Why am I annoyed about this? Nursery related.

[JadziaSnax]

My 2yo DD is at nursery and they are having a fundraising day where the children bring their dolls in and parents pay a donation. This part is fine and sounds fun for the toddlers.

They've asked that the girls dress in pink and the boys dress in blue and I'm really annoyed about it. I'm trying to put my finger on what exactly is annoying me and I'm struggling to get my argument straight as to why I'm not happy to dress DD in pink for the day.

I have no problem with her wearing pink occasionally, I have a real problem with the sea of pink clothing when I'm shopping.

Am I over-reacting here or am I right to be annoyed about this?

It's so important that gender stereotypes aren't encouraged at a young age, it just promotes unecessary division. Show them www.lettoysbetoys.org.uk when you complain.

Holocaust has a meaning beyond the Shoah, Tether. Still quite a strong one, granted.

Thanks for that Arsenic, I am aware of the meaning of the word

I simply took a punt on the poster using it precisely for its hyperbolic nazi connotations. If however, s/he was using it to refer to a different, non-specific destruction on a mass scale, I will eat my hat withdraw my previous post.

If however, s/he was using it to refer to a different, non-specific destruction on a mass scale, I will eat my hat withdraw my previous post.

Really?? You think she is more likely to have meant a pink Nazi holocaust?

If Godwin's Law is invoked one more time on MN this week it will self-destruct, I think.

Fingers crossed

DTF has form for posting nonsense on FWR. Nice to see he's in form...

well he's prepared to make a reasonable and non-sneery response when a poster is identifiably a man, which i'm sure isn't coincidence at all

Oh, I see.

Surely for charity you can not kick up a fuss for one day?!

Why not? You can't excuse every daft/undesirable thing anyone decides to do just because it's for charity. Shall we sacrifice a live goat in assembly? Why not, it's for charity innit? OK, wearing pink/blue is not that drastic, but in fact quite the reverse: it's not silly enough. On the face of it in fact it's completely pointless.

At a wild guess it could be because the event is based around dolls, which are usually seen as girls' toys, so they want to make absolutely sure the boys can be clearly distinguished as boys with dolls rather than the awful alternative: being mistaken for girls. Which would scar them for life. Obviously.

I think it's terrible I'd be very annoyed and would complain, and then send my child in anything that is not pink.
My DS loves pink, was his favourite colour and it makes me sad that a few silly comments from adults have now given him cause to be worried about wearing it and proclaim it's for girls. Nonsense.

Surely for charity you can not kick up a fuss for one day?!

It's not kicking up a fuss and it's guilt-tripping to play the charity card. The nursery is acting against early years curriculum, which states that it must 'avoid gender stereotyping'. The OP has a right to complain. I'd say an obligation, in fact.

And it's not as if people won't give to the charity if the goal of the day is to wear sometjkng red/with spots (as per comic relief/children in need)

It's not like gender stereotyping being a no-no is a new thing within EY. When did the EYFS come in? I know it's slightly different now, but this hasn't changed

Kick up all the fuss you like. Children at that age should just be encouraged to be children, they'll find out all about gender stereotyping soon enough, sadly.

Thanks everyone. I will be making a complaint about this and I appreciate your help in clarifying what I want to say to nursery.

tethersend
"'Pink Holocaust'?

Godwin's Law "

Why not? Feminists on this board already use the term 'sexual apartheid' to refer to their local toy store's colour themes and conflate Page3 with slavery. But maybe I'm wrong and there is in fact an upper limit as to how much hyperbolic nonsense some are prepared to spout.