I went to a private high school, and part of that whole deal was school uniforms.

Basically I had to wear khakis and polo shirts, which in and of themselves might have been fine, if a little uncomfortable.

The problem was, it couldn’t be just any. They had to come from a specific store.

A store which, I assume, had patented a revolutionary new technique for making pants out of literal cardboard.

So I empathize with this story.

AITA for sending my sister some “backup” socks to make school mornings less stressful?

My (34) niece (8) has Sensory issues – a main issue being socks and shoes.

My sister (26) bought her socks she does not like for starting a new school because she wants her to look a certain way.

Niece stated during shopping she will not wear long socks (knee highs).

He tried to solve the problem.

I sent some shorter socks from amazon to my sister as a backup because I know there will be a fight on school mornings and neither of them need that.

Anxiety will be high because they’ve moved school, so why make things harder is my view.

I suggested buying some as a backup during the school shopping trip, but sis said niece will wear what she chooses.

He’s the cool uncle, it seems.

I’m more involved than most uncles because the kids have lived with me part time since 2021 and full time since 2023, with my sister joining us in 2024.

They have now all moved to their own flat in a new area after my sister and the girls’ dad got back together.

I believe the kids should get some choice over what they wear seeing as they are the ones who have to wear it.

I don’t think kids should be forced to dress a certain way when they dislike it/have issues around clothing.

It’s not going amazing.

I’ve seen the difference between school mornings before sis moved in and after.

It was a lot easier, less stressful, and involved far less shouting when the kids’ likes/dislikes were honoured.

(Not just involving socks, but how they wear their hair, what products were put in their hair, which pieces of the school uniform they preferred etc – sis has given up trying to force oldest to wear summer dresses now which has made things a bit easier).

Is this overstepping?

Also, I have autism and I hated (and still do hate) being forced to do things that make me feel horrible and stressed out, and sometimes this includes doing things most people perceive as “normal”.

AITA for sending these socks to try and help my niece out?

I feel like my sister will think I’m overstepping, but I know it will make school mornings easier and calmer for everyone.

He’s trying to be helpful, but it may not be taken that way by his sister.

Let’s see what Reddit has to say:

This person is picky about socks too.

Somebody’s gotta be in her corner.

What is the point, really?

You’re close enough for this.

I personally cannot imagine choosing to fight my kid over which socks they wear.

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.