Bling Doesn't Mean A Thing !

School uniforms aren't so bad after all.

Austria and in fact most of Europe do not have mandatory uniforms at school. The kids wear whatever they want and let me tell you, some of the things they do wear ( or not wear ) are a bit questionable. No, I don't think I am a prude, but school should really be for learning from books and not from looks.

Parents are feeling the stress of getting their cherished offspring ready for school. I wouldn't be surprised if some parents are rather glad to have them back to a bit of structure. Teenagers lounging about the house can be irritating and rather costly. They are always hungry...even if they are not!

The easy part is buying all those pens, crayons, rulers and exercise books. The hard part is getting the ' school wardrobe ' up to date. All that eating ensures that the kids are in need of a bigger size of everything. Never mind the new fashion for the season. Jeans, shorts, skirts and shirts are shopped for. Oh, the shops are rubbing their mittens in glee.

Good luck going clothes shopping with a teenager. Oh, and make sure you have ample time and money. Those good old times where you picked the clothes are over. Very much so.

Imagine if your child attended a school with mandatory school uniform. Every pupil would wear the same uniform. Skirts and shirts for gals and trousers and shirts for lads. Shopping would be a breeze. Two skirts, two shirts, a tie, a jersey and a blazer. The often had argument of: " I can't go to school today because I have nothing to wear " would be null and void.

Oh, I almost forgot...with school uniforms comes a strict code of conduct regarding hair: Lads have to have short back and sides, gals need to tie their hair up and no artificial colouring is allowed! Daily bathroom hogging time slashed in half...

Of course the real bonus of wearing a school uniform is that at school everyone is the same. No one gets judged by what they wear.

You do get some fashionistas who know how to wear their uniform more stylishly: sleeves rolled up, a sock folded over and a tie tied differently.

Unfortunately most of us judge a book by its cover and alas we miss out on a good book. How often in life do we not get to meet wonderful people just because we don't like the way they dress? Having your kids attend school in uniform, might get them into the habit of judging people by their actions, deeds and character instead of by what they own, drive or wear.

Perhaps we can teach them that bling doesn't mean a thing...

Biggi