Mother's Day in kindergarten: Disappointment about missing gifts!

Mother's Day in kindergarten: Disappointment about missing gifts!

in the Baden district, Lower Austria, the decision of a kindergarten not to make any gifts on Mother's Day caused disappointment among the mothers. In the past few years, the children have traditionally made lovingly designed gifts for their mothers. But this year there was a possible handicraft day, which irritated many parents. Supervisors of the kindergarten justified this step with "cultural reasons", since Mother's Day is not celebrated in all cultures. A mother who asked for clarification in writing did not receive an answer to her request, which triggered further displeasure.

The decision does not seem to be uniform. Some parents reported that gifts were made in another group. This suggests that it is an individual decision. In addition to the disappointment of the lack of handicrafts activities, the responsible department of the country plans a parent picnic, in which gifts for Mother and Father's Day are to be made, but only after the holidays. Many parents believe that this procedure was not planned from the beginning, since no handicrafts were mentioned in the invitation to the picnic.

cultural diversity and sensitivity

This debate about Mother's Day reflects a larger topic: the cultural diversity in kindergartens. Experts recommend that differences in children's living environments should be taken into account in the daycare center in order to experience diversity and reduce disadvantages. Education should take place in an intercultural context, where everyone can go into the different cultural backgrounds of the children. The reasons for the decision on Mother's Day cited by the educators are an example of how important it is to integrate cultural sensitivity into educational projects. Not only traditions have to be taken into account, rather the different life realities of the children should also be taken into account

In order to promote cultural diversity, it is crucial that specialists have knowledge of cultural differences. An appreciative attitude is essential to develop open and flexible options for action. Education should soon strengthen the cultural identity of the children and create a feeling of belonging within the group. These settings are particularly important to meet the challenges of language diversity and cultural differences in the daycare center.

reactions and political discussion

Political reactions to the decision of the kindergarten were not missing. The FPÖ training spokesman called for a stronger adaptation to domestic culture and criticized the departure of traditional celebrations. The discussion about the design of such action days also shows that more and more is being considered about the cultural background and the appreciative relationship to care work. You should not only see flowers and gifts as an expression of appreciation, but also in a larger context of family and social culture.

In order to discuss alternative approaches to Mother's Day, experts suggest various options for how children can express their appreciation in a personal way and at their own feeling, regardless of whether it is cards, poems or songs. This alternative consideration of the Mother's Day could do justice to the variety of family structures and individual ways of life, and so the day could not only be reduced to certain people.

The development of cross-institutional cultural sensitivity is essential in order to convey not only a feeling of belonging to the children, but also to integrate their values ​​into the design of everyday day care centers. Every specialist in the daycare center should therefore be encouraged to see this diversity as an opportunity and to bring it into everyday life.

Overall, the situation in the Baden district illustrates the need to actively deal with cultural differences and their importance in education and to hear all voices and perspectives on an equal footing. This task requires both complex and continuous reflection on your own attitude in education.

The following articles can be consulted for more information on the background and the current developments: krone , Klett-kita , and DetailsOrtBaden, Niederösterreich, ÖsterreichQuellen

• www.krone.at
• www.klett-kita.de
• www.kindergartenpaedagogik.de