Would this school uniform humiliate my child? Please help

"Can I just do the polo shirts from Kmart, as an alternative (obviously without the emblem)? I'm embarrassed to ask what my options are," an Aussie mum has shared in a relatable post.

Just when most parents recovering financially from Christmas, it's time to start planning for back to school.

With the cost-of-living crisis thrown in, that means many of us are searching for hacks - or ways to do things as inexpensively as possible.

This was recently reflected in a discussion within an Aussie mums Facebook group, where one particular expense was worrying a mum: do school uniforms need to be from the uniform shop, or is it ok to buy generic items?

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"I'm embarrassed to ask"

For full context, her post read:

"Hi ladies, I'm curious to know about school uniforms for public schools. If my ex doesn't want to provide uniforms, can I just provide him with the polo shirts from Kmart / Best & Less as an alternative (obviously without the emblem)?

"I'm embarrassed to ask what my options are."

Many parents reassured the woman that generic is fine if you're budgeting - but emphasised that she needed to consider the impact on her child.

One wrote, "Yes you can, BUT as crappy as it is I would buy the proper uniforms. I remember how I felt when my mum would make me wear the Kmart stuff without the emblem, I hated it and felt like crap."

Image: iStock

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"Take a hit for our kids"

Some suggested that the woman needed to put aside her anger at her ex for not helping.

As one mum advised, "You can but to me I think why would you? This sort of thing the children suffer for. Other children don't have filters and can be quite unkind without meaning to. Sometimes we need to put aside our annoyance with our exes and just take the hit for our kids."

But not everyone agreed that the source of the uniforms were a big deal.

This mum wrote, "Buy ones from Kmart who cares! Kids grow so fast and ruin the shirts anyway. I have a good shirt with the emblem for special occasions at school and use the cheap ones for daily wear. My kids never have issues, most of the school does the same thing too."

Finally, there was this post full of practical advice: "My ex also refuses to purchase essentials needs for our children and originally I used to get angry but now it's just about the children.

"They won’t remember or care how you felt but they will remember how you made them feel by always putting them and their needs first. It is extremely expensive however I used it to teach my kids value.

"I have only ever bought new their first year of primary and high and everything else (except the odd piece) I have sourced second hand. So long as it is still in good nick no one cares where it came from."

But our favourite advice came from this refreshing take: "I bought my kids all proper uniforms but most of the other kids were in the ones from Kmart, and my kids ended up asking me to buy those ones for them to wear instead!"

Originally published as Would this school uniform humiliate my child? Please help