Is this bragging or completely normal?

[BeakyStiff]

DS who is 11 (but still in primary, not UK) went to a local, free but ticketed sporting event at the weekend.

He got a hat signed by lots of the players and wanted to take it into school yesterday. I said no as it’s not kind to other children if they couldn’t go etc.

However, the classmate he went with did take his hat and did an impromptu show and tell in the classroom. Show and tell is not a usual part of the school day, they don’t take it in turns and I can’t remember DS ever being asked to take anything in.

So now I am wondering if I was unreasonable not letting DS take his in? Apart from other DC maybe wanting to go but not being able to my reasons were that how happy is another child really for you (or you for them) when you bring something in? I know a couple of the other kids have brought in holiday photos and showed them on the white board and I have also said no to this previously.

I think my thoughts are around the not bragging angle and being mindful not to hurt others feelings. Not sure if I am being out as I still know some (annoying) adults that do this a lot and it’s a bit of a pet peeve for me or is completely normal?

Impromptu show and tell is a fairly standard aspect of Primary school life. There's a difference, I think, between bragging and saying 'look at this cool thing I have that I'm proud of/excited by'.

I wouldn’t see that as bragging, just telling people about something interesting they’ve done or somewhere interesting they’ve been.
It sounds a bit miserable for them to be made to feel they can’t share or discuss their experiences.

No, it’s not bragging.

Ah ok, thank you for setting me straight! I will let him know that he can take something in next time. He was able to talk and chat about it to his mates I just said no to doing a show and tell.

Being an introvert I would have hated the attention but he is quite the opposite.