Tuesday 8 March 2011

SpiderGirl VS A Dancer


Matt and I have been having tussles with Tiny lately.

If it's not about her wanting to be nuded up all the time, or the fact that she won't go to bed, or that once we do manage to wrangle her body into clothes - she only wants to wear a skirt or dress, then it's about attacking the Doctor, or splashing the entire bathroom in water as though she's a human mini-tsunami. Or just getting into general mischief.

I've said it once, and I will say it again, Tiny is a firework.

This morning was a small victory when I asked Tiny if she'd like to go to preschool as SpiderGirl.

SpiderGirl is Tiny's interpretation of Spiderman - she loves wearing the Doctor's old dress ups.

Of course she said YES! And she put those clothes on and did not remove them.

Be amazed because usually she takes everything off within one minute. I'm not lying.

So off SpiderGirl went to preschool.

But silly, silly me. When I got home, I asked her how SpiderGirl went and she told me something very vague - which led me to believe that the childcare worker at preschool made her take off her outfit and change.

I asked Matt, and he said he got the feeling that the preschool was not entirely at one with the idea of SpiderGirl.

This made me fume. On a couple of levels. Three to be more precise:

1) Tiny's using her imagination. That's SO important to me. You spend a long time in life conforming and trying to 'fit in' so why not embrace that imagination, let it thrive;

2) The day before she wore a tutu - and she wasn't asked to change her outfit;

3) Today is International Women's Day - I wonder if that SpiderGirl outfit would have been taken off a boy (if he was Spiderman)



I never knew there really was SpiderGirl. Daughter of Spiderman. Rad.

12 comments:

CurlyPops said...

Kids wear dress ups to creche and kinder all the time. Since when does a childcare worker get to decide what clothes are worn? Surely that's a parents role?

Super Sarah said...

Hmmm, it does seem strange that she was asked to change. Our preschool is quite strict about the clothing the children wear, in that it has to be play appropriate and preferably something they can take off and put on themselves (shoes more than clothes!) So if Tiny's spidergirl outfit had a full face mask and web throwers on her wrists then I could understand! But just an old dress up. Will you ask them what happened?

ClaireyHewitt said...

Not only have I never herd of such pathetic ideas to remove a small Childs choice of clothing, be it dress ups or mis matched , too small too big, at our previous creche there was a "handout" of why super hero play is important for children. I wish I still had it so I could scan it to pass on to your creche.

I would be sending her s Super girl tomorrow.

Or, as my little Miss did once, insisted on going in her nightie. The carers thought she was hilarious.

LionessLady said...

I do hope you are heading in there to give them a piece of your mind!? My blood is boiling on your behalf! Would love to know what happens next.

Mon Alisa Design said...

I think that Tiny should be allowed to wear whatever makes her happy. Talk to them and see what they say. It doesn't seem fair to me :(

Allison said...

I am standing here (well, sitting) tapping my foot in exasperation. My hands are on my hips. A bit like CurlyPops little image.

I await their explanation.

Norbyah said...

my son once owned hot pink crocs, it was around the same time that he desperately wanted sparkly pink fairy wings to wear with his batman and robin costumes. i would think we all would want to encourage our children to use their imaginations and it's disappointing to hear that the childcare workers might discourage this. definitely let them know how you feel!

Sarah said...

Oh I do hope they did not change her... Really isnt it exciting that a child is so confident to go out in what ever they want to wear. DO you think that all this confirming we make them do dampens their creativity/confidence/spirits - what we wish they have!!!!

I cannot wait till our little man is old enough to want to dress up and go food shopping with me in dress up clothes - I LOVE it when I see other children do the same.

suzy said...

I may not be the smartest person or the best looking. I snort laugh and still 80's dance but my imagination is what gets me by...every single day.
I can see road side junk and turn it into works of art (well I think so). Ben and I make up stories of people we see and kill ourselves laughing. That comes from Spidergirl. Not someone killing her with fly spray.
Take her back in it tomorrow.
xx

Leonie said...

There is a policy at our child care centre that there is no super hero outfits because "the children become too rough when they pretend to be the character". They have no problem with them pretending to be superheroes but actually wearing the gear is the problem apparently. They are allowed to wear footy clothes and fairy clothes etc because they don't have "aggressive" behaviours associated with them. It's possible your centre has a similar policy.

Anonymous said...

That is pants, PMM. Absolute pants. Go spider-girl, go!

Nicole said...

That's terrible. Did you ever find out the reason they changed her? I would be very cross if they changed by kids clothes (other than urine soaked ones) especially if it were for such a ridiculous reason.