My son who is now in the 8th grade just brought up while on our way to the store that he would like to get different underwear. I just bought him all new briefs before the school year started so I just asked if they didn't fit well. He said they fit fine but no guy in the locker room wears briefs anymore and he didn't want to be picked on for the whole "tighty whities" thing.
I have bought him a mix of white and colored briefs for the last few years and I just said wear the colored ones to school. But I let him pick out some and he got boxers/boxer briefs.
Maybe it's because I'm older but I don't understand the whole tighty whitie thing, to me they are just underwear. My husband has always worn briefs, white and colored ones and he's never had any issues that I know of. Do teens really get picked on for their underwear choice? I've just never paid attention to any of that.
I think kids get picked on for all kinds of things. I also think it is long past time to put your son in charge of his own clothing choices, at least for underwear. You can be in charge of the overall budget and veto things that are clearly inappropriate, but underwear is definitely personal. Your job, as a mom, is to believe him when he tells you that certain things are problematic. Just because you’ve done one thing for several years doesn’t mean the rules haven’t changed.
Forget about trying to understand it. And just because your husband didn’t tell you anything about this before doesn’t mean your son hasn’t had a problem with it. Be glad that he has finally told you - which is not easy for teen boys to discuss with their moms.
Frankly, boxers are more forgiving and less tight - and boys are sensitive to how they appear to others, just as girls are about bras.
Donate the briefs to a worthy cause and let him buy the boxers he wants.
Yes he could get picked on for something as ridiculous as ‘tighty whities’ …kids can be so mean about the silliest things
I’ve made a rule with my kids; we don’t go school clothes or shoe shopping till after school starts. This way they can get a feel of what the ‘style’ is before I spend money on stuff they won’t wear.
Heck yes! Briefs weren’t cool through at least college. No guy would have been caught dead in them. At least people I hung out with… my husband wears them and I tease him. :). Half kidding. I like the look of boxers way more.
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Heck yes! Briefs weren’t cool through at least college. No guy would have been caught dead in them. At least people I hung out with… my husband wears them and I tease him. :). Half kidding. I like the look of boxers way more.
I think what kind of undies boys like is no different than what kind of undies girls like. I bought my son briefs just like his dad’s. Then came the day he wanted something else. He actually went through a couple of styles until the boxers stuck.I don’t know if the kids tease but I do know that as our kids grow they develop their own preferences and we need to honor them.
The guys in my family like the ones that are kind of half boxers and half briefs. (If that makes sense…) It’s not loose, so it holds in place what needs to be held in place, but is longer in the leg and can be all kinds of colors or patterns. Some of them wick moisture away too.
I do think that guys should be able to wear what they want as long as they aren’t showing through their pants. When you can actually see a man’s penis through his pants because he wears boxers, that’s when he should change his type of underwear to mitigate that problem.
my son is in 8th grade and wears “tighty whities.” I have asked him if he would rather get boxers multiple times and he always says no. He said he prefers his TW’s because they keep things from swinging around.
My other son, 5th grade, ONLY wears boxer briefs because he doesn’t like feeling squished.
Go figure.
I didn’t know that boys really paid any attention to that.
I will ask my son when I get home from work.lol
Um, yeah.
If teen boy wants a different kind (for whatever reason) just get them. I mean, unless $ is an issue. But if not, and it doesn’t sound like that’s a problem in this situation, just get him what he wants. Regardless of whether he will get picked on (and he will, most teen boys don’t even wear briefs–color or no–they wear boxer briefs or boxers) who wants to wear underwear you hate? Would you? What if you had to wear “granny panties” every day? Would you be happy about that? I wouldn’t.
This is just “one of those things” that you just do. Don’t question it too much.
Well someone MUST wear them because they wouldn’t make or stock them if they were never sold.
At any rate - he’s in 8th grade and yeah - a lot of guys will want to start getting involved in what sorts of underwear they wear.
Our son went from colored briefs to colored boxer briefs - and my husband decided he likes the boxer briefs now too.
Do you get the same bra every time?
I would if I could but usually when ever I find something that’s just perfect - they stop making it - and I have to look for something else.
Oh, just take him to Target or Walmart and let him pick out new underwear for himself.
My son started 6th grade this year and he came home after starting to change out for PE and wanted different underwear. He was the only tighty whitie guy in his class. So I took him that very afternoon and let him pick the underwear he wanted…cost me about $20-25…and he felt “normal” like he fit in with all the other guys. (To me that is priceless…because they will find other things to pick on but underwear we can control).
Boys are different from girls…so take him for new undies!!!
It is considered completely dorky to wear tighty whities. They look like diapers. Some kids will give him a hard time about it or snicker at him. Boxer briefs are considered cool. Buy colored ones…grey, navy, black. If your teen son is a kid who cares what others think just buy him new underwear. It’s important to feel like you fit in when you are a teen. It’s hard being a kid. PS - Maybe your middle school was not like this but the middle school I went to had kids would took delight in picking on people. They were complete jerks. If they saw a small reason to pick on someone they were all over it…humiliation was fun for them and their friends.
Ug, I hated grades 5 - 8. Going to school was miserable. At that age, all anyone wants to do is fit in, and the easiest way to feel like you fit in is to do what everyone else is doing.
You’re really taking this way too seriously. Your son comes to you and says he’d like to try some different underwear. Rather than saying, “Sure honey, here’s $20. Go pick out some underwear you like,” you are trying to rationalize it. It’s not a big deal. He wants to get some new underwear. I’m glad my mom never told me I couldn’t buy a certain type of underwear. I know what style feels comfortable on me, so that’s the style I buy.
There’s a good chance that no one would actually pick on him. They may not even notice. That does change the fact that it’s on his mind. He’s noticed what all the other guys are wearing, and he wants to fit in. That’s all.
In the next few years there will be other ways he wants to “fit in.” I think it’s important not to make a big deal about the ones that really aren’t a big deal. Underwear isn’t a big deal.
Kids are mean - and yes, kids will tease a kid for just about anything. Your son may just be worried that he might, or he may have seen another kid get teased for whitey tighties and doesn’t want to suffer the same consequence. One thing to note is that often kids single out specific kids and tease them no matter what - 100 kids could be wearing the same kid, but if the targeted kid wears it, he/she is screwed.
I’d just hand him the money to pick out what he wants next time you are at the store. Or, if you have Amazon Prime or use Jet, have him order a couple of packages and they will arrive at the door in 2 days.
This is also a great time to talk about what happens if he DID get picked on and also about not joining the “crowd” against picking on a kid. Parents think that kids just know how to handle these situations, but they don’t.
I think my concern here is not that your son wants to change underwear, but rather why you don’t believe the reason he’s giving? Personally, I think briefs are ugly and make men look like little kids. I’m in my 40s and they were considered ugly by the guys I dated in the 90s and my husband won’t wear them. And they’re unhealthy. But yes, boys who have to change in locker rooms do get made fun of for wearing little boy underwear - white or rainbow.