Smile no waving as it will ruin the performance video??!!

[AltinkumATEalltheTurkey]

Ds aged 6, very good at reporting things, has told me this morning that when they see us in the school hall they have only to smile and not wave, to their parents.

Bonkers.... Right??

Yanbu, they are still tiny. Waving is part of the excitement when they see mum/dad etc! School are being killjoys. Its not King Lear, it's a primary school concert.

MrsDevere!

Embarrassed?
Professionalism?
Stage ettiquette?

FFS get over yourselves! It is a small childrens nativity play not Waiting for fucking Godot!

Wavegate has arrived.
I couldnt give a shiney shite if the class i work with wave. They are six. Where is the fun/joy/love/waving.

The more jolly the better. can break wind as much as i like in the classroom at school and people always think it is one of the kids. Perk of the job

mrsdv, ours was similar and also perfect!
It might be comforting for the children to be able to see their parents and if you wave back at least they know they have been seen..
It's a little po faced to be embaressed about your small child being excited about being on stage, it's Christmas ffs!

There's a big difference between a po faced performance and a good performance. A po faced performance would be full of kids with no stage presence. A good performance is full of kids who follow the correct blocking and choreography, smile and are animated on stage but do not come out of character.

I don't see why it's boring or kill joy-ish (so not a word but never mind!) to teach children how to perform from the off.

I think he was given bad advice. He should shout.

siredmund

And "wavegate"! Coming soon to a school near you.

I had no idea waving could be so frowned upon?!!!!

Seriously, it's a nativity in a school for young children - why on earth does it need to be professional, accurate and so important?

MrsDV - yours sounds delightful and very similar to DS1s yesterday. We had baby Jesus upside down, Mary saying her dress itched, two slips onto bums and lots of waving and giggling, completely perfect to me.

I think schools should gently remind children before not to wave/shout to parents BUT you will never stop them from doing so. There will always be some who in the excitement forget that which is fine.

In the same way they are told that they have to sit still, say or sing certain things at the right time but rarely all do.

YABU - It seems a very simple instruction to me. Do your best and don't wave - make it a proper show. I was involved in loads of productions at Nursery and Primary School, I don't remember anyone waving. But then that was before the time that the parents thought it was cute for their pfbs to do whatever they wanted

Are you worried that your child is incapable of following a basic instruction? Punishment for waving does seem harsh but an instruction not to wave seems perfectly normal.

YABU.

DC's school tell the children the same thing, but there's no ban on parents giving a little wave to their child so the child knows where they are. The child's face lights up, they smile, but they concentrate on the play/assembly.

Everybody happy.

They are allowed to wave back once they're leaving the stage though.

Domino

Do you have children of your own?

Def in the no waving camp here too. It's all part of learning to put on a performance.

Why do you need to be "acknowledged" by your child by having them wave at you? It's usual to have 5 minutes at the end for hugs and accolades (and waves, if you really need them) before the children go back to class.
Isn't that enough? You can smile at them during the performance if they need to reassure themselves that you're there.

How pa can you get, FBworry? . I've got children, and I can see the sense of what Domino said.

CabbageLeaves - DD's school does that too. Makes sense to me - you don't really want the children getting distracted from their lines and acting by waving and giggling at mummy and daddy. We spend ages getting the children to learn the lines after all.

Wave-gate, indeed

Ours do the tiniest acknowledgement of their parents, a tiny wave or smile, as they come into the hall.
Then the performance.
Then at the end the head graciously allows five minutes for photos/waving/ PFB Oscar presentations before the children disappear from whence they came.

No idea why some people thing by a simple request of avoiding waving in the middle of the actual play then means children will sit po-faced and not still look adorable and cute?

Have watched all of DD's school plays - they do the wave at the start and then they do their play. In the 7 years of plays so far all has been lovely and cute, with the odd mistakes and fumbles, the mis-matched singing, etc. Perfect.

Likewise have been in an infant school and we have also had lovely plays and shows without the need for mad parent/child waving and calling out. Infact done a performance today and yesterday - lots of children smiling sweetly, giggles where it was funny, some missing their lines, some singing wrong words, a child ad-libbing entirely from what they were supposed to say and do.... again, lovely.

No idea what "pa" means.

Well it was actually quite good, ds didn't wave, but got upset because I couldn't acknowledge him, was to far away and he needed a hug to continue the play.

A little boy called X kept calling out his parents and telling them to clap, wave etc... At him and then his dad said we can't son, now allowed, while place burst into laughing.

One of the angels flashed her knickers, (skirt tucked into shorts) Joseph fell asleep and one little sheep took his outfit off as it was itchy. LOL.

(Most were nursery kids) I'm sure the school got the production they wanted...