A teacher, whose mom died, informed her elementary-age students about the death to explain her recent absence — and now one of the kid’s parents is wondering if that was appropriate to bring up in the classroom.
The concerned parent revealed on U.K. parenting forum Mumsnet that the teacher took several weeks off to be with her ill mother, so the students had a long-term substitute teacher, before she returned to school.
“Now she’s back and told the kids that her mum died,” the student’s parent wrote. “It seems very young for them to have to think about mums dying.”
The students in the classroom are roughly 9 and 10 years old.
Wondering if her reaction is unreasonable, she asked the forum, “Would you be upset if your child’s teacher told the class her mum had died?”
Within hours, her April 7 Mumsnet post garnered more than 200 responses, with many readers answering that they wouldn’t be upset.
“Death is part of life and by that age, many of the children will have had a relative or family friend die. Many will also have lost pets,” one person commented.
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“I don’t think that is very young,” replied one reader, who is a teacher. “However, I do think it’s inappropriate for a teacher to share their personal life with students — and I’m a teacher. Teachers shouldn’t be looking to their students for emotional support or sympathy.”
Another user simply wrote, “I would have brought her flowers personally.”
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