For many moms and dads, seeing their kids perform in school plays is an important parenting milestone. Especially when kids are young, seeing them onstage, participating in a fun and heartwarming activity like a school play is a proud moment.
Even members of the royal family can’t help but brag about their kids’ participation in school plays. Earlier this year, Prince William revealed that his son, Prince George, played a sheep in his own school’s Nativity play.
But for one mom, that memory was taken away when she wasn’t allowed to see her daughter’s first performance in a school play. She was left furious and heartbroken after her daughter’s school refused her entrance into its Nativity play.
Gemma O’Reilly, a mom of two and young widow, is now voicing her outrage after the unhappy Christmastime incident.
Scroll through to read all about how the unfortunate situation unfolded.
Gemma is a 26-year-old mom of two, from Kings Norton in Birmingham, England.
Sadly, she was left widowed in 2014.
Her oldest daughter’s dad, Durrell Odusina, passed away due to heart failure when he was only 23. At the time, her daughter, Bella, was just 2.
Bella is now 5 years old.
Earlier this year, Gemma (who is a care worker) expanded her family when she welcomed her second child, a now 10-month-old boy named Preston.
Bella currently attends the Broadmeadow Infant and Nursery School in Kings Norton.
The little girl was excited for her role as a donkey in her school’s Christmas Nativity play. She was also excited for her mom to come and watch her perform.
Unfortunately, the young mom was turned away by a teacher who told her she couldn’t attend the performance because Gemma had her baby son with her.
She’d arrived with Preston after the sitter she’d arranged had to cancel on her unexpectedly that same morning.
She was told that the school’s firm policy was not to allow any babies or toddlers to attend.
“The teacher on the door told me that children weren’t allowed in. I pleaded with her and explained this was the only day I could do, due to my job and that my babysitter had cancelled on me,” Gemma recalled.
“I asked her to make an exception, but she put her arms across the door and said: ‘No children, I’m making no exceptions.’”
Gemma tried to exchange her tickets for another day so that her mom (Bella’s grandma) could come see Bella perform instead, but the teacher told her that there were none left.
“I cried myself. I’ve never missed anything my children do,” she revealed. “I’m her only parent, as her dad isn’t around anymore. I try my best to get to everything. This is the first thing I’ve missed, and that’s why I cried.”
The heartbroken young mom said that her daughter was equally crushed when she broke the news to her.
“[Bella] couldn’t stop crying. She had been so excited about me seeing the play. She’d spent hours practicing at home,” Gemma said.
“I just can’t believe a primary school would behave like this at Christmas,” she continued.
A spokesman for the school told SWNS:
“A policy that no babies and toddlers attend the Christmas nativity play has been in place for eight years. This is due to capacity and not disrupting the children performing. There have been no problems with this policy before.”
Do you think the school could have made an exception for Gemma, given the circumstances?
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