The rule was branded ‘ridiculous’ and the mum warned it will have the ‘children leaving at 18’
A mum has come under fire for enforcing what’s been called a “controlling” and “ridiculous” dress code in her household. The rule demands that everyone must be fully dressed and at least “moderately” groomed before they can descend the stairs, even on weekends and holidays.
The strict policy does not apply to youngsters on school days to keep their uniforms free from breakfast spills, but days off mean they must be clean and dressed before coming downstairs. The debate kicked off when Porcell took to Mumsnet to gauge public opinion, asking: “What do you think of this family house rule?
“People in the house are not allowed to come downstairs in the morning without being fully dressed/clean and moderately groomed. This does not apply to school kids during the week.
“But at the weekends/school holidays members of the household are not allowed to be in pyjamas. They can veg out on the sofa but they have to be groomed and in clean clothes.”, reports Bristol Live. She clarified, “Trackies are allowed.”
Shedding light on the reason behind the rule they posted: “The mum of the house (not saying if it’s me or not) hates the teens slobbing around in pyjamas. She thinks it encourages people to start the day off right and creates a nicer home environment.
“She doesn’t mind the kids lazing around just not in dirty pyjamas with bo. Everyone just needs to be dressed with hair not a mess and clean clothes. 5 min job.”
But the Mumsnet community wasn’t buying it. In a poll questioning the reasonableness of the rule, a whopping 88% of the 2331 respondents branded the mum as unreasonable.
One user questioned the strict household policy, saying: “Why do you have harsher rules during days off work/school? Totally unnecessary in my book.” The poster confirmed the rule would be the same all week however the mum was concerned about keeping school uniforms clean.
Another deemed the approach “controlling” while a third commented: “Why? Home is the place you should feel most relaxed.”
Eggsley said it was “ridiculous” and Roseymoira echoed: “Sounds like a nightmare”. Meanwhile, another person shared their perspective: “I think people should be able to wear what they like in their own home. I do tell my kids to get dressed at some point during the weekend days but that’s usually so that we can go out.”
HippeePrincess observed: “Doesn’t everyone in the whole world go and make coffee in their dressing gowns before they do anything else? No way I’d be dressed before coffee, especially on a weekend.”
And another added: “That is insane, and controlling if an adult in the household is insisting other family members obey this rule.”
Fresh debate opened over acceptable loungewear, with one stating: “IMO tracksuits are worse than pyjamas. Tbh, I feel sorry for any kids in the house. In the grand-scheme of issues…this is not the hill that I, as a parent, would die on.”
Another said: “It sounds like an American tv show where everyone has been up for ages, appears in the kitchen dressed and ‘groomed’, run some errands and been for a run and had a chat with the neighbours, before whipping up some pancakes. All before school and work. What if you’re up and hungry, but someone else is in the bathroom?”
Susuki76 added: “The mum is a control freak whose kids will be moving out the second they turn 18.” However, the original poster countered: “Is that not the goal? Independent kids?”.
They further justified the rule by asking: “How is being in a clean hoodie and tracksuit bottoms at the breakfast table any less cosy than pjs? The kids are not expected to be in a morning suit with top hat.”
Some commenters saw the logic behind this stance. Gundogday shared: “In our household, people gave breakfast in their pyjamas, and then get dressed.
“We’ve never had a hard and fast rule, as such, but we’ve never. Been a household where pyjamas were day wear (unless ill) so I don’t think it’s bad at all. I presume when you say groomed you mean washed, teeth brushed etc.”
Another added: “Horses for courses I suppose. I do normally feel better if I get up washed and dressed before coming down. Just do what suits you.”
Homer28 saw both sides. They said: “Depends on the definition of ‘rule’.
“If this is set up so people get up and get dressed and “ready” for the day and it creates good habits – fine as I certainly have a “pj mentality” if I start the day off too long in PJs and I am less productive lol. So is it about creating good habits for kids/teens? If it’s strictly enforced in some sort of seriously over the top way then I would say, no – not good.”
