It’s the done thing that, when you send your child to school, you fill out a health questionnaire, declaring any health conditions or allergies.
But one mum found herself taken aback when her 13-year-old daughter presented her with a questionnaire from her school, which TikTok users have said is ‘giving Handmaid’s Tale’.
Mum Lauren, from Washington, branded the in-depth form ‘weird’ and refused to fill it out, especially since it had been sent in the middle of the school year.
The video went viral on TikTok garnering nearly seven million views and 40,000 comments of people urging her not to fill out the form.
Lauren said: ‘My 13-year-old daughter just brought home this student health questionnaire that the school nurse gave to everybody, apparently, and needs back immediately.
‘I need you to help me figure out if it’s weird or not, because it seems weird to me.’
The mum said the questionnaire began with the standard questions about allergies, asthma, diabetes and seizure disorders.
Then, the form began to ask some more invasive questions.
Lauren said: ‘There’s another section, asking about my pregnancy and her birth. “Was it a normal pregnancy? Yes or no – please explain”.
‘”Was the delivery a vaginal delivery? A C-section? Was it scheduled? Was it emergency? Were there any complications – please explain.”
‘”Was she born full term, premature or overdue? How many weeks gestation was she when she was born?”
‘”Was she a single birth? A twin, or other?”. “How much did she weigh?”‘
Following the questions about her daughter’s birth, the school’s questionnaire then asked things like when she first sat up on her own, when she formed her first sentence, when she first crawled and walked and what age they were potty trained at.
The form even asked Lauren if she felt her daughter’s development was on par with other children.
Lauren had concerns, saying: ‘Why are you asking this? She’s 13, almost 14, it’s half way through the year. She hasn’t signed up for any sports or clubs or PE or anything like that, that would warrant a new health questionnaire.
‘You fill out a health questionnaire at the beginning of every school year, but it’s just the standard one – allergies, asthma, seizures, stuff like that.
(Picture:TikTok/ lauren1xoxo)
‘Why do they need to know all this… I feel like I have never filled out anything like this – maybe for kindergarten or preschool, questions like this I can justify… But why do you need to know about my teenagers infancy?’
The mother asked TikTok if they agreed that this form was ‘weird’ or if parents had received something similar.
While some in the comments suggested her daughter could be being evaluated for ADHD or Autism, as well as assisted learning programmes, Lauren checked with the school and her daughter isn’t being assessed for any of those.
The mum claims the nurse she spoke to told her the questions were an optional part of the form, although the questionnaire itself did not say they were optional.
Lauren claims the nurse also said that the form was apparently distributed to every school in the district in waves, although Lauren’s son has not been given the same form at this moment in time, leaving her more than a little perplexed.
In the comments many agreed with Lauren while others believed the school would not need to know that.
Liz Prague said: ‘Oh no, that’s not cool. Sounds handmaids tale!’
Nechelle Donnelley agreed writing: ‘Feels very pre-handmaids tale questionnaire…’
Another user Tyler Rae said: ‘I feel like those are questions they ask at a paediatrician [appointment]… not a school.’
Others branded the school’s questions as ‘none of their business’, but some felt the questionnaire was reasonable.
Sherly Lynn said: ‘I filled out very similar questions… It is normal. It is for developmental and psychological screenings.’
Others claimed it could be for some sort of study or to give context to behaviour of students in the classrooms.
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