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?

I sing

Babies on the bus go waa waa waa

Mummies say shh shh shh

Daddies say I love you

Driver says move on back

Think it was an American version I heard and much prefer it

My bus goes "all day long" rather than "all through the town".

I'm not sure we had daddies on our bus at all. Children chattered and mummies shushed. We had knitting grandmas and snoring grandads too.

Re the change, you have to have the exact fare here. So we could have "the tourist on the bus says '£20 note'", "the driver on the bus says 'I don't give change'" and "the tourist on the bus says 'that's not fair!'"

“I agree with you, OP. But the professionally unoffended always have a lovely time displaying their underthinking skills on subjects like this! “

Down / I 100% agree with you. It's just another reinforcement of women are silly chatterboxes and men are the real grownups.

Jack and Jill went up the hill to make themselves a daughter, jack went down and broke Jill's "crown", and Jill returned the favour...

Ok... needs some work.

@PillowOfSociety

“I agree with you, OP. But the professionally unoffended always have a lovely time displaying their underthinking skills on subjects like this!”

Seconded. Was so busy underthinking that I nearly soiled myself.

Ahh, @BertrandRussell - we can't all be as intellectually gifted as you with your superior understanding of the sexism of nursery rhymes .

Just as an aside, I'm pretty sure there have been studies showing that women use more words per minute than men, so strictly speaking the mummies on the bus going 'chatter, chatter, chatter' is culturally accurate

And the wheels on the bus going through the town is an Americanism - the British version is all day long.

We had Daddies reading their papers I suppose it would be phones/tablets/iPad these days. I always saw it as Dad's being rather silly and unaware of their surroundings.

In the version we had mummies said shh in response to babies crying and daddies said I love you. Never heard your version.

I've never heard a version with daddies in. We just say mummies go sush sush sush. Babies go wah wah wah. Conductors go move along please, move along please, move along please, wipers go swish swish swish, toddlers up and down up and down up and down. Horn goes beep beep beep. Think that's it.

"Ahh, @BertrandRussell - we can't all be as intellectually gifted as you with your superior understanding of the sexism of nursery rhymes"

Clearly.

@BertrandRussell

"Ahh, @BertrandRussell - we can't all be as intellectually gifted as you with your superior understanding of the sexism of nursery rhymes"

Clearly.

Succint.

*succinct.

If the piggy is going to market to be slaughtered, how come the other piggy is eating roast beef?

Don’t offend the vegans! 😱

When I sing it with my dds the people on the bus go chat chat chat, because I don't like the stereotyping either.

Reminds me, based on recent(ish) events in Birmingham, we need "The killer on the bus goes stab stab stab".

Never heard your version before....dud you just make it up OP to cause a argument?

🙄

Are you honestly saying the idea of a nursery rhyme displaying sexism is so ludicrous that it’s more likely the OP made it up?

She’s not making it up.

What would you prefer?

The mummies on the bus go “I’m a CEO, I’m a CEO, I’m a CEO!”

The daddies on the bus go “women are smart, women are smart, women are smart”

Discussions, books read, and behaviour at home shape children's minds. Not nursery rhymes, IMHO.

Why would a book a toddler reads have more influence than a song? What’s your logical argument for that?

The version we sing at toddler group is 'mummies go chatter, babies go waa, daddies go Shh' but at home we only sing 'wipers go swish, mummies go chatter, daddies go Shh' out of the whole song as that's all ds joins in the actions with! So I always thought of it as the daddies are shhing the crying babies, not the chattering mummies.

Reminds me, based on recent(ish) events in Birmingham, we need "The killer on the bus goes stab stab stab"

Ffs.

Really?????

Get a grip op I have been working with children for over 25 years and this song is sung all the time in settings.

Please.

Get a grip. ( and a life)

I could think of worse to sing with children

Itchytights as a person working with younger children how do you actively find and manage the gender stereotyping?