I'm writing this post whilst watching my son colour in his trains something he couldn't do only a few weeks ago before starting nursery.
Today I wanted to talk about the darker side of state education in the UK. Our nursery has a uniform that is affordable and durable. It isn't enforced but kids are encourage to wear it not only to give them a sense of belonging but also try and hide the differences between some of the kids.
Today I witnessed a scene that really upset me. As a younger mum some things have been a struggle financially, thankfully we are now comfortable and able to save every month, but I remember the first few months after we bought our first house accounting for every penny so we could afford to buy the essentials to make it a home for Zach.
Stood in the porch with my baby Paddington I was so happy I had gone to Sainsburys instead of picking up one of the cheaper costumes in ASDA (score ten yummy mummy points if you know why), when one of Zach little friends walked in without a costume. He ran over to give her a cuddle (he does that strange child) and didn't say anything about her lack of costume.
At this point I looked up to see her parents scanning the sea of Paddingtons, princesses and assorted monsters for someone else not in costume. I decided to pretended I hadn't noticed her lack of costume and continue minding my own business. I heard mammy say to daddy shall we just take her home, inside I wanted to scream just let her be, but deep down I knew that she was being judge by some of the other parents for not going along with the costume.
As much as i loved the photo we got of Zach today (it alone is worth the £15 costume), I wonder if it was really necessary to encourage parents to go out and spend money on an outift their kids will either wear round the house or never again. In a society just coming out of recession do we really need to highlight the haves and have nots. Rich or poor shouldn't our children grow up at least in primary school not knowing that some children have alot more than them.
So people should primary school skip asking parents for costumes, supplies, donations etc or is it a fact of life that at 3 years old our kids learn how the world works?
Vicky
Today I wanted to talk about the darker side of state education in the UK. Our nursery has a uniform that is affordable and durable. It isn't enforced but kids are encourage to wear it not only to give them a sense of belonging but also try and hide the differences between some of the kids.
Today I witnessed a scene that really upset me. As a younger mum some things have been a struggle financially, thankfully we are now comfortable and able to save every month, but I remember the first few months after we bought our first house accounting for every penny so we could afford to buy the essentials to make it a home for Zach.
Stood in the porch with my baby Paddington I was so happy I had gone to Sainsburys instead of picking up one of the cheaper costumes in ASDA (score ten yummy mummy points if you know why), when one of Zach little friends walked in without a costume. He ran over to give her a cuddle (he does that strange child) and didn't say anything about her lack of costume.
At this point I looked up to see her parents scanning the sea of Paddingtons, princesses and assorted monsters for someone else not in costume. I decided to pretended I hadn't noticed her lack of costume and continue minding my own business. I heard mammy say to daddy shall we just take her home, inside I wanted to scream just let her be, but deep down I knew that she was being judge by some of the other parents for not going along with the costume.
As much as i loved the photo we got of Zach today (it alone is worth the £15 costume), I wonder if it was really necessary to encourage parents to go out and spend money on an outift their kids will either wear round the house or never again. In a society just coming out of recession do we really need to highlight the haves and have nots. Rich or poor shouldn't our children grow up at least in primary school not knowing that some children have alot more than them.
So people should primary school skip asking parents for costumes, supplies, donations etc or is it a fact of life that at 3 years old our kids learn how the world works?
Vicky
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