“Misguided”: Schools replacing Mother’s Day in inclusivity bid ruffle feathers
Attempts by schools to be more inclusive this Mother’s Day by celebrating “Parent’s” or “Family Day” has ruffled some parents’ feathers, with some critics arguing it was more about “eliminating mums” than involving diverse families.
Montessori School - an inner Sydney school which covers preschool and primary - will be celebrating Mother’s Day with a “Parent’s and Carer’s” morning tea instead, as reported by The Daily Telegraph.
Meanwhile, Stanmore Kindy have switched to a “Parent’s Day” for “inclusive reasons”, with another “up-market” preschool in Sydney’s eastern suburbs also following suit.
According to The Telegraph, the latter school sent a letter home to families last week to advise them that they had “decided to change the name of our annual Mother’s Day breakfast to a Family Day Breakfast”.
“This will allow all families to be included,” the letter read.
On NSW’s Mid North Coast, Bellingen Public School has also followed the trend, with the local Parents and Citizens’ Association running a stall for “Mother’s and Parent’s Day” with the aim of making the wording as inclusive as possible.
“We are hoping to have some gifts on the stall that will also suit dads who are doing both jobs,” the organisers told parents.
“So keep that in mind too when considering gift donation ideas.”
It comes after official advice for Mother’s and Father’s Day was issued by early childhood advocacy group Early Childhood Australia in April, offering a guide for including “diverse” families on both occasions.
“We know Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are important days to celebrate, but they can be tricky for children from diverse families,” the advice read.
“Mother’s Day and Father’s Day present some challenges for families that don’t have a mum and dad.”
The advice suggested that educators give children the option to make a gift for a “special adult” that isn’t necessarily their mum or dad to “avoid gender stereotypes in children’s crafts”.
“Steer away from cards with flowers for mum or ties for dad,” it added.
However, Women’s Forum Australia chief executive Rachael Wong told The Telegraph that “Parent’s Day” could be just as insensitive as “Mother’s Day”.
“Perhaps the change has been made in a bid to be sensitive to those whose mothers are no longer around for various reasons, but what about those who no longer have any parents?” she asked.
“Wouldn’t Parent’s Day also be insensitive? Given attempts to abolish terms like ‘mother’, ‘women’ and other female-related terms from the public discourse, it is reasonable to suspect that this is yet another attempt to erase women in a misguided attempt to be ‘inclusive’.”
The mother of one child who missed out on a Mother’s Day event agreed, saying she thought the name change was “part of a wider trend of eliminating mums, which is upsetting”.
“It’s nonsensical because same-sex female couples can celebrate Mother’s Day and same-sex male couples can celebrate Father’s Day,” she said.
“A sensitive approach for children who don’t have mums is to have a ‘Mother’s and Special Friends Day’.”
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