DDs nursery asking for donations to Mermaids

[AnonGCMum]

(Regular reader and occasional poster, have name changed for this)

Next week the nursery my two DDs attend (age 2 and 4) are going to be making cakes to sell in aid of Mermaids. As well as bringing in money to buy the cakes we’re
being asked to donate the ingredients.

I don’t want any of my money going to Mermaids. If it was just my 2yo I’d pretend to forget about it, but my 4yo has already reminded me twice. I’m not sure ‘forgetting’ will work with her.

I’ll also a bit concerned about what they might be teaching the children. They put a few photos up on an app each day so we can see what they’re doing and yesterday the update for my 2year old’s class included a picture of a handwritten display about the pride flag including the words “pink=trans joy”. I’m trying not to be pearl-clutchy about it and I’m fine with them learning things like ‘some people have two mummies’ but trans joy and Mermaids? At 2 and 4?!

Would you say something? Should I? I’m not brave about speaking up on these things. I’ll probably just leave my purse at home next week and ignore the rest, but what would you do?

You could send this to the manager:

teachersguidetosexandgender.org/2022/07/06/a-teachers-guide-to-the-cass-review-interim-report/

I'd then write to Miriam Cates and Baroness Nicholson.

THIS x 100%.

@AnonGCMum That's dreadful. Would he not mind your dd being sterilised, left in chronic pain and without a libido either? All because someone convinced her that any awkwardness or teenage angst she is feeling is the consequence of having been born in the wrong body

Me too. MRA should not be caring for children.

Unbelievable and awful… I think you need to get the children out, this will not go away… there’s an extreme activist in the vicinity…

It’s really disturbing that your DD’s have a father who would disregard their safety, privacy, dignity and personal preferences in favour of what an unknown male would want so blatantly.

So maybe he can be the one to answer the question of why we need changing rooms segregated by identity? His attitude would really worry me

@Whatiswrongwithmyknee

Yes, what is it about a male person with long hair who likes pink things that means he absolutely can’t share facilities with boys, but can happily share with females with short hair who like pink things?

Kemi Badenoch is tipped to be Truss’s Education Secretary, so do write to her.

And girls with short hair who don't like pink things!

@Whatiswrongwithmyknee

They’d say they were boys.

Thankfully not all of them
Some have an ability to think for themselves.

Can you write them a stern email, saying that choosing just one charity (and a desperately controversial one at that) gives parents no choice about what they do and don't wish to support; and that puts you in the impossible position of either having your children singled out by your refusing to participate, or forced to give money to a group that, in your (Worth Of Respect In A Democratic Society) belief is actively damaging to children?

I would think that if Allison Bailey's belief that Stonewall is dangerous to women and to gay men and lesbians is protected under the Equality Act 2010 then so is a belief that Mermaids are a danger to children.

Enclose the Cass Interim Review and her letter about closing the Tavistock (both available at cass.independent-review.uk/publications/)

And you could ask them to confirm that they will donate the share of the money raised as a result of your participation to a charity of your choice instead.

I do appreciate that asking one person to make this kind of fuss is a big ask - so don't feel you have to do all of that. But I would think it's surely OK to say "that is not a charity I want to support. Could you please donate x% of the takings to ABC charity instead, please, as my contribution? Thank you so much".

@LSSG

The utter self-absorption of that…

Talking to Rainbows about diversity has always been important, but it needs to be relevant & age-appropriate. Diversity of belief you’d most often cover by running fun & interesting activities but you might also have to answer “why does RainbowVolunteer wear that?”. It might also be appropriate/necessary to talk about a Volunteer’s health or disability if there is a big/visible change - “they’ve had medicine that made their hair fall out” or “they’re being fed using this special tube” or “they need to use a wheelchair now” & letting them ask questions during Chat.

Developmentally, Rainbows are not ready for the meeting you mention. And doubtless it did take the whole meeting. Rainbows seek adult approval over peer approval (gradually changes over course Brownie section age) so they’ll be desperate not to “misgender”. ESOL girls may be completely overwhelmed; & potentially unable to discuss a session like that with their parents.

Rainbows may be small people, but they have Big Thoughts that Girlguiding is meant to help them express. All about being girl-led, supposedly. And obviously that requires adult input, but that’s very different from, well…

@Whatiswrongwithmyknee

I don’t mean the girls, I mean the TRAs.

Gotta be Hanover! But this is nuts even for our city in Pride weekend.

Ooooh I wonder if that's why Javid has backed truss...

I hope she doesn't do the 'get rid of superfluous staff' thing though.

Sex reassignment surgery (SRS) includes the surgical procedures by which a person's physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are changed to that of the other sex. Some transsexual people cannot or do not want to have SRS.

Get a new nursery place asap. Then give this one everything that has been suggested here, try to talk to other parents, who may not have noticed. Your dp needs to be told that girls are very much at risk ..and does he agree with the various methods that girls are currently using to conform to the trend? Seek out Standing for Women who may be in your town this weekend.

What makes them think that this particular charity - or theme - is in any way suitable to nursery aged children? So not the woodland trust or a local playgroup?

Id be out of there PDQ and loudly telling everyone why.

Sex reassignment surgery (SRS) includes the surgical procedures by which a person's physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are changed to that of the other sex.

Changed to approximate that of the opposite sex. A male penis does not come at the expense of a chunk of flesh on and a woman's vagina is self-lubricating and doesn't need daily dilation. And that's just the beginning. The name itself essentially gaslights those people who have undergone it and found it wasn't quite what they expected the end reality to be.

Some transsexual people cannot or do not want to have SRS.
That term - which I'm not going to use as it's transphobic- is no longer used generally and if so, only by/about those who have undergone the aforementioned surgery. The point of the "transgender" term was so nobody could be differentiated by their genitals, which that term, due to its referral to post-surgery, does.

Back to the thread:

I'd also look at removing DC2. If you don't want to say anything the the fact it's closer to school is enough.

I'd suggest - if you want to suggest - raising money for the local children's hospital. That's far more relevant to kids (and their parents) than Mermaids, plus likely needs the money more. Far easier to understand in nursery age what it's for too.

Wow that’s horrible when he actually does have skin in the game, namely his daughters. It’s one thing taking an ideological stance when it doesn’t affect you, bad enough though that is, but to not care about his daughters safety and dignity because he thinks TWAW is mind blowing. I’ll just never understand these people.