Alphabet Advice Needed

[Bathsheba]

I don't want to give too much away because this project could turn commercial but basically I was wondering the following:

If you saw a book or a poster (for example) with an illustrated alphabet for children how would you feel about seeing M is for Mummy and D is for Daddy if they didn't represent your own situation. For example... if the Daddy was wearing a suit and your child's daddy was a farmer? Or if you are Asian and the Mummy was Anglo/Caucasian? Do you think it would be better to avoid the Mummy and Daddy words and maybe substitute them for something else? And if so what? D is for Dummy? (would some people not approve of this) M is for Milk?

What do people think? Keep Daddy and Mummy (and not worry about the type of parent I illustrate) or change these to something else? These are the only letters I'm having doubts about. All the other letters have things that mostly are particular to childhood.

Thankyou so much for any suggestions

[Phteven]

How about having Mummy and Daddy being parents not workers- reading a book with a a baby or changing a nappy or kissing goodnight or snuggling on the sofa or at the park.

or
D is for daiper, dog, doll,
M is for milk, mouse, maze,

[briggsy's girl]

if you're going to do mummy and daddy, i'd avoid stereotyping the clothes they're wearing - maybe put them in casual clothes and have the illustrations with them interacting with their kids rather than work related.

milk - i guess you could do a milk bottle (as in from the shop) or a glass of milk, but avoid the baby bottle stereotype
dummy - nah, not a fan - lots of people don't use them... depending on what other types of things you're using, could you use animals (dog etc, maybe a toy monkey for m...)

[Phteven]

If you drew a mother breastfeeding with her face looking down at the baby you could do it in such a way that her race would be very hard to distinguish
You could do a dad from the back too maybe or looking down at a book...

[Pretty Butterfly]

Yep, I'd have mummy/daddy doing mummy /daddy stuff....

You could make one light skinned, one dark?? With corresponding light skinned/dark skinned child??

Not a fan of dummy either sorry!!

[Pretty Butterfly]

Ohhh, nice train of thought Brontide... they could be leaning down kissing tops of heads, yard work, housework, cooking, playing, pushing on swings... lots of things could "disguise" them!!!

[Bathsheba]

Thanks for your quick replies girls

The illustrations (for each letter) have to be quite basic so I can't really have too much "interaction" but I agree with having the parents dressed in casual clothes. I guess I just don't want to alienate people with non-white skin. The illustrations have to be in colour.

Yep, I agree, ditch D is for Dummy. I've already got a few animals (O is for Owl) and because I want to use lots of things specific to childhood I was hoping to avoid another animal.

I thought of using D is for Doula.... ?

With M is for Milk... could I be brave enough to do a breast-feed? I don't want to alienate the older generation (for example) who might frown at this. But I really did want to promote BFing somehow.

I have S is for Sling.

See where I'm taking this?

ETA: sorry missed a few of the other replies since replying again...

ETA: I think I am leaning toward using M is for Milk... and doing an image of a mother BFing but not showing any booby IYKWIM.

[Pretty Butterfly]

Umm, Breastfeed for M for Milk might make FF mums a bit off, as formula is milk too... what about B for Breastfeed???

S for sling.. awesome!!

[Loula]

coming from a single parent family and caring for children who have lost both parents in a tradgic accident i personally wouldnt have family members in it at all. there are lots of other options but have seen special events like mothers day, fathers day create bullying in the playground. Sad but true

[Pretty Butterfly]

D for Doula might be a little obscure for some... M for Midwife maybe??

I didn't know what a Doula was till BB.....

[Bathsheba]

D for Doula might be a little obscure for some... M for Midwife maybe??

I didn't know what a Doula was till BB.....

Ahhh yes but what a good format to educate! I'm not 100% convinced that Doula is the right word.... but it would be a good opportunity to spread the word. It's not like this commercial enterprise will be that big anyhow... more a small cottage alternative exercise IYKWIM.

Loula: yep... the more I think about it the more I agree that maybe I should omit family members altogether.

Regarding alienating artificial milk users by including a BFing illustration: I think on the whole formula users have enough public acceptance... it's easier for a mum to buy a can of formula in a supermarket than it is to pop out a boob in a supermarket. So, without wanting to offend, I think that balancing out the situation by choosing a BF for "M is for Milk" would be in the broader publics best interest. I have used artificial milk so i don't have anything against this important product. Don't want this thread to turn into a debate though. Ok... maybe I could pop a bottle next to the BFing mum... *mulling* so it covers both bases?

[fionas]

I'd keep it simple and do D for dog and M for monkey.

I'd steer away from anything too complicated like midwife and doula - they're very adult-oriented. Would be like saying A is for architect.

[Loula]

being politically correct for EVERYTHING is hard! follow your hear with how You want it to be as this is going to be your baby!

[catherinemoses]

I have to agree that Doula is probaly not the best thing to use!

What about D is for Drink?

and M is for....thinking...thinking.... Mobile phone??!! LOL

[Pretty Butterfly]

If its a little educational, then Doula would be perfect!!
My 2.5 yr old at the time knew what a midwife was because I told him she helps mummy when the baby wants to come!!

[Bathsheba]

Ok... this project is not (well, highly unlikely) going to be picked up and used by a big multinational organisation... at the very most it will be sold amongst friends... this is not for Fisher Price! LOL it's just going to be a small cottage industry thing... So yeah... I want it to a little educational.... and different from what's available in the mainstream.

[Pretty Butterfly]

Sounds awesome Bath!!

[Bathsheba]

Sounds awesome Bath!!

Ta Sorry if I got a bit sensitive about the BFing thing.... I guess it seems to me that bottles are over-represented in the world of childhood illustrations and toys. I only want to kinda even up the balance.

What I am hoping to do is create something different to what's already out there. There are a million "A is for Apple" representations out there... I reckon a product that uses an alphabet more in tune with the kind of things we talk about in BB (ie gentle parenting) would be great to try.