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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to think first day of primary school celebrations are excessive?

252 replies

EineyMiney · 18/08/2026 10:26

Hi, we live in Scotland so today was DSs first day of school, starting primary 1. I’m just home from dropping him off and I can’t help but think what a circus!
We didn’t do anything special, just a normal school morning, no balloons, DH didn’t take the morning off, no grandparents came over. I was really trying to make sure DS wasn’t overwhelmed.
However, when I dropped DS off, there were multiple families with both parents, younger siblings, grandparents at the gate getting pictures. The school did say only 2 parents in the classroom but even this felt like too many and I’m not sure why it couldn’t be one parent per child.
In addition to that I noticed almost all the children had the bloody expensive optional blazers! Why? They are only 4 or 5!
Then I got home opened instagram and now I’m seeing plenty of children with balloons saying first day of school!

AIBU to think this is totally excessive and not necessary and probably not even good for the children who are just going to be overwhelmed.

OP posts:
riceuten · 20/08/2026 16:10

EineyMiney · 18/08/2026 10:26

Hi, we live in Scotland so today was DSs first day of school, starting primary 1. I’m just home from dropping him off and I can’t help but think what a circus!
We didn’t do anything special, just a normal school morning, no balloons, DH didn’t take the morning off, no grandparents came over. I was really trying to make sure DS wasn’t overwhelmed.
However, when I dropped DS off, there were multiple families with both parents, younger siblings, grandparents at the gate getting pictures. The school did say only 2 parents in the classroom but even this felt like too many and I’m not sure why it couldn’t be one parent per child.
In addition to that I noticed almost all the children had the bloody expensive optional blazers! Why? They are only 4 or 5!
Then I got home opened instagram and now I’m seeing plenty of children with balloons saying first day of school!

AIBU to think this is totally excessive and not necessary and probably not even good for the children who are just going to be overwhelmed.

It's similar in England - add together some parents are utterly hysterical about "letting go" of their children to go to schools. It's unedifying and badly affects kids to see mums a-weeping and a-wailing as they go off to the classroom. Every bloody year (I live next to a school)

Moonboots123 · 20/08/2026 18:05

BoredZelda · 20/08/2026 13:41

“Obviously?”

We had a P1 photoshoot done with our daughter. Not because of instagram, but because we got some excellent photos and gave them to grandparents and aunties. If we relied just on school photos we wouldn’t have had any decent school photos of our girl.

I cringe for you

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