to have been slightly disapproving of the lyrics of literally ALL the songs sung in DD's mother's day assembly today?

[HerBeatitude]

They were all about how mummies clean and cook, and wash our clothes and tidy up and change our beds and pack our lunches and bring us to school....

And I thought FFS I know for a fact that many of us sitting here do a fark of a lot more than that, and couldn't you have worked some of the other, less gender stereotyped stuff in?

And I also thought, FFS sometimes some of the Daddies even do all that.

Is it just me who thinks that in 2010, schools could be making a leetle more of an effort to point out to children that mummies aren't just there to service the household?

I think it's worth complaining about. It doesn't have to be the case that they should say "my mummy brings home the bacon"...but just a song about how well their mothers clean the house, well, there's no need, and if you just accept these things.....

What is wrong with a song about how your mummy cares for you, cuddles you, looks after you when you are sick, reads with you, tucks you into bed...there are plenty of things that they could sing about that wouldn't tell the children that all mummies do the cooking and cleaning.

you AND all the other mothers

LOL at Feenie
How strange to be so angry that I'm not grateful that my DD's school is promoting piss-poor low expectations of what a mother is.

Exactly Pfft. You don't have to sing about how mummy prepares presentations/ inspects bridges/ arrests criminals etc., but you can be more gender neutral about what we do.

I wasn't actually thinking of complaining, but I wonder if it is something I should raise at the parent forum.

My dd2 came home today with a card (which I could not persuade her to save for Sunday) and in it was a list of my accomplishments.

1. Making chicken pie
2. Giving cuddles
3. Farting!

How d'you know some of the other mothers weren't equally taken aback?

I didn't realise we had to appreciate something just because someone had worked hard on it. I thought we should do so because it's good. Otherwise, there'd be a law that we all had to like Boyzone.

Farting is an excellent aspirational accomplishment.

Sometimes I think people just need something to moan about.

"but I wonder if it is something I should raise at the parent forum"

Go ahead. I can guarantee it would make this the last Mothers' Day assembly you ever go to, though.

Farting is also gender neutral (we all do it) but could be seen as mainly a male area in which to excel, therefore I am teaching her a valuable lesson in non-stereotypical behaviour.

I'll have to drop a huge one at parents night now though!

I think UAB a little unreasonable. Not sure how old your dd is, but as someone said earlier, these are the things dc-especially younger ones notice about us.
I believe in equality etc. and hopefully show my dc women can do many things, and my dh does many household chores as well. But... my dd-4yrs sat on the bed with me the other night, and told me,(without me asking), girls clean the house. I asked what daddies do-"they fix things and play the computer!" Out of the mouths of babes...
Cleaning, and giving comfort and baking, or whatever, should not be undervalued-and these things clearly are important to our dc.
When your dd is older what do you want her to remember about her childhood-a warm house, favourite smells etc. or your career? (not, for a second de-valuing that at all-no offence intended).

I hated the build up to mothers day at school, not having a mum and being the one that had to write my card to my gran/dad/A.N.Other. Doing a special assembly would have been awful.

Op yanbu - I understand where you are coming from and in my house DH does his fair share so why undermine that example by silly songs at school?

When my DS gets old enough to go to school he'll have trouble conforming to that image.

Daddy doesn't trust Mummy in the kitchen as she's a lefty who wields knives awkwardly, you see . I haven't cooked dinner in months. Maybe a full year. And Daddy doesn't trouble himself to hide that, either. I'm going to wish I could be there for the teacher's reaction to that! (DS is already v. outspoken.)

On-topic, I can se both sides. Yes, this is an appallingly narrow, gender stereotypes view of what a Mummy does (as someone else says, what will they do for Fathers' Day ?). But on the other hand, if they're going to the effort of putting on a special assembly to which you're invited, it's a bit much to want to complain.

It's a lovely gesture, just a tad misplaced.

I think you need something else to worry about, princess precious.

Um, no thanks I don't runnybottom.

I'm not worried about this. Just mystified as to why schools in 2010 appear to be blissfully unaware of gender issues.

HB, YANBU

"these are the things dc-especially younger ones notice about us"

Really? God how depressing. I would hope it was reading books with him, giving him a cuddle, helping him climb the climbing frame, having a laugh when....

If my DC thinks all I do is the laundry, I may as well piss off now and just replace myself with a cleaner.

I also think to call you precious about this is pretty rude.

What makes you think they are blissfully unaware of gender issues?
I'm a mother. I make beds and lunches and bring them to school and clean and cook. I also do many other things, but these are some of the things that I do that are obvious to my young children. Their father does all of the same things, but its not fathers day is it?

You seem to be assuming an awful lot about the intent of the thing, and other peoples reactions to it.

It wouldn't have bothered me, but then that is what I do. My children have only known me work part time, and that died a death when Woolies went to the wall

I'll apologise for the name calling though, you're right, it was rude.

I don't assume they're blissfully unaware, I'm just a bit disappointed that they're not worried about appearing to be blissfully unaware. I would hope that educators would have higher aspirations, that's all. I don't think it's a "write to the governors and LEA" matter, I just think it's a bit meh.

Chickens, that's not just what you do though surely?

And if they sing that this is "what mums do", it just reinforces that it's your job, not theirs. Or their father's.

Maybe they assume that both you and they KNOW there is more to being both a woman and a mother than that, crediting you all with a little more intelligence. Maybe they realise that we are all different, that some children will have working mothers some full some part time, some will have single mothers, some will have deaf mothers or 2 mothers or anything else. One of the things most mothers have in common is the domestic side of life, to some extent at least. You'd still be sitting there now if they sang about every thing that can make up the experience of mothering.

Its a bit like watching an Xmas assembly and saying they only sang about rudolf and snowmen, clearly they have never mentioned santa or jesus or charity or anything else, because they didn't sing a song about it right there in front of me!

MaryMotherOfCheeses,
Better give your dc a list of what they can stand up in assembly and say about you then,or start looking for that cleaner...

Hmm, I don't find that argument convincing.

We all need a little moan now and then!

I went to the school assembly aswell and thought it was really nice and thoughtful. The whole assembly was dedicated to us mums, and it was good to know the kids took their time thinking about everything we do for them.
Children are a little selfish they dont about were the money comes from as long as their beds done and the teas made