Am I being oversensitive or was this unkind?

[fartooupsetovernothing]

Local paper publishes pictures of all the new school starters.

On one page, they have three photographs from the local naice school. Every child in a blazer, sitting perfectly etc. The bottom photograph is from the special school, where the children obviously were finding the process of getting their photograph stressful.

Why would the two be placed side by side? It only emphasised the difference.

Different yes. Better or worse than each other no.

Ridiculous.

Did either set of photos have a child of yours in them?

Unkind to who

Why shouldn't children with disabilities be pictured in the paper? There's no shame in having additional needs.

It would look a lot worse if the special school kids were moved to a different page. Then it would really be making a point. Maybe they didn't want to differentiate between the kids, which is surely a good thing? Anyway, new school photos are brilliant, no matter what the kids are doing or wearing in the photo.

If they didn't print it, they'd be criticised for that too.

Are you saying the third school had a page of their own and the special school should have had this space? I think it's lovely to highlight variety and difference. It's only in the eye of the beholder which one is 'better'. Personally I'd go for the special school style even though my kids are NT.

Oh I don't mean don't print it. I just felt that my child's photo looked so scruffy and well... a bit wild (one child was clearly mid-escape, one other was obviously being placated through). It just seemed so much worse beside the rows of perfect kids.

Might just be oversensitive atm.

Surely it would be far worse to have the separate from the others?
They’re school children, having a picture taken, which is in the paper alongside the other school pictures.

((Hug)). Sometimes ‘the differences’ hits you hard, like being kicked by a donkey.

Maybe if they had the children from your school with an article then the other school over a page with an article it wouldn’t seem such a harsh comparison? What do you think? If you think it would help a new starter parent next year, then there’s no harm in emailing them a suggestion.

However, I’m guessing no matter what they do they’ll upset someone.

Our paper orders the school photos alphabetically. Was It alphabetical?

And what did you want them to do? If they'd given them their own page they'd have been accused of singling them out.

Rows of perfect kids?

Sorry if you’re feeling upset over something OP - but as I asked do you have a child in the pictures? Are you concerned about your child? Tbh I would hope that most people with older children would just feel nostalgic about their child’s first day/ school photo and those with small chn will think not long now until that’s my dc.