Short Trousers For Her Younger Brother. Thank you to Wendy from whom I received this letter.

I grew up in South Africa in the 1970's and 1980's, where schoolboys in short trousers were a common sight. Most boys wore shorts until they were sixteen or older - usually the standard grey flannel short trousers in the winter months and khaki shorts in the summer, always with the standard schoolboy knee socks with the turnover top. Some schools made shorts compulsory for even the seniors so boys would wear them until they were eighteen, nineteen or older if they had to repeat years.

My brother, who was two years older than me, was a typical example. Short trousers were compulsory for all boys at his school where he remained until he was eighteen. He cried when my parents then told him he was to remain wearing shorts until his twenty-first birthday. They were firm believers in keeping boys in short trousers for as long as possible as a means of control and to stop them getting big ideas. Up to the age of twenty-one, he wore shorts at all times and was never once allowed long trousers. His first pair of longs was a present for his twenty-first birthday and he wore them that day with great pride.

My parents felt that boys were immature and grew up far more slowly than girls and as a result should be treated and dressed like children for longer. I was allowed stockings and tights at fifteen and to wear makeup at sixteen and was regarded by my parents and others as a sensible young lady. My brother was still being put to bed at 8 pm when he was eighteen while 

From my fifteenth birthday, I was his designated babysitter, having been given authority over my brother and I was always left in charge when our parents went out. He had to do as I told him or else it was not uncommon for him to go across my knees for a spanking and be put straight to bed, sometimes well before 8 pm. People who did not know us automatically assumed that I was the eldest and because he was treated him like a little boy.

During his twenties he was occasionally punished by my parents by being made to wear short trousers, together with his old school uniform of blazer and cap, for a whole weekend. It was not surprising that he did not venture far from the family home while dressed like this but he was seen by a few visitors and subject to ridicule.

I think my parents were totally correct to keep my brother in short trousers to twenty-one and beyond. He was well behaved, obedient, demure and polite. He also looked extremely sweet in his shorts and my girlfriends would teasingly tell him what a smart little boy he was which always made him blush with embarrassment.

I do not have children yet but if I have boys, I hope I will keep them in short trousers until their mid or late teens or even older. I agree with my parents that boys are far less mature than girls and should be kept as children for much longer. Keeping them dressed in short trousers is an excellent way of reminding them of this fact. 

Wendy