My kid’s day care invited a drag queen to entertain on family day — is this appropriate?

In the Eastern Suburbs Moms Facebook group, a first-time mom’s question recently stirred the pot of parenting perspectives.

Her child’s day care is planning to bring in a drag queen as part of an ‘inclusive family celebration’ – but she notes that Mother’s Day and Father’s Day aren’t celebrated at all.

She’s now grappling with her thoughts about this, wondering if she’s being “too conservative” for thinking it could be “inappropriate.”

“Am I out of touch?”

“Hi Moms, what would you think of a drag queen being brought in as guest entertainment at your child’s day care during childcare hours?” she begins the post.

“The context is an inclusive family celebration theme – Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are not otherwise celebrated,” she continued.

“There is no other guest or entertainment planned. It’s my first child so I have no other experience to draw on. I am a bit surprised but wondering if I’m just out of touch or being conservative.

“I would love fellow moms’ opinions and thoughts!”

“Families come in all shapes and sizes”

As the comments started pouring in, it became evident that the group of moms were sharply divided on the matter. 

Some enthusiastically embraced the idea, advocating for inclusivity and open-mindedness. Conversely, a cohort of moms expressed reservations, saying the idea was inappropriate for a day care setting.

“I would be fine with it,” one claimed. “There are a lot of drag queens that do age-appropriate readings to children. Families come in all shapes and sizes, and representation matters.”

“Truly wouldn’t bother me if the performance was age-appropriate,” said another.

Then this mom wrote, “I think it was wonderful! How fun for the kids!”

“Absolutely no problem. It’s us as adults who sexualise it. Drag queens aren’t strippers. Kids are never too young to learn about inclusivity and diversity. It’s adults who complicate things and add prejudice,” another argued. 

“Tasteless and inappropriate!”

“I’m a director I think there are many more appropriate things to show inclusion, I have nothing against it but it’s not for me,” one day care director wrote. 

“I am sorry if I sound conservative,  I really have nothing against anyone at all. However, for day care, this is completely and absolutely tasteless and inappropriate! I feel that the whole premise of being a drag queen is sexuality and I would let the kiddies mature a bit first and learn about different types of sexualities,” wrote another group member.

Then this person chimed in, pointing out, “Personally, I’d expect management to be asking the parents of the children enrolled if they would be interested in such an event at their day care centre before booking in the guest. You would also need to sign a permission slip for the show so if you don’t want to be a part of it you don’t have to.”

“I am wondering how a drag queen reflects the idea of an inclusive family. I see a drag queen as a performer rather than an ordinary family member. I am not excluding the LGBTQI lens here. Of course, all sorts of people make a family. I’m just not seeing the connection here,” another wrote. 

Then this person concluded, “I’m all for inclusion but that’s a bit much for me at day care. At the end of the day, you are the parent and you get to choose what you consider to be age appropriate for your child. This doesn’t mean that you don’t tolerate or even celebrate diversity. We tell our kids that they are allowed to feel how they feel so that goes for adults too – just because someone thinks it’s age-appropriate, you don’t have to agree.”