Husband to not attend nursery graduation?

[AleenaM]

Nursery graduation at the end of the month and summer party right after, but husband says he has a sports/hobby competition that day. Don't know if he's joking but even the suggestion annoys me.

AIBU to expect him to attend party? Child won't graduate again but I'm sure they'll be competitions again. He is just getting back into this sport and it's a regional competition, it's not like a once in a lifetime olympics or something ...

It's just last day of nursery before they go to school. They haven't taken any exams or achieved anything, no parents should be guilt tripped into attending. For some reason the nursery staff have given themselves (and parents) extra work by making this a "thing"

If it was a degree graduation, after GSCEs, A-Levels and 3years (or more of study) fair enough then parents expected to attend. Even a school prize giving where children have worked hard for exams or results would be important.

lol, don’t be daft, most will habe max one. If any. Parent there,

'Expect' King Charles is he?

Sure nice to do family stuff but a 4 yo 'graduation' the world will still carry on

YABU

Nursery 'graduations' are just a photo opportunity.

They're leaving assemblies under a new modern name.

If you're going, you can take the photos.

I finished Nursery in 1977, and did not get a graduation. Now I want a retrospective one and will scream and scream until i”m sick if I don’t get one.😡

I have 4 children. The youngest is 10. Not one of them remembers their "graduation" from nursery.

2 of them don't even remember the teachers names 😂

Graduate from nursery? Seriously?

Nursery graduation - whatever next!?

I'm with your OH on this one - let him enjoy his sport. It's just the last day at nursery - end of, no biggy.

Surely to god they don't have gowns and mortar boards!!??

I picked our eldest up on their last day of nursery. Got a bit teary. Took a picture to mark the moment.
DH picked youngest up on last day of nursery. Took picture at my request to mark the moment, which also made me get a bit teary when he shared.
i really don't think there is a need for both parents to be there, as long as one is. There are so many events and 'special moments' in a child's school journey, it makes sense to me to share them between both parents and wider family / grandparents too where possible.
if I had something major on personally or for work, it's down to me to decide what I want or can prioritise.
The most important thing for me is being willing to drop everything when health or personal emergencies crop up, and the 'nice to mark' moments are shared between you as much as possible.

It’s not an event the OP chose to put on, it’s actually a fairly common occurrence in nurseries up and down the country. Yes it’s all a bit American probably and obviously unnecessary but no more so than the countless assemblies, award evenings, nativities and end of term performances that will pepper the entirety of primary school.

It’s just a nice way of giving the little ones a bit of a send off before they go to school, some will have been at the same nursery since they were babies. The ones I’ve worked in don’t make them wear caps or gowns or anything, they just sing a song together, have pictures with the members of staff and their friends etc then have a little party afterwards.

I don’t know why some posters have to get so affronted by it, it’s so boringly Mumsnet to come over all superior about stuff like this.

Nursery graduation 😆 😆

I’ve been a teacher for over 30 years. Every school I have worked in has had nurseries. Not one of them has succumbed to the nonsense that is ‘graduation’.

I think regardless of views on nursery graduation ceremonies, the fact it's an event and made to feel important to the kids, they (kids) attach importance to it and it's understandable that they'd like their parents there, especially when they see their peers parents there too. So for that reason, I think parents should make the effort. It's not the poor kids fault, these ceremonies exist!

Graduate: noun
/ˈɡradʒʊət/

a person who has successfully completed a course of study or training, especially a person who has been awarded an undergraduate or first academic degree.

Your kid's not graduating OP - they're having a nice little leaving celebration. Don't turn it into a big deal it really isn't. It's sweet yes, take some nice photos. But don't elevate it as an occasion.

Nursery graduations aren’t a new thing, my 22 and 20 year olds had nursery graduations with gowns and caps and all! I thought it was OTT then however I now work in early years and if we were to say we weren’t having a nursery graduation there would be an uproar from the parents.

it takes an awful lot of work from all staff in an early years centre to make a graduation show with gowns, caps, certificates, photos, presentations, and not forgetting the songs we have to learn along with the children. Our children have been practicing theses songs for the last 3 months! It certainly would be much easier not to have one!

My dh didn’t come to my kids’ last days at nursery - it was just a little party. They weren’t the least bit bothered and I’ve not had to pay out for therapy for them to deal with the disappointment 😄.

And yes nursery graduations are an utterly ridiculous idea 😂

Why not just let them use the time wasted on this to you know, actually learn!

@2chocolateoranges mine are mid teens and didn’t have all that stuff, thank god! The world has gone mad 😄

I'm now picturing years in the future an adult woman sniffling into a tissue in a psychiatrists office. "...and the time my father refused to attend my graduation because he didn't want to let his regional sports team down" University? "no, nursery. "

Where have you all been, nursery graduations have been a thing for at least 20 years

<feels grateful youngest is 27>

I went to my DD's graduation with my DP. Most children had one parent turning up. Only one other had two parents and another had a parent and both her maternal grandparents.

While the kids played before we picked them up at 5.30pm, 4 of us retired to the nearest pub for about 2 hours.

A few weeks later the kids had a birthday party in the same grounds, which was also a good bye party, most kids had both their parents turning up.

Categorically guarantee nearly all kids will not have both parents there, and some won’t even have two parents.

Yours sang songs!?!

Nah no songs at my DD's nursery graduation.

Mine are younger than 27 and definitely did not 'graduate'. Small party, yes. And one didn't attend because we were on holiday!

My DC are now in their 20s. If I had my time again I would opt out of as much nursery school/primary school nonsense as I could. I would attend the graduation but wouldn't inflict it on anyone else. Also bun making, hours spend on dressing up days, convoluted homework (let's make a space station in card)..why?