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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To have told DD not to read out loud in class if she doesn’t want to?

376 replies

AberforthDumbledoresGoat · 13/10/2025 06:31

DD has a lisp. It has greatly improved as she’s gotten older but it is still very noticeable and she’s quite young still (primary). She struggles with ‘th’ and ‘f’ and can be quite self conscious about it, particularly around her classmates.

Her teacher has started having the class read out loud whichever book they are reading that week. Each child speaks until she says ‘stop.’

Recently DD was incredibly upset when I met her at the gates (she saw me and burst into tears and was quite hysterical). Her classmates had laughed at her in class and the teacher had ignored it other than to ask for quiet and the bullying had continued all day. I gently raised it with the school and asked that she not be asked to speak as, in my eyes, embarrassing her in front of 20 other children is not going to help her lisp and I just don’t think you do that to a young child. The teacher said no.

So, I told DD she was to refuse to read out loud if she doesn’t want to. She did exactly that - cue exasperated teacher at the gates asking to speak to me. The teacher absolutely refused to understand that embarrassing DD in front of her classmates was counterproductive and she ended up saying it was causing her problems as other children were now refusing to read out loud.

I did lose my temper slightly and pointed out if she had taken action, and addressed the classmates laughing at DD in class over her lisp, that this wouldn’t have been an issue. I also said I didn’t care if other children were disrupting the class by refusing to read.

WIBU to have told her to refuse to read given how upset she was?

OP posts:
Inlimboin50s · 16/10/2025 13:55

I'm so sorry your dd has this to deal with. I was her,but it started at secondary school.
It got so bad that when the pupils had to stand upfront of the class and do a speech or read,I couldn't do it and used to lie,saying I was ill and could I go to the sickbay( bed in a room by reception). Every single time for about three years until the head teacher had a chat to me. She said I could take an object to hold in the future so I didn't have to look at the class. This really didn't help but it encouraged me to stay in class and try.
I started bedwetting at 12 and just remember how awful it all was,also didn't help that the other kids were even more intrigued to see if I'd leave the room.
I practiced I front of a mirror to speak without a lisp and as an adult it's pretty invisable,though public speaking is still a massive fear.
All the best Op

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