OK…we’re technically not on CBeebies the TV channel but we have been on their Facebook page! On Mother’s Day we got a message off our friend telling us we were on the CBeebies page. I had no idea what she was on about until she said, ‘They’ve shared your blog!’. I went to have a look and there it was, my latest blog post (Why does Amelia have two mummies?) with our pictures and a quote from the blog ‘Children aren’t born with prejudices, they notice differences.’ We couldn’t believe it; where had they found the blog? The blog is open to the public, but it’s only read by a few people, mainly family and friends so I didn’t understand how CBeebies had seen it.
We both got quite excited and shared it on our own Facebook pages and then went to read the comments underneath the CBeebies post. I was quite worried about the responses; to some it’s still quite a controversial lifestyle and I was sure there’d be some negativity on the post. We read every comment and every one (apart from one eyebrow raised emoji comment) was positive. This filled us with so much emotion and then some of our friends also posted lovely supportive messages on their own pages. It really made our Mother’s Day and we are so thankful to CBeebies for sharing it.
Our blog was visited 2138 times that day. That’s more visitors than 2017 and 2018 combined! Most of the visitors were from the UK but people in the United States, Canada, Germany, Australia, Vietnam and many other places also visited the blog. There was also a lot of new activity on my Instagram page @amelias2mummies and I’ve talked to a few people on there who found it via the blog on CBeebies. Everyone on Instagram has also been so kind and lovely in their comments; it really does give me hope that people’s views are changing of lifestyles that differ from their own.
Just after I wrote the blog post the government released plans for 2020 which included school children being taught about LGBT relationships. Parents will also lose the right to opt their high school children out of these lessons from next year. The coverage in the media was mixed but a lot of parents were not happy. A school in Birmingham who were already teaching about LGBT rights as part of a programme to challenge homophobia had to be suspended because of parents protesting. A mother whose son was taught about LGBT topics without her prior consent has complained to the media. Apparently, he came home knowing the words lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.
Children are going to grow up and find out what LGBTQ means. They’re growing up seeing gay people on the TV. They’re going to idolise gay pop stars. They’re going to see gay people in the sport that they follow. This is the way our world is going; we’re finally becoming more open and honest about who we are. A once unconventional lifestyle is becoming more ‘normal’ now. Isn’t it better to teach our children from an early age that there are lots of different types of people and relationships and that’s OK, rather than hide it away until they find out from another source that can’t be controlled? Schools aren’t going to teach anything that isn’t age appropriate but when school children do get to an age where their sexuality is being established isn’t it better that they know that whatever they’re feeling is OK?
Learning about LGBTQ people and relationships in school isn’t going to push a homosexual lifestyle on your child. If your child is gay, they’re gay and there is nothing that you can do about it other than be a responsible parent and be there for them. Learning about this is going to teach your child to accept people who are different from them and feel happy with their own identity. Hopefully it will also reduce bullying and improve children’s mental health.
Thank you to everyone that left us a comment. The positive response to our blog really does give me hope that we’re going in the right direction and that our daughter won’t be bullied for having two mums and that eventually this won’t even be a topic that needs discussion.
Amelia's 2 Mummies 