Oz and I heard this on the news last night.........

Apparently because of the increase in same sex couples the school system believes it should not continue to use Mum and Dad when refering to us parents.....it is said to be causing concern for children who have either 2 mum's or dad's...........so no longer will the teacher or student call their parents Mum or Dad......we are to be known as care givers or parents......

Well we are not at all sure this is a good thing ..........

Being a same sex family we are in no way ashamed nor are the children, but what to us would be a shame is not being refered to as Mum.........as a parent the first words you long to hear from your baby are now being taken from you ..........whether the child is grown up or not it is a blessing (most times...lol) to hear "MUM" or "DAD"........

It isn't definite if this will come to pass, but the mere thought of it upset us........
Regardless of the family structure, we are all Mum's and Dad's.......

So what does anyone else think????

I'm not a parent myself, but i can totally understand where you and oz are coming from.

I guess in a sense it's nice that same-sex couples are being acknowledged, especially in such an environment as the education department...but is it just another example of the world having gone crazy with political correctness?

If the use of the terms “Mom” and “Dad” are truly causing concern amongst children with same-sex parents, doesn’t that point more towards a climate of intolerance within schools that is being perceived by such children? Changing the terminology seems more like a means by which schools, and school administrators, do not have to directly address the issues of tolerance, and diversity education in the classroom. Is it really the children of same-sex parents that feel uncomfortable, or is the schools themselves? Maybe a better way of waylaying these children’s alleged anxieties is by creating a more open-minded atmosphere from which feelings of inclusiveness could be fostered.

i thinks it kind of a good thing for the sake of the chilren coz its only the teachers that are to call mums and dads parents kids still call ther parents mum or dad
xxx

S.S no that's the problem , the kids are only to refer to us as parents or caregivers, not just the staff........

I have to ammend this topic..........it was actually a lesbian mother who is lobbying the education dept to have this rule brought in...she feels that it will lessen the bullying..

We cannot see this happening but actually the reverse is most likely......it is forcing young children to "Come out" and highlighting the issue.......we have to remember these are small children as well as teenagers we are talking of......

If this comes to pass and a kid asks WHY.....when told the reason behind it surely it will cause them to question each other about their family structure....where as some kids may not want their business out there for all to know.......

As an example to try and clarify how Oz and I feel......Oz has 3 kids.....1 is 8 and we really don't know how much she really understands the relationship between us, all we know is she is happy and loves us and is comfortable enough to bring friends of her choosing home for play and sleepovers.........but she does not actively go around disclosing to her classmates that she has 2 mum's.....she is therefore never been a target thus far for bullying........if she is reprimanded for using the term mum and told why, along with any other kid, then surely they will all begin to question each other and we all know how cruel kids can be...........Sam then stands the chance of being taunted for having 2 mum's........

The other 2 are teenagers..........the girl is comfortable with telling her friends of choice and also has them over........she has adopted the attitude that it is their problem if they don't like it.....for this we are blessed for she is 13 and extremely comfortable, loving and supportive of us both.....

The boy though is more reserved and does not wish for his mates to know as he fears bullying.......whilst he too is happy and supportive and extremely protective of us, it would cause great concern for him to be publicly "outed" at school.....we have to and do respect his wishes.......

We both just feel that it is not as cut and dried as this woman would want us to believe........it is debatable if it is even a step forward for Gay rights........