The supermarket giant said they were “treating seriously” Emma Ward’s complaint over them selling pens labelled for boys or girls despite them appearing to be the same product.

The 48-year-old, who has worked with children for 30 years, says it “hit a nerve” when she spotted the gendered pens in the middle aisle of her local Aldi store.

The kids club worker says the packs of multicoloured blow pens appeared to be the exact same product in the same packaging, but one was labelled with “boys” and the other “girls”.

Aldi are reconsidering the packaging of kids’ pens – after a customer complained that they were ‘gendered for no reason’. (Image: Kennedy News & Media)

Emma says that separating the product into genders “goes against everything” she tries to teach children in her job.

Emma believes labelling the stationary could be potentially “damaging” for children, who she tries to encourage to “play with and do anything that they wish without prejudice”.

Aldi claimed they take customer feedback ‘very seriously’ and said they will take Emma’s complaint about the gendered pens ‘into account when planning future ranges and product specifications’.

Emma, from Bourne, said: “We spend our life telling the children that they can do whatever they want to do and play with whatever they want to.

“Gendering something as simple as pens just hit a nerve – it goes against everything that I’ve told the children.

“Why do it? It’s just silly really that they’re stereotyping pens to be for one gender or the other.

“It’s the exact same product, the exact same packaging and everything.

“It’s about opening possibilities for children and not closing doors on them and saying look, you can’t use this product because it’s for boys or girls.

“I think it really can be damaging, obviously when children see them, they’ll think boys and girls are different.”

Emma believes that Aldi should pull the product from their shelves – and it has made her reconsider shopping with them in the future.

An Aldi spokesperson said: “We take customer feedback very seriously and will take this into account when planning future ranges and product specifications.”

With lodge and apartment accommodation, a big indoor subtropical-style pool and a wide range of paid activities, from cycling and climbing to watersports and spa treatments.

But now, things are set to change.

The company previously offered a crèche service for kids between three months and three years, for up to three hours.

The price was around £30 a session.

However, it has confirmed that this will no longer be offered at any of its five UK resorts by the end of next month.

Customers with upcoming bookings have discovered they can no longer book their kids in if their holiday is after the end of May, and the option has been removed across all of Center Parcs’ UK sites.

For many, it opened up the opportunity for parents to enjoy quality time together, or for grandparents to be let off the childcare hook.

A spokesperson for Center Parcs told Metro: “We’re always looking to review and evolve the guest experience. We have made the decision to remove the crèche activity from our breaks, to reflect guest feedback and limited demand for this particular activity.

“Crèche sessions are one of more than 20 activities available within our Activity Den and our other activities will continue to run as normal.”

What is a crèche service?

A crèche service is short‑term childcare where young children are looked after while their parents or carers do something else nearby (for example, working, studying, using a gym, attending an event or shopping).

It’s usually:

• Occasional and short‑duration – children are typically there for a couple of hours rather than full days, and it’s not necessarily the same children every day.
• Linked to a venue or activity – often attached to leisure centres, colleges, workplaces, conferences, weddings or community events so adults can take part while children are safely supervised.
• Supervised play, not full nursery education – staff provide a safe space, toys and activities, and meet basic care needs (nappies, drinks, comforting), but it’s generally more about short‑term care than structured early‑years education.

Depending on how long children stay, their ages, and whether parents remain on site, crèche services may need to be registered and inspected under local childcare regulations (for example by Ofsted or equivalent bodies).

Officers from Gloucestershire Constabulary’s rural crime team are appealing for information after several badgers were shot and killed near Tewkesbury.

Police were contacted on Saturday, March 21 with a report that three dead badgers had been found on the public footpath at Buckland Wood in Broadway.

The exact location where the badgers were found is the footpath that runs along the north side of Buckland Wood and it is believed they had been shot just days earlier.

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The Badger Trust and Gloucestershire Badger Group also contacted police to report that a fourth badger was found dead nearby and officers believe the animal was also shot.

PC Parker from the rural crime team said: “Badgers are protected by law and it is a criminal offence to intentionally capture, kill or injure a badger.

“This incident has understandably caused upset for the wildlife community and we want to do all we can to identify those responsible.”

Craig Fellowes, wildlife crime manager and trainer for the Badger Trust added: “Badgers in the UK continue to face illegal persecution, despite clear laws prohibiting their shooting unless licensed.

“Badgers are regarded by some as vermin, they are not. They are protected by law; unlawful shooting may result in six months’ imprisonment or an unlimited fine under the Protection of Badgers Act.

“The recent incident in Gloucestershire shows the ongoing challenges for badgers. Anyone with information should contact the police, Badger Trust, or local groups, or report anonymously to Crimestoppers.”