To think to to put parents instead of Father and Mother would be better

[Northernlurker]

on the home - school agreement we've just receieved for dd1's new school.

At the bottom you have to sign to say you will be good support the school. There are two spaces one (the top one) for father's signature, the lower one for mother's signature.

Now I'm not too happy with the ordering of the signatures (why does father come first? Alpahabetical or something more sinister and patriarchal? ) but what's really bugging me is the assumption that every child has one father and one mother.

What about gay and lesbian parents? What about the family where the step-parent is the present one and the biological parent lives on the other side of the world? What about the family with a biological parent who lives in Scotland so it will be the step-parent doing all the day to day stuff? What about the child whose parents are dead and who lives with grandparents or friends?

Am I being unreasonable to think they should just put parents/guardians?

No MissSunny - it's a mixed state comprehensive.

Dh agrees with me that it's odd (would he dare do anything else? ) and we will point it out to the school.

I don't mind people disagreeing with me at all - that's why I posted in AIBU - but of course I think I'm right and they're.......misguided

Why pose the question in the first place?Just get on with nagging the school to re-type the form to include parent/guardian or your exhaustive list of alternatives! I'm sure they will oblige. How dare they not ....

YANBU, we're a lesbian couple, I'd accept that they weren't trying to cause offence but I would cross out Father.

YANBU, we are a het, married couple but i would be offended by Father and Mother lines to fill in. It IS an official form and there ARE plenty of families with different set ups.

Its easy to say - oh dont' get wound up about it - its not important. But often its the little things which ARE important to fight - because they are easy to change and because once you stop questioning the little things you lose the moral ground to question the big things.

Like giving children pinkybeige and saying its 'skin colour'
Like saying "ask your mums to help you with your cooking"
Like labelling the designs in kids facepainting sets for girls or boys

I'd cross out Mother and Father, write in Parents and add both our names on one line with mine first because I do most of the school liason and childcare.
I'd also have a quiet word with the school and ask if they could change the wording to parent(s)/ Carer(s)