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A Sydney early learning centre has decided to cancel Mother’s Day celebrations to be more inclusive…

Learn and Laugh early learning centre in Drummoyne sent an email to parents earlier this week informing them that Mother’s Day celebrations have been cancelled. The centre said that Mother’s Day and Father’s Day can exclude some families and that the decision to cancel is an attempt to create a more inclusive learning environment.

Best Intentions

Acting Director of the centre, April Howlin, said in the email that catering to all families is their top priority. “We spent a lot of time discussing and reflecting on this, and believe we want to be a more inclusive centre,” she wrote. “We want to include all families here at Learn and Laugh regardless of their family dynamics. Instead, we have decided to do family and friends day at different times throughout the year. That way anyone close to the children can come and take part.” 10Daily reports that the changes have been implemented to avoid causing distress to children in single-parent families, and will be rolled out at Learn and Laugh’s other centres next year.

Can’t Please Everyone

Speaking to 10Daily, mum Elsa Geelan said the email was unexpected but that she can understand why the centre has decided to change their plans. “It’s not like Mother’s Day or Father’s Day has been cancelled,” she said. “It’s nicer to be kind than it is to be right. The kids are under five, they don’t really understand that much anyway. It’s not like we’re taking something away that they’re going to miss.”

Some parents, however, believe the centre has taken things too far. “I don’t believe it alienates anyone,” Danny Latouf, a father at the centre, said. “We can’t go around sheltering children from the reality of everything that goes on in the world.”

Do you think that this centre has the right idea or is this decision political correctness gone mad? Let us know in the comments.

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  • *sigh*….honestly why on earth do we have cancel things like this?
    I am a Mum of 3….my kids Dad has passed away but I dont expect all Fathers Day celebrations to be stopped just because my kids dont have a Dad here. Get a grip people.

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  • It really up to them, but I think its going a bit far really. An interesting article to read.

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  • Sometimes children have to learn to cope and believe me they do a better job of things if honest talk is given rather than pandering to the minority. When migrants first came to this country they left their parents behind and couldn’t celebrate these things, but they got on with their lot and became better people for it. The PC brigade are not doing anyone any good here – they should allow children to work out for themselves what is going on – they will be better at it than the PC brigade.

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  • Oh that’s just sad.
    I lost my dad at a young age but I knew when Father’s Day came around it was a day of reflection for me and an echoing celebration of mum. A superwoman that took on both roles.

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  • Agree with the dads comments.
    We can’t go around sheltering kids, this is life things happen.
    My 3 year old already knows about death as we told her the whole truth when she asked


    • My Mum found it difficult explaining death to her 2 y.o. Granddaughter (my niece) when my Sister-in-Law’s brother died suddenly. Her parents dropped her off after ringing my Mum and went to contact her Parents who were away and didn’t have a mobile phone (30 years ago). Mum tried to explain it to her but her Granddaughter was confused and too upset to comprehend it. As a last attempt she told her that everybody and all things die eventuallly. Grandma asked her if she remembered helping her pull the flowers off the bushes in the garden. Missy understood that the flowers they had pulled off the bushes had died. Grandma told the parents what she had told her and that they could possibly help her to understand more by them talking to her.

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  • It’s all getting a bit out of hand really.

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  • I’m not sure. I understand, but perhaps if I was a Mum of a child at that centre I might not think it’s ok. However, it is for one year at this centre. Once they go to school things will be different. I’m a bit divided.

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  • It’s a hard one because I understand but then the could do it that maybe a grandparent aunty could come and same with Father’s Day

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  • They have a point. Explaining to very small children about single parenting can be really upsetting. Perhaps they could do it in a way that would comfort other kids and include them in otherways?

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  • Oh come on, how ridiculous. Next they’ll cancel Christmas and Easter celebrations!

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  • Why after all these years are they changing their ideas about this. Are they also going to cancel Easter and Christmas because some families don’t believe in it? Don’t know what is happening in this day and age.

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  • I don’t think they have the right idea, but it is this centres decision

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  • I think it’s ridiculous to cancel it. Especially when they cite ‘inclusiveness’. Why not have a morning tea/day for carers or ‘your special person’? Many schools do this with Father’s Day calling it something else & grandparents attend, uncles, brothers, mums – anyone! All families are different and inclusiveness should celebrate this. Yes some children may not have a mum and may be upset, but make it a grandmother, carer, Aunty or Dad.
    I think the whole idea behind this is trying to ‘shield’ kids who don’t have a mum but rather we should focus on whoever is special in their life & cares for them.
    Worlds gone mad when we ban or cancel things just in case someone may be upset.
    And every school/preschool/childcare I’ve ever known has been acutely aware of children who may be upset on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day or other such days, and they ensure They are included and have someone there.
    The answer isn’t to just cancel it.
    (And I’m not a fan of Mother’s Day itself as I feel it’s commercialism, but I really don’t like this new thing of totally cancelling any day ‘in case’ a child may be upset. No school or childcare would leave an upset child & would plan ahead for such occasions)

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  • I am in total awe of stopping Mother’s Day as its purely commercial, if you love your mother you have to show it every day and not just a day called Mothers Day. Also it is hard on those grieving the loss of their mothers, we should think about them . And then we have the migrants whose mothers are in another country , don’t we love them. So to be fair it should be stopped completely

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  • I attended Mothers Day celebrations at my daughter’s child care centre (a few years ago now). My heart completely broke to see one little girl completely inconsolable because she didn’t have a Mummy anymore (her Mother had in fact past away) and she was being raised by her Grandparents. We all celebrated and enjoyed morning tea with our children while this little girl was heart broken and so was I. I completely support ‘Friends and Family Day’s over Mothers or Fathers day because not all families are that straight forward. I in fact am a single Mother and my daughter loves her step-Mother also and says she has 2 Mums & a Dad. What’s best for the children is more important then adults stuck in their ways.

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