Hi! I'm an esl teacher in an elementary school so I see my students for 30 min per day. One of my kindergarten students is wearing pajamas to school and has been wearing the same pajamas to school 3 days in a row. Pajamas are clearly not allowed or appropriate for public school. They are very obviously pajamas and not just sweat pants and a t. Should I be concerned or call the mom?? His older brother comes dressed normally in in 2nd. Idk if it's my place. The other kids ask me why he is wearing pajamas and I just day I dont know. Should I just pick my battles and let it go?
I would reach out to either to your principal, nurse, or counselors. If he was classified, I would say the Child Study Team, but being ESL instead of classified is not the same thing. I might start with the nurse, just to see if any of the staff have already reached out to her. Unless you can be absolutely certain that the PJ's haven't been laundered between wearing, I would simply address the issue as PJ's as inappropriate apparel, steering clear of any indication that they may not be clean. At that age, some children become fixated on certain items of clothing that they either will want to wear every single day, or will avoid wearing at all cost. If the getting dressed is escalating into a battle between child and parent, some parents will give in, especially if the battle results in missing the bus, or otherwise getting to school on time, especially if the parent has a job of their own that they need to get to. Reaching out to any of my suggestions gets you more information about what is going on, and may help rectify the situation while allowing the parent to enlist help without looking foolish. Another good choice would be to speak to the kindergarten teacher, who may have more information about what is going on and what has already been tried. Best of luck to you.
I'd talk to the child's homeroom teacher. She may have already called and be able to give you insight. I had a girl who wore PJ's to school for a period of time. I called her parents, but they seriously did not see it as a problem and the school did not enforce dress codes. It is hard for me to understand parents who are unwilling or unable to have their kids dress appropriately. They just wanted her to be happy in the moment. I learned to roll my eyes silently.
Yes, please check with the teacher first. I once had a similar situation once where the child also wore the same pj's every day for a while. The family had recently moved from another country, didn't speak much English, hadn't made many friends, and were afraid to tell the school that they had lost most of their few belongings in a fire. Apparently, they thought they would be sent back to their home country if they said anything. Long story short, the community was very giving when word got out.
