An elite New South Wales private school has sparked outrage after renaming its Mother’s Day stall to a ‘Family Gift stall’, with one mum accusing the school of spreading a “woke ideology”.
Hunter Valley Grammar School in Maitland, 40km from Newcastle, is holding the stall on Friday for junior school students from kindy to Year 6 to purchase a present ahead of Mother’s Day on Sunday.
In a bid to be more inclusive, the stall, which will offer a range of $12 gifts, is being promoted to “celebrate loved ones”.
“Students have the special job of choosing a gift with their loves one in mind,” an email sent to parents reads, as per The Daily Telegraph.
However, the move has been met with backlash, with some mothers telling the publication it feels like an ‘insult’, arguing Mother’s Day is the “one day a year where mums are celebrated and recognised”.
“Please don’t take this away from us,” one mother told The Daily Telegraph.
“By changing the name it feels like you are sending the message to students that Mums are no more important than anyone else in their lives they think are special.”
Another mother said she felt the move was “woke ideology”.
“I am deeply concerned about gender ideology infiltrating our schools and how proponents of this movement are not only seeking to erase important and meaningful gendered terms such as mother, girl, boy, breast, but also seek through the guise of ‘inclusion’ to erase valued traditions such as Mother’s Day,” she said.
It comes after a growing number of childcare centres and preschools chose to forgo Mother’s Day events in favour of “Parent’s” or “Family Day” last year.
Early childhood advocacy group Early Childhood Australia had earlier issued educators with a guide on including “diverse” families on Mother’s and Father’s Day.
“We know Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are important days to celebrate, but they can be tricky for children from diverse families,” the guide read.
“Mother’s Day and Father’s Day present some challenges for families that don’t have a mum and dad.”
The resource suggested educators should give children the option to make a gift for a “special adult” – not necessarily their mum or dad – to “avoid gender stereotypes in children’s crafts”.
“Steer away from cards with flowers for mum or ties for dad,” it added.
Many disgruntled parents and critics slammed the move, arguing it was “eliminating mums”.
“It’s nonsensical because same-sex female couples can celebrate Mother’s Day and same sex-male couples can celebrate Father’s Day,” one mother told The Telegraph at the time.
“A sensitive approach for children who don’t have mums (would be to) have a ‘Mother’s and Special Friends Day’.”
News.com.au has contacted Hunter Valley Grammar School for comment.