US state advocates using gender-neutral family terms

People should stop calling children ‘son’ and ‘daughter’ to promote “health equity,” according to the Vermont Department of Health

The Vermont Department of Health (VDH) published advice encouraging parents in the northeastern US state to use the words ‘child’ or ‘kid’ when referring to their children, because the terms ‘son’ and ‘daughter’ are not “inclusive” enough.

The guidance was included in a social media post about inclusive language for families on Wednesday. The post also suggested using the term “family members” rather than “household members” to include incarcerated individuals, step-siblings, and others who might not live in the house.

“The language we use matters!” the health agency wrote in the post. “Many families and students are getting ready for the new school year. Equity in the classroom is an essential piece of a productive and healthy learning environment,” it added.

The VDH also argued that it’s important to use terms that cover different forms of family. According to the health agency, the words ‘child’ and ‘kid’ are gender-neutral and can describe a child who may not be someone’s legal son or daughter. It recommended saying “family” rather than “extended family” because grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins are often “important parts of a core family unit.”

The VDH said the post was intended to “encourage using inclusive language when you don’t know someone’s family situation,” which is especially important in classrooms, afterschool programs, and sports teams.

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Using language that includes everyone helps children to “feel seen, respected, and valued no matter how their families are structured,” the VDH wrote.

The Vermont department’s website lists equity, inclusion and harmony as its key values. The website also provides links to articles with titles such as “Why is Vermont so overwhelmingly white?” and “What it’s like to be a migrant worker in Vermont.”

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The new post was met mostly with criticism, with some social media users calling the health department’s recommendations “ridiculous” and “insane.”

“The woke mind virus must be stopped,” one X (formerly Twitter) user wrote. Others have described the guidance as violating freedom of speech.