Somehow, we would have suspected this. When we consider the sort of laid-back celebrity parents who fall into the “well, fuck it” category of quarantine life with kids (Chris Hemsworth slacking off on homeschooling, Pink and Carey Hart getting hella creative with the kid-created haircuts) versus the celeb parents we imagine are falling in line with daily color-coordinated family schedules… well, we’d put Posh Spice solidly in the latter category. Along with zero-holiday Kate and Will, Jessica “I Lay Out Clothes for My Entire Family the Night Before” Alba, and Martha Stewart. Although even Martha’s been going wild lately.
Anyway, when we learned this week that Victoria Beckham has been having her daughter Harper wear her private school uniform at home — while she completes her very official homeschooling duties, no doubt — we were not entirely surprised. Hey, Type A moms are gonna do what Type A moms are gonna do, and any glance at Posh’s always-spectacularly groomed eyebrows gives you hint enough that she’s no Type-B slob like this here editor. Plus, even we Type Bs need to get up and get dressed (ish) in order to work remotely — or, okay, at least we brush our teeth. But honestly, “normal” clothes can work wonders to make any of us feel semi-normal in this weird new abnormal world.
Given that, what was honestly a bit more surprising (although not that surprising, because trolls) than Harper’s at-home uniform-wearing was how many people took issue with it. The commenters started coming out of the woodwork only minutes after Beckham posted on Instagram this week to show her sweet kid having a sweet reading session with her sweet dog, with the hashtag #HomeschoolDay.
“Is Harper at school or just wearing her uniform?” asked one shocked follower.
“Does she need to wear a uniform!” one seemingly shouted.
“Get over yourself,” wrote another.
And yet another: “How ridiculous.”
Thankfully, a few more kindhearted souls did see the lighter side of things:
“Cute that Harper’s in her school uniform,” wrote one follower with a laugh-cry emoji.
“Perhaps her parents are trying to keep her routine the same as when she is at school and by wearing her uniform, it is the same for her and then once she has finished,” said another — and there’s honestly plenty of reason for routine-keeping to help and benefit kids during a pandemic like this one.
And, like I said earlier, sometimes we just need to dress for the work we need to get done, as this commenter pointed out on Beckham’s post:
“She is in uniform. All of mine are too and it makes a huge difference to how they show up.”
As for whether school uniforms help kids in general — you know, when they’re at their actual schools alongside other kids — that jury seems to still be out. Research published by the National Survey of School Leaders did indicate that most teachers believe school uniforms lead to improved behavior and foster a positive environment for learning. However plenty of parents will argue that uniforms put a strain on low-income parents and can even squash kids’ creativity and self-expression.
Bottom line? Uniforms are definitely neither all bad nor all good. And if one parent, Posh or not, thinks they help provide some semblance of normality amid quarantine homeschooling, let’s just let her carry on, m’kay?
Here are some ways to keep your kids busy during school closures — uniforms or no uniforms.
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