By Ryder Lopez
Some schools require kids to wear uniforms. This could be for a few reasons. Kids are unable to make fun of others for what they are wearing because they are all wearing the same outfit. This decreases bullying throughout the school. Or, because they want to teach kids early that future jobs will require you to wear a job uniform, but this does come with consequences. Uniforms can decrease the amount of exercise kids get in a given day.
A new study suggests that when schools require kids to wear uniforms, it may cause kids to avoid active play. This is because the uniforms are not made for being active outside. They are made for sitting inside, being static rather than dynamic. Also, more girls than boys are meeting the physical requirements for fitness, which may be because they are self conscious while wearing these uniforms. Girls and boys are unable to express their own style when forced to wear uniforms.
Researchers have noted that girls are staying away from physical activity due to being forced to wear skirts or dresses. Skirts and dresses are not suitable for physical activity. They get in the way when running around or playing on a play set. In an article by Carole Miller, she states, “While the new study doesn’t prove that uniforms limit kids’ activity, researchers called on schools to consider whether specific uniform designs might encourage or restrict opportunities to be active during the day.” If I were to guess, these uniforms would most likely limit physical capabilities, which is a big problem for these kids’ futures. The study analyzed data on the physical activity levels of nearly 1.1 million 5- to 17-year-olds. This is according to the article written by Carol Miller.
Due to these reasons and the evidence against school uniforms, it is highly recommended that we remove this requirement. But, rather than completely removing uniforms, we make them optional. This gives students a choice as to whether they do or don’t want to wear these uniforms. This would immediately fix the problem of children not getting enough exercise on a given day.
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