Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To take my daughter out of nursery because of balloons

181 replies

Theharvestwidow · 14/07/2019 22:38

My husband is a farmer and today came home with a balloon with long ribbon attached, which he rescued from a calf trying to eat it in the field. We have realised it is from DDs local nursery as part of a mass balloon release (this is the second such event in the space of a few months). It seems this time each balloon had a child’s name and what they want to be when they grow up and were released as part of class ‘graduating’. The previous event last month was I think to raise money for local firefighters, they wanted us to donate £1 for a balloon but I refused to take part. It’s a big chain nursery.

Husband and I are obviously lovers of the countryside (and the planet in general!) and I feel really strongly about cutting down on the use of plastics and littering/rubbish etc. I’m going to take the balloon in to nursery and write a strongly worded email to head office as I wonder if this kind of activity is dictated by some central policy, but I do feel in this day and age with so much more focus and understanding on environmental issues, that it’s a bit nuts to still be encouraging our next generation to do this and want to consider looking for a different nursery which acts more responsibly...AIBU?

OP posts:
Jurassicmuma · 15/07/2019 06:42

*shed

edgeofheaven · 15/07/2019 06:45

I am astounded that a nursery thought this was a good idea! YANBU!

kalinkafoxtrot45 · 15/07/2019 06:49

Go in and tell them about the balloon, get them to commit to finding another activity, and then your daughter can stay. If they are pigheaded about this then I’d move her and also publicise the danger of the balloon releases but let that be a last step, not the first.

DocusDiplo · 15/07/2019 06:50

YanBu but chill in letter.

lollipopguild · 15/07/2019 06:59

Social media

billybagpuss · 15/07/2019 07:02

One of our local primary schools used to do this and banned it a couple of years back, the response from parents was very split with ‘little Jonny is so upset his brother was allowed this but he won’t’, to ‘thank god for that ridiculous practice’

megletthesecond · 15/07/2019 07:05

Cam I add water balloons to the need to be banned list.
I'm sick of litter picking hundreds of fragments of balloon because the kids in the neighbourhood have been hurling them at each other.

DtPeabodysLoosePants · 15/07/2019 07:12

Our school did balloon releases until 2 years ago. I'd emailed and stated the environmental impact then they changed it to bubbles. Not as visually effective at all but better for the environment. I'm not sure what they are planning this year but I know they don't use balloons anymore.

Morgan12 · 15/07/2019 07:17

I had no idea this was a bad thing, what do they do? Do the kill cows?

BogglesGoggles · 15/07/2019 07:18

Most nurseries are pretty grim. I wouldn’t do this without finding a suitable alternative first.

HillRunner · 15/07/2019 07:24

YANBU

Balloon releases are just a pretty way of littering, anyone with half a brain can see that. Explain the issue to the nursery first and see what their response is. If the responses isn't good, I'd remove your child on the basis that you don't want them being taught that this is ok.

FamilyOfAliens · 15/07/2019 07:25

Your poor calf, OP. Hope she’s ok.

I’m so pleased the opinion is unanimous on this thread. Without wishing to be harsh, you often get a lot of emotional blackmail (how could anyone object to us commemorating X however we want?), so maybe things have moved on in the past couple of years since I stopped reading these threads.

ReganSomerset · 15/07/2019 07:26

@Morgan12

They're pretty awful, environmentally speaking. Here you go:

balloonsblow.org/

EugenesAxe · 15/07/2019 07:33

YANBU they are dicks. Maybe nursery’s next event could be professionals coming into talk about their work, and your DH can tell them all about balloon releases hurting baby animals Hmm

Yet again, this is a basic pro-environment shutdown the government should have been quickly onto and banned, but they’re too busy being wankers and sorting out Brexit.

Other option is a post on local FB showing your lovely calves and the balloon that nearly harmed them, with a mention of this nursery’s policy on balloon releases. Hopefully that will help.

Fibbke · 15/07/2019 07:36

Yanbu

Idiots

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 15/07/2019 07:45

It could be down to thoughtless ignorance of the dangers - never underestimate the amount of thoughtless ignorance about!

If it were me, I think I'd ask to see the manager and tell her precisely what happened to that particular balloon - and wait to see her reaction before deciding to withdraw your child - that is of course if you're otherwise happy with the nursery..
I'd like to think she'd be horrified and very apologetic.

summerofladybird · 15/07/2019 07:59

YANBU. Take your message and show them.

ImportantWater · 15/07/2019 08:07

If it is a big chain nursery you could check what their sustainability policies are/ should be, and send an email with your concerns to the management, not to get the setting into trouble but just to alert the chain they may want to review their sustainability policies. It is something chains are looking at, like this one www.topsdaynurseries.co.uk/about-tops/caring-for-our-planet/

BullBullBull · 15/07/2019 08:07

ffs. The helium used isn’t medical grade! It’s different

BullBullBull · 15/07/2019 08:08

Sick of posters not educating themselves on that tbh

Theharvestwidow · 15/07/2019 08:32

Thanks for all the responses and links/suggestions, so glad it’s not just me that finds this distasteful. I will definitely check out the farmers weekly article on this.

Too answer a few people’s questions about the previous event, i confess I didn’t raise it at the time, partly because the manager was on holiday so by the time she returned I felt like I had ‘missed my window’ but also because we have had some issues with the nursery constantly sending dd back with nappy rash every time she goes (only 2 days a week), so I didn’t want to detract at the time from getting this sorted and come across as one of those mums that just moans about everything!

OP posts:
Frazzled2207 · 15/07/2019 08:33

Yanbu but I'd wait to see their response

I'd bet that they haven't really thought about the environmental impact.
I bet lots of other parents feel like you do.
Pics of the harm they caused would help.

cloudyinjune · 15/07/2019 08:33

I bloody hate balloon releases. DH and are forever rescuing from fields.
Very poor choice for fire fighter charity as well as they often end on electrical lines.
I would write to nursery and see if you can get other parents to help.
I would then suggest that for the graduation the children plant a seed as something that will last forever and they have a little graduation patch. Wooden sticks on the soil with children's name.
Sometimes all you have to do is offer an alternative.
Good luck OP

gamerchick · 15/07/2019 08:35

Sick of posters not educating themselves on that tbh

Ah come on, you've always got the die hard types who won't be told otherwise on any given topic.

Helium is for medical scanners
Council houses are subsidised
Smokers are scum
Brexit people are thick and racist

It goes on Grin

SerenDippitty · 15/07/2019 08:36

At best it’s intentional littering. At worst it is dangerous and irresponsible.