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BIG ISSUE
My son, 8, is too large for school uniform – shopping for adult clothes is traumatising, it’s not his fault he’s bigger
USUALLY eight-year-old Archie Vincent looks forward to going back to school.
But this year mum Donna Vincent, 40, is dreading it - fearing he’ll be bullied after she couldn’t find uniform to fit his 7.1st frame.
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Having trawled major retailers including Asda, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer, Donna had to shell out on men’s clothes to fit the schoolboy.
But the mum-of-one insists Archie, who is 4ft 9in tall and classified as very overweight, is active, loves sport and is being punished for going through a growth spurt.
And Donna, a care worker from Folkestone, Kent who earns £27,000, resents having to pay an extra £20 to find clothes in his size.
She says: “Archie’s always been a big and active lad. He’s only eight years old, but due to his measurements I am forced to buy a men’s jumper for £15.
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“The company which provides his school uniforms don’t do jumpers over a 34-inch chest. The extra fiver I had to pay is the difference between keeping the lights on or eating these days.
“I also had to buy special men’s trousers from Amazon, which have an elastic waist, for £19.50 - double what I’d pay in Tesco or Asda for a so-called typical eight-year old’s trousers, and you usually get two for one.
“Having to pay double the price means I have to beg family and friends for help.”
Donna says she’s managed to find a few shirts that are ‘plus size’ or ‘generous fit’ - but is horrified by the idea that the other kids will spot the labels while getting changed for PE.
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“It’s shocking that retailers are using these ridiculous phrases, identifying my child and others like him as different, just because they’re bigger,” she fumes.
“It makes them an easy target for bullies and trolls.”
Big issue
Children have been getting bigger for decades, with a quarter of kids in England now obese when they leave primary school.
The Association of UK Dieticians believe their waistlines have got bigger throughout the pandemic and lockdowns.
Last year we told how a mum of a size 22 10-year-old girl couldn’t find any school uniform to fit her in major retailers including Asda, Lidl, Next or Marks & Spencer.
The Sun spent hours searching online and found a size 20 bottle green gingham dress for Leaha Emmins, which was customised to fit.
Now Donna and husband Paul Vincent, 42, a landscaper, are demanding cheaper school uniforms for larger children, arguing it’s unfair she has to shell out for adult clothes which carry a 20 per cent VAT charge.
Clothing and shoes for young children are charged at zero rate VAT.
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Donna says: “It’s shocking families like mine have to endure this.
“We’re in the midst of a cataclysmic cost of living crisis - it’s outrageous that an eight-year-old is hit with VAT for school kit.
“That’s why I am demanding major retailers and the government go back to basics and radically rethink children’s sizes.
“We need to bring them into line with today's body shapes.”
“We have to protect the mental health of bigger children who can’t find school clothes to fit them.
“And it’s gut-wrenching for me as a mum on a tight budget to not be able to go into a high street store or supermarket and pick up basic uniform.”
Bullied
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Donna, a size 22, admits she was bullied terribly at primary school due to her ill-fitting school uniform, and can’t believe that things haven’t changed 30 years on.
She says: “It’s taken me all my adult life to love my body.
“I am determined that my son and other kids like him shouldn’t have to go through the same trauma.
“Kids are kids and shouldn’t be identified by size.”
The proud mum insists her lad leads a healthy lifestyle and will be a tall teenager, but not obese.
She says: “Archie’s a big lad who is going through his various stages of growth at a different time to his mates.
I know people will say I should put myself or my son on a diet, or that I am the problem, but I’m not and neither is he
Donna Vincent
“He loves his after-school clubs and sports - especially swimming and dodgeball.
“Like most eight-year-olds he is a bit of a picky eater and hates vegetables, but he loves fruit.
“The NHS BMI scale doesn’t take into account genetics, how active he is, or his eating habits.”
Donna argues for Archie to have to wear clothes with a label identifying him as plus size is “mentally scarring”.
“It might as well say ‘you’re fat’,” she says.
“I’m speaking out because many parents are worried they’ll be trolled.
“If it means I can bring about real change and raise awareness, I am not scared to speak up - someone has to do it.
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“I know people will say I should put myself or my son on a diet, or that I am the problem, but I’m not and neither is he.
“Having a big child is not wrong. We should celebrate all sizes.”
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