MOST people struggle with calling their parents by their first names, so imagine having to use a number instead.

France’s new socialist party want to eradicate the terms "mother" and "father".

If their proposed bill is passed in parliament, French children will instead call their guardians “parent 1” and “parent 2”.

The law would also allow homosexual couples to adopt the child of their spouse - French law currently only permits one person to adopt and have rights over the child.



The French Catholic Church is said to be outraged by the plan and claim it would pave the way for “incest” and “polygamy”. But the French people seem pretty happy to get on board. In a recent poll taken by the French Institute of Public Opinion, 61 per cent said they supported gay marriage but only 48 per cent backed the adoption provision.



Sweden too is currently debating a language change, in the name of better gender equality. They’re advocating for the addition of neutral term “hen” to use in addition to “his” and “her”.



While this proposal won’t change the Swedish vocabulary too much, it does give the option of using a gender neutral term.



As the Economist put it, in practice “hen” is a little like using a singular form of “they”:



Steve left their jacket here. They're going to really be cold outside without it. Or Mary is getting bored in their marriage and is considering leaving their husband



Here’s our question: Can we expect a similar debate to emerge here in Australia?



Both proposals highlight that we are in new territory,” said University of Melbourne educational and development professor and psychologist Erica Frydenberg.



“Legally it is helpful to be able to define terms but we also need to ensure we have universally acknowledged nomenclature.



“As a psychologist it is important to reiterate that what we want are people who are parents by choice.



“They are likely to give best opportunities for love and growth. Ideally this takes away from same-sex controversy,” Dr Frydenberg said.



Dr Frydenberg said that there are also a number of inherent problems with the proposed French laws.



“The first one being the problematic use of hierarchal terms. There are so many issues here. For example, who is parent “1” and who is parent “2” and how does each person feel about this,” she said.



Children’s natural development is another issue. Dr Frydenberg said most toddlers utter words like da, da and ma, ma, so there will also be some practical problems with this plan.



Finally Dr Frydenberg it also pays to remember that “parent” isn’t a gendered term and this word can be used by people from all backgrounds, without prejudice.

Originally published as Get rid of mum and dad and replace with numbers