorer and no way was he going to wear Dora love . I really liked the idea behing the whole thing but wish they would have picked a more neutral color just because pink isn't really something that we have around the house as only the little one's wear pink although had I thought of it we could have found a pink ribbon , the only thing is they were asked to wear pink and it wouldn't have been the same thing .
Thank you for your resonse .
7 people like this
@34momma (13882)
• United States
11 Sep 08
i think this whole idea is a great one. they don't have anything like this in my son's school. If my son didn't have a pink shirt i would have went and gotten him one. pink is not just for girls anymore and i think it's a great color to show tolarance for the next person. I think i might bring this up in the next PTA meeting. we should have a day like this in the school my son goes too.
@samtaylorskykierajen (7977)
• Canada
11 Sep 08
Yeah my son is famous for telling me last minute and then not understanding why I can't just get him what he wants :)
4 people like this
@samtaylorskykierajen (7977)
• Canada
11 Sep 08
I thought the idea behind it was great as well but just didn't have time to get him anything to wear because I wasn't given notice about this and by the time we were told all the stores were closed as they close at 5 and he only got home at 5:30 .
Thank you for your response .
4 people like this
@TakeThisName (769)
• Canada
11 Sep 08
A more neutral color would have been a better idea because like you said pink is not a color everyone has especially when they are a household of all boys . I see you have a little girl but it is not like her clothes would have fit your son and I can see him not wanting to wear Dora to school .
4 people like this
@my2boys (821)
• United States
11 Sep 08
My son is in preschool so I am not sure if schools have anything like that here or not. I do think that they should have picked a more neutral color. But I have no problem with my son wearing a pink shirt or something as long as it is a boys shirt.
@samtaylorskykierajen (7977)
• Canada
11 Sep 08
I would have had no problem with this either if I had been given more notice and cuold have got something for him to wear . It was to late by the time he got home from school to tell me for me to go out and get him something because all the stores were closed .
Thank you for your response .
4 people like this
@rogue13xmen13 (14403)
• United States
11 Sep 08
First, I would ask my son why he wants to wear pink to school, and second, I would go through my closet to see if I have anything pink, or I would go to the store to get him something pink if he needs it that badly for school. I can see what the school is trying to do, and I applaud them for it. I was bullied in school even into some of my college years, can you believe that, but I did what I had to do to get my degree.
@samtaylorskykierajen (7977)
• Canada
12 Sep 08
I would have given him something of mine but I do not have pink in my closet as I a not a pink person lol .
Thank you for your response .
3 people like this
@alindahaw (1219)
• Philippines
12 Sep 08
My son don't really mind wearing any colors of shirt but some little boys do feel uncomfortable wearing this color. Pink has been strongly associated with girls so naturally, little boys don't want to wear this color. What I really can't connect with in this case is that why in the world would a school ask all the kids to wear pink in the first place? I hope school officials would be more sensitive on things like these.
1 person likes this
@pickles12 (308)
• Canada
12 Sep 08
I'm not sure what i would have done.. I dont have children but if my son was asked to participate and he had something of the color i would leave it up to him to decide. They could have picked a more neutral color, i agree. If he asked to wear it, i would simply explain why he couldn't (he doesnt own pink)
hope this helps
2 people like this
@mattcassethan (226)
• Canada
12 Sep 08
Hey I like the idea they had at the school althogugh I don't know how either of my sons woudl feel about wearing pink that is the colore there sister wears not them . I think a more neutral color would have been good like yellow or white . It pink not already used for awareness?
1 person likes this
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
12 Sep 08
I would have been all for it. I think pink is the perfect color but maybe they should not have limited it so. I think they all should have had to just dress geeky or whatever gets picked on these days. They should have had to be creative and where something they normally would not want to be seen in. It's a good concept. I think they could have gotten a bit more creative with it. A lot of kids get picked on for clothes & hairstyles that they really have no choice in. They need to really do a lot more to end the bullying. These kids need to be taught tolerance and some empathy towards others. There ought to be a special class that begins in kindergarten.
1 person likes this
@samtaylorskykierajen (7977)
• Canada
12 Sep 08
I really like your idea of them having to dress differently then they normally would have . I think this would have worked better then just wearing a color to school . It is true that so many children get picked on because of what they wear and the sad thing is that not all parents can afford the brand name clothing for their children that is why uniforms would be a good idea .
Thank you for your response .
1 person likes this
@Bluepatch (2476)
• Trinidad And Tobago
11 Sep 08
They do this kind of thing here in Trinidad all the time now.
Asking you to wear a particular colour for a day and you don't have the colour or don't want to do it and everyone is there asking you why don't you do it and all that crappy kind of talk going on everywhere.
Just try to think of an easy excuse not to do it and go with that until its over.
Its only for one day.
2 people like this
@mimico (3617)
• Philippines
12 Sep 08
I have nothing against boys wearing pink or purple. I think it's been quite fashionable for some time now. Boys can go out wearing a rainbow-colored shirt and it wouldn't really matter to me. Anyway, I'm not one who breaks rules a lot. I don't want to be different in a negative way, so I would have probably bought my son a pink shirt. I'll make sure that we buy something nice so that he can wear it again. Or I'll buy a really cheap shirt so that he doesn't have to wear it again.
1 person likes this
@gracie04 (4549)
• Philippines
12 Sep 08
well, during intramurals in school, we are required to wear a specific color like white, blue, black and red... in that case, students didn't get a hard time following the color scheme since those are basic colors... sure you can find one in your closet or in your mom's collection.
The school should not require students to wear clothes that are difficult to find... not everyone owns a pink shirt huh!
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
14 Sep 08
hi samtaylorskykierajen! 
what is the connection of the color pink in bullying? why did they choose it?
we don't have a Stand Up Against Bullying Day because bullying is not that rampant in schools here and there have been no severe cases of bullying. but its good to know that there's a day like that in your son's school. i've watched some school-based foreign dramas that tackles bullying and its really an eye opening. in Japan, bullying is very common especially in middle school. and it really does have severe effect on a person especially if the teachers and parents don't realize it and close their eyes on it.
anyway, i think its okay if your son wasn't able to wear a pink shirt since he doesn't own one. as long as he realizes the importance of the occasion and that he knows that bullying is bad and people should stand up against it.
what is the connection of the color pink in bullying? why did they choose it?
we don't have a Stand Up Against Bullying Day because bullying is not that rampant in schools here and there have been no severe cases of bullying. but its good to know that there's a day like that in your son's school. i've watched some school-based foreign dramas that tackles bullying and its really an eye opening. in Japan, bullying is very common especially in middle school. and it really does have severe effect on a person especially if the teachers and parents don't realize it and close their eyes on it.
anyway, i think its okay if your son wasn't able to wear a pink shirt since he doesn't own one. as long as he realizes the importance of the occasion and that he knows that bullying is bad and people should stand up against it. @switlyf (649)
• Philippines
12 Sep 08
i guess its not bad to wear pink even for boys. Here in our country there's this point where wearing pink even man are a craze. Well its ok as long as they can carry themselves well. With regards to your son i guess the problem was being a kid it has been a common notion that pink is for girls. Well good luck to bullies! lol happy mylotting!
@lemayan (188)
• Germany
12 Sep 08
i dont think i would have a problem with a son of mine wearing pink to mark against bullies, but unfortunately where i live i have not seen the teachers ask for that, the children wear home clothers to school and yeah if the teachers were a little bit more considerate on the color considering there are boys in the school too.
@alkathiry (8)
•
13 Sep 08
I am delighted to do so, because he will be one of the future scientist who turns the world peace forever.
@GemmaR (8517)
•
12 Sep 08
I think it's silly for a school to make days like this, as then people have to buy new clothes for it that their children will probably never wear again.
If it ever crops up again though, just SOMETHING of that colour would probably have been fine.. even if he just wore a wristband in pink.
I hope he had a good day!
