Me 'mummy doesn't work' ,dd2 'of course you don't ,you're not a man'.

[Waltonswatcher]

AIBU for laughing at this statement and should I take back the Dyson I've bought her for Christmas ?

How anyone could be po faced about a two year olds deductions is beyond me.

Brave of you to post this, though, OP, so many ott types on MN.

It's not funny though. It's a shame that's her impression. The way you've handled it is sensible but funny it is not.

She is TWO!

When DS1 was 3 I drove past the building I used to work in and pointed it out to him.

"WHAT?!" he replied. "YOU used to work in an OSSICE?!" complete with cute preschooler speech impediment.

I'm a lone parent so my DCs only me working. Teachers are female at school. By chance our GP has always been female.

My DS was 4 when he had to have an operation. The surgeon came to chat, she reassured him that the anaesthetist would be over to see him shortly. DS was horrified to see that the anaesthetist was a man. I don't think he'd knowingly come across a man at work before.

Precious - the Queen would be beheaded in our role play . Dd may only be 2 but she's already a republican !

I wonder if any of the shocked or saddened posters on this thread also feel that way when 2 year olds think every man they see is 'Daddy', or that the cartoons on telly are real?
She's 2, she's got a cute misunderstanding of how grown ups work. I'm pretty sure I was under the impression that daddies worked and mummies stayed at home at that age. As I got older I learned that wasn't the case, obviously.

I'd have laughed too, OP.

we were not told she was 2 in the OP - I still would not have laughed.

She's 2!!

If she sees a lot of women/mums around most of the time because they're all on mat leave or working p/t, it's a perfectly normal assumption for a 2 year old to make.

2 year olds think all sorts of outlandish stuff. It is funny

The fact that she's only 2 is exactly what makes it NOT funny.

I doubt that a true "women's lib freak" would find it funny nor post so in AIBU.

The role of a mother who doesn't work is open to huge debate and inspection . I get sick of it .
I don't feel the need to justify my choice . Yes ,I'm aware that choice has left me financially vulnerable and dependent upon my Dh (taat).
I'm a SAHM . I won't apologise for that temporarily blurring my toddlers eyes .
She said it , I giggled and moved on knowing her world gets bigger daily whilst mine shrinks . And the responses on here prove it .

It's a bit sad to me thatiit's regarded as cute that 2 year old see the world like this naturally and adjustments are required via education.

Well, she's exactly the right age for debunking myths and preconceptions (and goodness they come to some funny conclusions while they try to make sense of the world). You could say something like "Actually lots of mummies do work". And if she asks why you don't, tell her it's because you wanted to stay at home with her while she was small. Win win win. She understands that it's "normal" for women to work, but feels loved and special at the same time.

And by saying that, I am NOT saying that the children of parents who go out to work aren't loved or special!!! It's just all in the presentation at this age.

2 year olds are so random, how can anyone be shocked by what they say?
My DD called the owner of our paper shop Daddy for weeks - he moved over here from India 5 years ago and is very much not her Father, he thought it was hilarious (thank God) - nobody was shocked by it!
Mine probably thinks Mummies stay at home and don't work as well - I work from home at the moment, as she grows older she will come to realise that different people have different situations. Toddlers are so self centred they just don't understand yet.
Massive over reaction to be shocked and sad, and a bit silly.

She is 2. At 2 my dd thought that my dh worked in McDonalds, that my 5'8 d neice was the tallest girl in the world and that Santa lived in top of the gasometer.

Mummy= female caregiver (also often extends to DCs' teachers!)
Daddy= male caregiver (or any other bloke who is kind to them).

Children are so funny (odd and haha).

I think it's funny!

My DS used to call the Hoover the mummy push and the lawnmower the daddy push and he once expressed complete and utter horror when he spotted a women driving a white van!

It was just a reflection of his very little experience of the world and we obviously talked to him and put him right on things as simply as we could.

Now of course he and my DD are perfectly aware that both men and women work and that even though I'm a SAHM I am only able to be one because of the 20 years of working to earn and save money that I did before they arrived.

According to my 2 year old (a long time ago ) "daddy goes to work to play golf"

He was quite convinced, poor daddy only really went on a Saturday morning if he was very lucky!!!!

I suppose you could just explain that women who stay at home raising children are actually working, since caring for children is work? Or is it only work if you're paying someone else to do it?

By laughing you reinforced her perception. Her perception is that men work and women stay at home. I don't care whether she's 2 or 22 you could have challenged her perception because it's not correct.
What's wrong with saying 'oh some mummies work too'?

I am not on about the role of mothers who don't work or in you justifying your choices OP - just that you personally told us that out of all the things you could have done you chose to laugh at her opinion.

(I was a SAHM too)