to think it's very sad that some parents can't be bothered to take their children to the school christmas fair

[emkana]

And before you all start I know that there are 101 very good reasons why some parents can't take their children.

But some could and just choose not to and I think that's sad for their children and sad for the school.

I went to ours yesterday. Held after school so every single person & their parents, grandparents etc etc went into a small hall & classroom simultaneously.
I had to hold coats, 2 bags each & presents/prizes of 3 kids whilst being pushed around by every other person trying to get past me.
went & sat outside on my own in the end as about to burst into tears.
I may emigrate next year. so i'm a wuss.

My dds are old enough to go on their own now (phew!). So we support it fully, with armfuls of change, but I don't have to personally sweat it out with all the crowds. The dds enjoy it better without me, tbh, coz they can spend their money with no parental 'guidance'

Oh, and Cod, our school did the non-uniform thing too. Only they had to bring in chocolate for the chocolate tombola in payment.

Oh yes, that's another thing - I sent in 2 bottles of wine and DC won 2 bottles of squash.

quite a few couldn't be arsed to come to ours,which was after school yesterday- and of course the same handful of people had to run the thing because people just can't be bothered

Judge judge judge away...

By all means judge those parents who NEVER bother with ANYTHING.. but don't make blanket judgements about "people not being arsed".. when you just don't know the reason they were not there.

Perhaps they were ill.
Perhaps their children/child was/were ill.
Perhaps they were broke.
Perhaps they were too knackered/depressed to face it on this occasion.
Perhaps the cat has been sick on the carpet and by the time they'd cleaned it up it was too late..
Perhaps the car wasn't running properly and they didn't feel like getting piss wet through..
Perhaps they had a prior sodding engagement even!!!

Etc!

lr more likely

thery coudlnt be arsed

I am judging the people I asked outside school as a PTA person,whether they would be coming and their responses were because they couldn't be bothered, not for any other reasons - and of course I realise people might not come because of illness/work/no money etc -

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Ours was today. I didn't take my children because they didn't want to go. Not every child likes that sort of thing. Mine are still small, they are not good in noisy, crowded environments and they are not particularly keen on shopping. I'm sure they'll grow into it, but until they do, I will not make them go. There is quite enough going on in the run-up to Christmas.

I did go to help, though.

thank you doodle - that's what I meant

I just have a chip on my shoulder I think because I didn't break my neck to go this one year..

poor shiny- you seemed very stressed in your other thread

yes ds3 onyl lasts half an hour

I would love to go to the school fair, but:-

1. I don't drive and school is quite a distance away.
2. DS is ASD and would totally flip at a busy event!

With my older boys, I was there every step of the way, helping, running a stall, organizing the whole shebang!

So I suppose a lot of the Mums think badly of me too

Why is attending the school fair regarded as a mark of whether one is community-minded or not? Is it permitted to be a committed member of the community who just doesn't like fairs and chooses to support the community in other ways .......

(Feeling mildly cheesed off by the assumption that lack of support for one event signifies "not caring about your child's school")

I think Tigermoth's made some valid points about your school being a community and supporting that if your circumstances permit
It is something people take an interest in when looking at schools for their dcs, so it is sad to hear people say they couldn't be bothered, as opposed to more concrete and valid reasons.
I helped organise this year and ran a popular stall for four hours
I was knackered - but I met loads of parents and even more children, and had a great time
And dd won us a bottle of vouvray on the bottle stall

Ignore me Maryann... I am in whinge mode.. but thanks

DS2 is a tomboholic.

Spent a fortune. Unfortunetly won a mountain of tat.

Well, in our case, Smithgain, we only have one fair a year, it's our main fundraiser, and it really is very good, with a lot of effort from the children in class, and time put in by the teachers and the support staff. Our other events can't accommodate the whole school plus guests due to the size of the hall, and every family in the school knows that
IMO your argument would be a lot more valid for items of definite niche appeal like Bingo Nights or Promises Auctions

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I also work really, really hard to put on a big community event once a year (it doesn't matter what it is, but I can confirm that it is at least as much work as a school fair, if not more so).

I don't expect every member of our local community to attend. Some people love it, and come. Some don't, so they don't.

Enough people come to make it work, so that's fine.

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No, I guess it doesn't. So you have me there!

I suppose it depends whether the school fair is the single major fundraiser of the year, in which case I can understand people's frustration about those who genuinely can't be bothered.

Or whether it is one of several events, in which case people should be free to decide how they give their support, without being attacked for failure to attend one event.

And I swore I'd have an early night now, so I'm going before I concede any more ground

yes, school event is a bit different to a community event - all the proceeds of ours go straight into PTA funds which finance trips and extras for all the children