Parents of three-year-old girl shocked as nursery brands sundress ‘inappropriate’

A toddler's parents were left shocked after she was banned from wearing her favourite sundress to pre-school.

Sadie and Jamie Storehouse were reportedly told that they daughter, Lola, was wearing an "inappropriate" dress and must cover up with another top under it. The preschool in Winnipeg, Canada, said that the dress went against their internal policy as the straps were less than two inches thick. Her mum, Sadie, told CTV News that the situation has put her in the uncomfortable place of having to explain to her daughter why the dress isn't allowed. She told the news outlet:

“She's not going to understand. “She's going to think that maybe she did something wrong, when she very much didn't. "So now she's going to be questioning her own body. And that's such a young age to even be concerned about something like that. “I don't think any girl should have to worry about how much shoulder she's exposing when she dresses to go to school or anywhere else.”

The situation occurred earlier this week, when temperatures hit highs of 30C in the area. Sadie explained that she had picked out the light summer dress for her daughter to wear as it looked suitable for the weather. Teachers, however, declared it "inappropriate for school" and sent a message to Lola's parents that if she wore it again, she would have to put on another shirt. A spokesperson for the nursery told CTV that staff were simply following a dress code that the local district had put out. However, a spokesperson for the division said that they did not have a dress code. In a statement, they added:

“Instead, we believe in allowing our school leaders to use discretion and encourage best practices in a respectful way."