To want to complain about Wheels on the Bus?

[Downwiththatsortofthing252]

I really don't want to be that parent but...

My DS who is 2 and a half is singing the wheels on the bus with the lyrics 'the mummies on the bus go chatter chatter chatter... etc' and then after that 'the daddies on the bus go stop that noise... etc'

He's picked it up from nursery, who I didn't think would teach these lyrics, they're normally really good and on the ball with things. I hate the stereotype the lyrics are projecting that mummies are silly and daddies are impatient.

I know there's another version with the mummies saying I love you, WIBU to ask nursery to change what they teach?

Come on we all know there are a thousand variations of this song and we could pick it apart all day.

Not all babies cry on a bus (offensive to all babies?)
Not all wipers go swish, some go swish/clunk (offensive to ??wipers?)
Not all children go up and down (offensive to perfect parents who think all children can sit still on a moving bus?)
Not all policemen outside the bus shout at the driver (offensive to policewomen?)

The world is going mad I tell you :) obvs light-hearted reply.

I wouldn’t have thought they were stereotyping as dads tend to be the silly ones and mums tend to be shushing???? So they’re breaking stereotypes if anything lol. Seriously I think you need to unclench a bit 😂

@downwith we are re writing history right now! Feels good 😂

It’s not political correctness at all. It’s stupid to be singing such things in the first place. How can you knowingly sing a tune or whatever which you know to be stupid? Would you sing “mummies on the bus are uneducated” and “daddies on the bus all went to uni”??

I mean taken in isolation it's really minor...but it's still part of a narrative that reinforces gender stereotypes. Every little tiny thing that says 'girls do this, boys do this' adds up. So the song itself isn't a big deal on its own, but it's part of a larger issue about microaggressions.

I'm not sure if I'd complain about it but I might use it as a chance to come up with some new, more inclusive lyrics with my child and make our own version that has mummies doing something that isn't nagging or chattering.

As for people who say things like 'Nonsense, I did XYZ as a kid and it never changed my opinion', with all due respect, you've no idea how it's influenced your beliefs. Sometimes subtle things can have an effect that you don't recognise. It's impossible to tell.

In the version I know, the daddies go 'nod, nod, nod' as in they fall asleep. Which is probably because they have to listen to the mummies chatter

@7salmonswimming that's getting into the swing of things!

In the version sung at the only group I tolerate, there are 2 verses as follows...

The tiger on the bus goes 'roooaaarrrr' rooaar, rooaaarrr
And
The people on the bus go 'aaagghh! There's a tiger! Aaqggh tiger, aggh tiger!'

Which cracks me up

It’s the use of the word “chatter” which is only ever used about women and implies meaningless frivolous talk rather than important stuff like what the important men talk about.
So, yes, everyday sexism and it’s right to notice and discuss this

Back in the late eighties at playgroup we all sang along to..
The mummies on the bus go smack, smack, ouch!
Amazing looking back on it.😲

@standard that Made me laugh more than it should 😂

I love it Conseula.

The floor on the bus is strangely sticky, strangely sticky, strangely sticky...
The school kids on the bus shout and swear, shout and swear, shout and swear...
The adults on the bus bitch and moan, bitch and moan, bitch and moan...
Everyone on the bus is late again, late again, late again...

@Conseulabananahammock

I nominate you to write the official 21st Century version of this sadly dated classic

I feel like together we are creating a modern day masterpiece !

@Roboticmary I'm not worked up, and yes like I've said before there are bigger things going on in the world, but the small things do add up.

I certainly won't go in guns blazing and stamping my feet if I don't get my way, but I'll probably mention it to the nursery head in a casual way,if at all

All the versions I've heard have been the people on the bus go chatter, chatter, chatter.

@screaming I love a good challenge 😂

Fuck. Right. Off.

I'm so glad I started this thread, just for the tiger verse!

@consuela and @standard, you two need to get together and rewrite the song once and for all

There's got to be material for a manspreading verse.

DD1 rewrote it once while on the tram to "the wheels on the bus are on a tram" when she was younger.

And once we finish with this song, we'll start on the 'This little piggy went to market...' rhyme, since it's exclusionary to the poor piggy who stayed at home...

😂😂😂

Ah the sahp...a cautionary tale for all future sausages !

I've been here too long.

I'm sure we had this thread before.

Anyway, the Mummies on the Bus go chatter, chatter, chatter on account of their excellent communication skills. Not because they are silly.

It's terrible isn't it. Wheels on the sexist bus, Baa baa racist sheep, wind the bobbin up discriminating against people without knees.

Maybe we should abolish all songs for children and then no one at all will be offended? That seems sensible.