Forgot it was Valentine's Day at my kid's nursery

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I completely forgot it was Valentine's Day yesterday (me and hubby never celebrate it), and I dropped my two year old off at nursery only to find all his peers wearing red and pink. I'd dressed my son in a blue shirt that day 😞 I didn't have time to return home and bring him something red to wear. I felt as though the other parents and carers were quietly judging me because of it.

Don't stress it.
I've yet to see an event like this that gets 100% of kids with the right colour! Some kids don't want to wear the colour, some parents don't want to buy a special teeshirt, some just forget.
You wont be the first, you won't be the last. I camt promise it's the last time something will be forgotten tho. At least this was a minor one.

Valentine's day at nursery??

I felt as though the other parents and carers were quietly judging me because of it

Seems a very small thing to think you're being judged over. I'd be thinking 'ooops, someone forgot,' and nothing else. In fact I'd be applauding you for looking as if you don't buy into this commercialised nonsense.

Valentines for toddlers. Feck's sake....start them early as consumers of cheap tat , obviously.

Valentines day for 2 yr olds? don't think mine ever did that. Sounds unusual but I can imagine the little tots enjoying all the heart shaped paper designs for their mums & dads, maybe even exchanging them between each other...ahhh!

Ours asked them to wear red. It was cute, he has red trousers anyway 🤷🏻‍♀️ they do lots of themed days around different dates, I think it’s nice. They did send out tonnes of reminders though.

Don’t worry about it, they are too young to be celebrating Valentine’s Day. If he or anyone asks just say you don’t do it.

I’m sure no one was judging you anyway OP, you don’t have to opt into this things. They just made heart biscuits (not fit for adult consumption I’m sure 🤣) and made little pictures.

No one else will have cared. I promise. They all have their own shit going on.

I felt as though the other parents and carers were quietly judging me because of it

I’d be thinking I hate these days and ooh look someone else doesn’t give a shit but has actually been brave enough to not dress their kids up why am I such a conformist 😂

and maybe have more courage to just send my kid in as normal next world book day or whatever and not spend the night before frantically trying to cobble together an outfit.

particularly when the child is too young to care anyway 😂

100% no one will care.

DD's nursery seems to have some sort of "dress in [colour]" "dress as [thing]" days at least once a week, and I only bother with them if she already has clothes that fit. Like, when it was "dress in yellow for Diwali", fine, but I didn't have anything for "dress in brown and red for robin day" so didn't bother. I didn't have anything for Halloween last year so didn't dress her up, but her aunt bought her a little rugby jersey recently so she'll be kitted out for St. David's day.

I find it all a bit silly tbh. Recently there was "dress as a digit for national number day or something" - I mean what? She wasn't due in that day anyway but if she had been she'd have been in normal clothes.

Valentines is not for toddlers. No one will care or possibly even have noticed.

The issue is your own. Why do you care so much about what other people think?

This. You child was wearing clothes. Nothing to judge.

I would have sent mine dressed head to toe in black on that day because I'm an arse and telling us to dress little ones in red/pink for valentines would have pissed me right off.

I'm a bit of an introvert, and since becoming a mum, I've become anxious about whether I'm doing a good enough job, and I often compare myself to others. I also find it difficult to bring my son out in public places, I'm constantly on edge praying he doesn't have a tantrum in case everyone around thinks I'm a bad parent who can't control their child.

Blimey OP that sounds tough. I promise you no one is judging for a toddler tantrum! If they are they are twats but more likely if anyone is looking it’s on sympathy and solidarity.

I don’t take offence at all to these themed days, I quite like them! But nursery remind us loads, and I have years of experience remembering shit like this after 15 years as a nanny.

Guarantee you no one remembered this morning

I promise you, you (like all of us) will forget similar things many a time especially when they get to school and do weird themed things all the time. Honestly, be kinder to yourself. You wouldn't judge another mum for this, treat yourself as you would others

Don't worry OP, we've all been there - I am still mentally scarred from not realising parents were meant to attend some kind of 'hear your child read' event at primary school and ds had to read with another child's mum. This probably happened 11 years ago as ds is now in Year 13 and about to do his A-levels! It was the only event that I missed for the whole of primary school as I was so determined to make up for this error.

I can assure you, no-one else will give a toss about it, these things will happen and we live to fight another day.

We all forget these things OP. Don't worry. Nobody will have judged you.

And some days kids insist on wearing certain clothes and it's just not a hill to die on!