Female teacher calling dc beautiful

[Minty197]

Y1 class. Teacher is female and says bye beautiful to some of the girls at drop off when dc run to their parents. Would you see this as ok

There’s not one part of me that would be bothered by this. Maybe the kids are beautiful people.

It's a hard one.

I know it's meant to as sweet and cute and no harm. But I've worked with children before and I've never said "bye beautiful" to them

Don't comment on people's looks is a good rule of thumb

If a man said to me "bye beautiful" at work, I wouldn't like it.

Thanks everyone for your views. I’m not judging at all, I think it’s nice. I just wondered as a parent had mentioned it to me. I think it might only have been said to a select few so far

Also I don’t use the word for just looks I often say someone is a beautiful person but I’m referring to the personality.

But we live in the " first world". So we are always going to have first world problems.

If I could stop all the wars around the world, I would. Its not that easy.

I'm not responsible for them and I didn't start them.

Do you plan on stopping the Israal/ Palestine conflict that's been going on for many years? How?

Bye beautiful would be fine.

But hugging some kids and not others. That would irritate me.

Would you say it about a man ?

@Calliopespa "But then there was a thread the other day where people thought saying “ hi beautiful” was intolerably misogynistic so there will be people who strongly object"

Context is all. As I suspect you well know.

So do I! Also not a teacher but I call my close friends’ sons “beautiful boy!” and their daughters “beautiful girl!” They are all gorgeous kids tbf but maybe I am biased 😄

Absolutely this. I was never called beautiful or pretty by my parents as a child. I think it’s part of the reason I have a bit of a compliment complex as an adult. I’d loved to have been called beautiful by a teacher, it’d make me feel special. Like you say, every child deserves to know they’re beautiful in someone’s eyes, if not told by their own parents/caregivers.

Edited as I quoted the wrong post!!!

I would take it more as they are good kids and it's not a comment on appearance but temperament

@MyOtherCarIsAPorsche Aw I love Chuckle Button 😂I used to get called Flower Bud by my grandparents 😊

I think it's lovely when adults (teachers or not!) call kids things like 'lovely' and 'beautiful' - not every child has a nice home life or hears terms of endearment from their family!

Why would anyone have a problem with this? In the scheme of things is it that bad? Teachers really cannot win.

@Minty197 term of endearment! absolutely nothing sinister in it!

It's just thoughtless, but it's reinforcing sexist values.

I'd hope that teachers would be thinking about these things a bit more and trying to avoid.

But the point that @goody2shooz makes is that there are kids who literally have no homes, no families, can't go to school, are being abused etc etc.

And we're here asking if calling a child 'beautiful' is acceptable or not.

It only is if only the girls are called beautiful. If she calls all the kids beautiful there’s obviously no sexist undertone there.

Because she's only saying it to girls, and perhaps only to some girls.

It reinforces that the ideal for a girl is to be 'beautiful' and that how she looks is important if she wants the teachers affection/ praise.

She's picking out particular girls to say this to, who have her favour (and children will absolutely notice if it is not said to them but has been said to someone else).

I'm sure it's subconscious and not intentional, but then these things always are.

Doesn't make it OK - a teacher should have more awareness.

It says in the OP that it is said to girls.

I don't think it's a big deal, unless it's only ever said to a selected group, in which case I wouldn't be happy at all. One of the teachers my two sons had, called the kids 'lovely' sometimes. 'Bye lovely!' She used it for both boys and girls. She was a wonderful teacher and I always thought it seemed heartfelt.

🤣🤣🤣

I would definitely describe some
men as beautiful.

Depends if by “some” you mean she only has pet names for some of the children. Or if by some you mean she says “beautiful” at random. I wouldn’t be overly keen on the former while the latter is ok.

That said, it’s a bit familiar and I’m not sure people would like a male Y1 teacher saying it (as opposed to something more gender neutral like “ champ” or “mate”). So however you look at it either it’s perpetuating a sex stereotype or it’s only ok because she’s female. No problem with prismry teachers using pet names but “beautiful” is a little bit weird.

There is no way on this planet that the OP knows what the teacher is calling every single child 😂Not unless she's stood next to them and making a list anyway.