Getting ready for back to school is getting easier for the many moms living in school districts that have adopted uniforms, though not necessarily less expensive. While the laborious trolling through racks of boy’s pants to find the right size and style of jeans has diminished, the sheer number of pants needed has not.

In fact the number of pants needed may have increased since boys are notorious for ripping, tearing and otherwise destroying school pants. Even the lamentable practice of forgoing recess in favor of “teaching to the test” an hour longer hasn’t made any appreciable difference in the wear and tear on children’s clothes.

So, it’s a pleasure to find uniform pants that, rather than stand up to fewer knee slides than sturdy jeans, stand up to more. Dickies Boy’s Double Knee Pants fit the bill. Made by the well known manufacturer of “work clothes’, these uniform pants sport double protection around the knees. As any mother of boys knows, this is a critical feature…even if your boys don’t spend all of their time sliding into first base or pushing cars and trucks across the floor.

In uniform blue they even include an extra pocket for rocks, twigs or permission slips your child will conveniently forget to give you.