It’s Dr. Seuss “spirit” week at my school. For context, I teach PreK. Yesterday was “Silly hair/Cindy Lou Who” day. One little girl came in wearing a a dress that was an exact replica of Cindy Lou’s in the book. Her hair was done up just like the illustration, including pipe cleaners in a headband for the…antenna? (WTF do the Whos have?) All the teachers and staff made a huge deal over this girl. Meanwhile, she couldn’t run in the gym, her hair started coming undone after about an hour and she was very upset when we couldn’t fix it. I had one student whose mom is in the hospital and couldn’t do her hair, so dad sent her in with two big bows. She looked positively envious of CLW.

Today was “Silly socks/Fox in Socks” day. The same kid came in wearing a fox costume, complete with headband ears, a clip on tail, and face paint nose and whiskers. Her socks had hand drawn Mr. Fox faces. Again, all the staff are gushing over her.

Meanwhile, I have another kid who was shuffled between his divorced parents last night and no one remembered to give him silly socks. I have another kid with sensory issues who only wears plain white socks. When our director asked them where their silly socks were, both started to cry.

Parents, I get it. This is super fun for you. It’s your baby. This is how you show your love. But this over the top stuff is just unkind. It sets your kids up for main character syndrome. It creates division. The same with these giant valentines boxes, birthday treat bags, and so on. Keep it simple, I beg you. Tomorrow is “Fun hat/Cat in the Hat” day. I am betting money this kid will come in wearing a full CITH outfit and huge hat.

Thanks for letting me vent.