According to this story, schools in Australia that hold birthday parties cannot let the birthday boy or girl blow out candles, as this would likely spread viruses. While I suppose there is a germ ( heh, heh ) of truth to this it sounds almost like an article from the Onion. Any Aussie’s care to comment ?
Those are suggested guidelines, as far as I can see, not actual rules, let alone laws.
I’m Australian and I used to work in a primary school as a Teacher Aide, back in the 90s. The well being of the students is extremely important, of course, but it’s generally understood that kids are kids. Australia is not the US; parents suing schools over stupid shit is still extremely rare here.
It’s stupid, but not that stupid. Do you really want to eat cake that Typhoid Mary just spittled all over?
OK, I would. Because, you know, cake.
I think it’s not entirely a terrible idea. We’ve had such a mild winter with so much horrid flu here (Chicago), and my kid already missed an entire week of school, that I’m becoming a little OCD on the germ front this winter. And my throat started itching again last night, so there’s once again something going through the house.
I decided that for her birthday party on Saturday, we’re doing cupcakes, with a big fat “8” candle in hers. She can blow out her own cake and germ up her own frosting.
I’ve thought for years that it’s kind of a gross tradition- one person blows all over the food that is to be enjoyed by all guests. Maybe it’s because I’ve been to a few kids’ birthday parties when the 2 year old doesn’t quite have the ‘clean blowing’ thing down yet and ends up spraying spittle everywhere, but I’ve always been a little squicked out by the whole idea. I usually pass on the cake when offered a piece, only partly due to this (the other part being I’m just not a big fan of super sweet sugary icing).
Kids celebrate their birthdays at school in Australia? Is that a normal thing in other countries as well? When I was a kid, birthday cakes and all that were an at home thing.
I think it is worth pointing out that while the OP said this was a rule for schools, the website actually says the rules apply to daycares.
I’m so disappointed to learn Australian preschools don’t teach kids how to snuff birthday candles with a boomerang. Not to mention a boomerang can’t give you the flu.
Yes, I pushed submit just a little too quickly on that. Apologies for the error and I will endeavor to do better next time. :smack:
Depends on where it’s been, doesn’t it?
I feel the need to relay a story.
Some years ago, Mrs. Cheesesteak worked on Broadway, and one of the company traditions was to have birthday cake at intermission. It was the birthday of one of the actresses, who happened to be dealing with a bit of a back problem (this will come up again). The Mrs. heads down to the cross-under where the cake is, a few minutes after Happy Birthday is sung, gets herself a slice, and digs in.
People are chuckling. In between mouthfuls of cake, she asks why and finds out this actress gave herself an extra “birthday” vicodin and was a bit loopy. Hence, at the conclusion of the song, she blows out the candles thusly:
PPPBBBHHTHHHHTTHHTHSTHSHSHSHSHHH!!!
Spittle all over everything, which helped to explain why there were SO MANY slices of cake to choose from.
General rule, for little kids, and drugged up actresses, take the cupcake option.
I think it’s normal now. My kids took cupcakes to primary school on birthdays. They have snack time now though, which is something I never had in school. If you wanted to eat something you did it outside at recess. But no one ever did. We were too busy tackling one another and pushing each other off of snow hills.
I thought that’s what the frosting was really for — a spit shield that acts as a barrier for the cake.
And yes, I don’t like frosting.
In all fairness Boomerang classes only start in Grade 1.
Don’t really see an issue here, it is a guideline only and some places will enforce others not. The kids still blow out candles just not on the cake and to be fair we are talking toddlers to about age 5 and they are great little spitters!
It’s guideline, most people will ignore it. (Although I have seen little kids spit/blow out candles myself.)
Also, it’s the Telegraph. Manufactured outrage by a News Ltd. rag is…less than uncommon.
I remember celebratiting birthdays in elementary school. I think cupcakes were more common than cake, and we weren’t allowed candles at all due to fire concerns.
Most kids do take cupcakes or equivalent on their birthday. It’s a bit of a pain in the butt, tbh, but the kids like it 'cause - hey - cake!
I think the teacher would whack us upside the head with a blunt spork if we tried to go the full-on “cake-with-candles-and-cut-a-slice-for-everyone” route. With a tub of cupcakes, at least you can just get every kid to grab one on the way to recess. Teachers have enough real work to do without being party managers too!
I got tut-tutted on Facebook for being a germ nazi, but I’m all for this idea. The kids still get cake and a candle, without the germ transfer. Arguments against it were, essentially, germs are airbourne and everywhere so your kids will still catch stuff, to which I say fine but if you can easily eliminate one source of contamination, why not do it? Another was that kids being exposed to germs will build up awesome immune systems which, again, I think is no reason to share spittle-splattered cake.
Having been a single mum forced to take time off work to care for a child who is constantly sick from daycare, I’m all for anything that might help reduce the frequency of illnesses. Being obligated to pay daycare for the days that my child was unable to attend because of illnesses she caught there while simultaneously not being paid by work because of all the sick days I had taken to care for said child was a bitter pill and quite the financial dilemma.
Everyone being so “clean” these days is probably the cause of children being so succeptible to common bacteria/ viruses. Kids need to eat dirt and catch bugs etc so they’ll develop immunity.
People survived thousands of years in desperate conditions that would kill modern people in an instant.
I’m not refering to dieases like polio, obviously, but we get vaccinations for them.