To take my daughter out of nursery because of balloons

[Theharvestwidow]

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?

I would take the balloon your DH retrieved into the nursery and ask if any children quoted ‘kill a calf’ as their dream. And ask them never to do this again.

And don’t even think about a Chinese Lantern as an alternative!

I would also write to Head Office and ask if it is a chain wide thing and if so could they raise awareness.

The important thing is stopping them doing it. Whether or not removing your child is the most effective way is debatable.

“Are paper lanterns any better? Can they be biodegradable?”

The ‘biodegradable’ ones tend to be made with bamboo sticks. If these end up in a hayfield and harvested and baled up with the hay, the lethally sharp ends of thin bamboo can be fatal.

Uninflated/burst balloons are a choking hazard to small children too. Although the risk would be very small, I suppose its another reason not to have them.

Yanbu what a disgrace, I also agree with taking it to social media etc if they don't take it seriously.

@BeanBag7

Incorrect, the helium used for medical purposes is a purer grade, balloon helium is taken from the bit not used for medical.

I think it's interesting (in a very positive way) how much the conversation on things like this has shifted over the past ten years. I remember doing a search for past conversations on balloon releases a while back. A decade back, people who objected to stuff like this were accused of being killjoys, hypocrites, "don't you know that this is meaningful to some people, how unkind of you to spoil their fun" etc. Now almost everyone is agreed that it's pointless, selfish behavior.

YANBU, this should be illegal. I would send a photo of the balloon you prized from the calf to the nursery as proof of the damage it does (as if they should need any at all!). Completely irresponsible.

@baubled Yes at present - but there is only a finite amount of helium that can be found, so as time progresses and helium becomes more scarce the less usable helium will need to be refined for medical use, so why waste it escaping to the atmosphere in balloons?

This is exactly why i wont use balloons for children's birthdays

Talk to the nursery, explain. They probably haven’t even thought it through properly. No need to get too jet up about it.

Yeah, I remember reading about a balloon release that was organized in honor of a girl who choked to death. I was shocked at the irony. Let’s release hundreds of choke hazards into the environment. There are just literally hundreds of alternative things you could do instead of a balloon release. I don’t get why people are so insistent on them.

YANBU

I will definitely check out the farmers weekly article on this

A quick google will give lots of articles

@Ariela pure helium is needed for medical grade, what they use for balloons will never be pure enough so it can't be used either way, it would just be escaping in to the atmosphere if it wasn't taken for balloons.

Mass balloon release.

How bloody stupid and ridiculous can you get.

I'd write a letter to the Head Office and enclose a photo of rescued calf whilst I'm at it.

@baubled We do not know how science will improve the purification of helium over time. We do know there is only a limited amount available, a bit silly to speculate. If there is no demand for balloon helium and high demand for medical helium yet supply is proving difficult and expensive, then someone will try purifying what they can find.

I would assume the nursery managers didn’t know. I can’t imagine it’s busy because they don’t care. Could you just let them know. If they’re apologetic and it doesn’t happen again, I think that’s fine. While ignorance isn’t always an excuse, people only know what they know.

^just because they don’t care, I mean.

Okay @Ariela whatever you say, you clearly know lots about it.

Helium is needed for scientific research as well as medical uses, and it’s damn irresponsible to waste it on balloons. In addition to the waste of aluminum and plastic, and the horrible multi-layered litter these balloons constitute, and the risk to animals and aquatic life. Sometimes I wonder how humanity got so stupid.

Balloons should be banned!. You are definitely nbu.

I think you are completely unreasonable!
Most children love balloons and the nursery apparently just wanted to do something very lovely and special for them. They might not have thought of possible negative consequences to the environment.
I'd simply talk to them and make them aware of the environmental damage and the danger to animals.

But taking your child out of the nursery, only because of that, is quite an overreaction, especially because I am sure that you, as well as everyone here who agrees with you, do a lot of environmentally unfriendly things that aren't necessary as well - because of convenience, comfort, unawareness etc.

I agree with SmartPlay. Educate, because if you leave they might carry on, if you remain they would surely change their plans for fear of upsetting you and you pulling your child out/making a negative fuss in the local press

YANBU how stupid are they? They absolutely should not be releasing plastic into the environment

No, I don't think you should move nursery, or go in al outraged.

People do this because they don't understand , you are in a unique position to help them understand.

Ask if you can do a talk fo the kids, take a phot of the calf and intoroduce the calf to the kids, give him/her a name and really lay it on thick.
Then explain how lucky the calf was because last week it nearly died. explain about the balloon, and have a happy ending with your dh as the hero farmer who rescued the calf from the balloon.

They will never forget, neither will the staff listening.