mercredi 29 mars 2017
The Infuriating Reason a Single Mom Was Banned From Her Kid's Father-Daughter Dance
It was supposed to be a night of dancing and quality time for Georgia mom Amy Peterson and her daughter, Gracie. But one dismissive phone call quickly shattered those plans, and the reasoning will break your heart.
For months, 6-year-old Gracie had been looking forward to attending her elementary school's father-daughter dance. Since she doesn't have a father figure in her life, her mother planned to attend the event instead, and even filed paperwork with the school a month in advance to do so. "To me, I've identified myself as her father and her mother because that's what I've done for six years," Peterson told Channel 2.
Plus, she had the funny idea to dress up like a man for the occasion - fake facial hair, bowtie, and all. "She was okay with it. She was excited that her friends were going to get to see this," she said.
On the night of the dance, just hours before it began - and after they finished getting all dolled up - their excitement morphed into sadness and confusion. Gracie's school principal called her mother and informed her that she was no longer able to attend the event, even though she had filled out a form about it one month prior. "She said, 'No. I forbid you to come and if you show up we will turn you away,'" Peterson explained to WSB-TV.
Naturally, Peterson was furious and didn't know how to tell Gracie the news. "How do you explain that to a 6-year-old? You can't go to a dance because you don't have a male role model in your life," she said. "I think they handled it poorly ... Why is she being punished because she doesn't have a dad?" And it looks like the proper explanation never really came for Peterson, as the school district responded with a rather unsatisfying apology, along with a refund for the dance tickets.
The district explained that there are other opportunities for mothers to attend school functions, such as the mother-son dance and a sweetheart dance, but that this particular one was intended for fathers (or any family or friend father-figure). "The school is cognizant that different dynamics exist across households in our school system," the school district said in an official response reported by WSB-TV. "There are multiple parent engagement events and opportunities to participate with their kids annually at this school in an effort to make that connection and build school spirit."
Sure, the schools are "cognizant" of these different family dynamics, but it doesn't seem like they're tolerant of and willing to celebrate them.
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