moneypenny20

Or, I don't know, people could just tell the very very few people who give a shit and forget about the whole utter nonsense. They could also, gasp, horror, wait until the child arrives.

spouse of scouse

It's mad isn't it. One of my nieces had a 'gender reveal' party. No explosives involved, but what a bloody hullabaloo.

She chose a particular place to have the ultrasound that would show the gender of the baby. This place doesn't tell the mother or father the gender, instead they put 'boy' or 'girl' and relevent details on a card and mail that card to a company. This company makes up a huge beribboned box, filled with either pink or blue hellium balloons and delivers that box to the expectant couple.

The expectant couple open the box in front of all the saps family and friends they've invited to the party, and pink or blue balloons float out and up. And everyone yells YAAAAY! and OOOOOOHHH! and HOORAY!!!!! and does weird stuff like jumping up and down like they're on a pogo stick and hugging the person next to them, even it's someone they hate with stinky breath and they haven't spoken to in 30 years.

Bah!

kimilseung

There should be no surprise why these events have boomed now (The first one to have an impact is dated to 2008). Not everyone who has them is doing it for reactionary political reasons, many are just going with the flow of a new fad; but cultural phenomena have cultural reasons to exist.

Nutek

Should all just stand around the end of the bed and watch it pop out.

spouse of scouse

Yeah. And then we could use the placenta for a game of footy out the back.

Steerpike

But, but - they have to buy the pink paint (girls room) or blue paint (boys room)!

Come to think of it (serious question) ... don't they have tests for this kind of thing? Are these people intentionally not finding out and doing the gender reveal party instead?!

Former Lancastrian

Imagine the scenario years later when the child turns around and tells the parents that they got the gender party wrong. Look mum and dad I know that you had a gender party and the balloons/confetti and my room were all done out in blue but I no longer consider myself to be male so are we going to have another party.

BristolUK

Congratulations...it's a baby.

scrubbedexpat097

I say stop the gender reveal, stop telling the parents when ultrasounded what they believe the gender is on the ultrasound. Stop having baby showers. Use colors in the nursery that are pastel shades that look clean and pretty.

Just wait until the baby is born and then announce the gender so family and friends can buy the baby gifts that babies need like diapers, wipes, bottles, baby grows, baby lotion and shampoo, diaper cream. New borns don't need so many fancy clothes and gadgets that are on baby shower lists nowadays. People just seem to want to out do each other with the fanciest and most expensive gift for the baby.

Yes I'm grumpy today.

zzrmark

You bloody heathen, you're supposed to fry it up and, presumably, serve it with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.

Steerpike

Not the biggest issue in the world but I'd ban helium balloons personally! I seem to find them when I go hiking in beautiful natural areas; they've presumably gone 'up', burst, and fallen back to earth and are now in some irretrievable location! I've also heard they short out electric cables ... Basically they are litter ...

Tarkak9

Came across this in a mag - and I shall quote:
"March 2020 was the first March without a school shooting since 2002. True story. School administrators across the U.S. aren't' taking it for granted though and are still requiring students to undergo active shooter training while learning remotely from home. ... America".

Shard

Community fridges

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-56176965

Somehow, as well meaning as it is, this doesn't seem sustainable.

mikelincs

There have been a lot of reports about people wanting to ben 'Balloon races' not the big hot air ones, but those that use little ballons sent of from garden parties etc. , as you say they litter all ove, most never found. There are similar calls to stop these 'lantern' festivals where hundreds of lanterns, with burning sources for the hot air they use, are released. There have been lots of reports of wildfires being caused where these land.

celticgrid

And it is a non-renewable resource, used in far more important devices than balloons.