The government guidance snotty children are being advised to provide a separate birthday cupcake to keep the fun under control and spittle-free.
Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has published a document entitled ‘Staying Healthy – Preventing infectious diseases in early childhood education and care services.’
It’s the kind of advice that would lead to grumbling Daily Mail readers to complain that it’s ‘health and safety gone mad’.
The section that’s got critics riled up reads as follows:
“Children love to blow out their candles while their friends are singing ‘happy birthday’. To prevent the spread of germs when the child blows out the candles, parents should either:
– provide a separate cupcake (with a candle if they wish) for the birthday child and enough cupcakes for all the other children.
– provide a separate cupcake (with a candle if they wish) for the birthday child and a large cake that can be cut and shared.”
Dr Joe Kosterich, calling the guidelines “nonsense” opined in Perth Now “Part of normal childhood development is socialisation. Sharing is part of this. What message does it send a preschooler that they are ‘unclean’ and their cake is not fit to be shared?”
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