Limitations of the job

[bright sparks]

I spoke to my daughter last night and the whole situation was totally blowed out of proportion by the VP. My daughter is 4 and doesn't even know what choking is (except in reference to "don't put so much food in your mouth or you'll choke." The VP said my daughter "instigated a choking game" and how she is very concerned about my daughter and her behaviour. The choking confused me to begin with as she doesn't know what that is and the suggestion that this was malicious was the other confusing aspect. Basically what happened was they were playing a game where she and 3 other girls chased this boy to "take his powers" away. My daughter grabbed his neck, he fell and they pushed on his neck. There was no intent to hurt him.

She made my daughter out to be very concerning and was questioning where she would have learned about a "choking game" from. So annoyed.

That would have me very annoyed. How about documenting fact, not assumptions or ones impression. What a shocking accusation to make against your daughter when the explanation you followed up with makes so much more sense. Okay rough play isn't okay because things like this can occur, but this is innocent and normal child behaviour that just unfortunately ended up with them falling in such a way on the boy. I honestly can't believe this even warranted a call home unless the child was actually hurt and it was just to inform you of what actually happened as a way of following up and following protocol, versus calling to make something out of nothing, put words into your child's mouth and imply that your 4 year old is wild and out of control, which is how I would have received the VP's comments had she said those things to me about my child. I'd be following up with the Principal if I were you on how the whole thing was handled, but unfortunately I do find that whenever I have a concern with a teacher's actions, the principal tends to always have the teachers back making excuses and passing the blame.

[torontokids]

[QUOTE=torontokids;72 131]

My son is 2E and I have to meet multiple times a year to address things mainly because teachers are not sticking to his IEP. It is frustrating to say the least and I feel guilty for taking time off and leaving my families stuck but then I also feel guilty about how I have to put my son 2nd behind other children. I feel your pain, I truly do but for myself it's likely a blessing that I can't sweep in and try to fix it. That would probably be a disservice to my son at his age (12) who unfortunately needs to experience these things without me in order to develop the necessary coping skills that will serve him well in life when mum isn't around to save him. That being said, when I close my doors in July, things won't be a whole lot easier as I will be over 100km away should I need to go to school for anything. Fortunately I have some good back up should my kids be ill and need collecting promptly, but even if there was an incident at school, it's for them to deal with during school hours and then communicate with me to follow up on at home. It may be a blessing in disguise Torontokids although I understand as your daughter is a lot younger she would typically be a lot more dependent on you. Going to school is your instinct but likely not necessary and there probably wouldn't be anyone available to talk with you and give you the full story. Best to schedule a telephone appointment to follow up with the adult who intervened and witnessed the events of recess. "



I totally agree with you that this prevents me from running in and saving her and this is probably a good thing, especially if I am pissed off. I think what was most frustrating was not having the option to go. Plus this situation was presented to me as something very serious and that they were very concerned about her. They weren't describing my daughter at all. I just felt sick and wanted to see her.

That would have me very annoyed. How about documenting fact, not assumptions or ones impression. What a shocking accusation to make against your daughter when the explanation you followed up with makes so much more sense. Okay rough play isn't okay because things like this can occur, but this is innocent and normal child behaviour that just unfortunately ended up with them falling in such a way on the boy. I honestly can't believe this even warranted a call home unless the child was actually hurt and it was just to inform you of what actually happened as a way of following up and following protocol, versus calling to make something out of nothing, put words into your child's mouth and imply that your 4 year old is wild and out of control, which is how I would have received the VP's comments had she said those things to me about my child. I'd be following up with the Principal if I were you on how the whole thing was handled, but unfortunately I do find that whenever I have a concern with a teacher's actions, the principal tends to always have the teachers back making excuses and passing the blame.

Totally agree and I did call and speak to the principal. She apologized about how things were communicated.

[innisfildaycare]

I am on the opposite side of the fence on this one. I did daycare for 6 years after my second son was born. I absolutely loved it! I spent every minute with my boys and we enjoyed every second of every day. I always attended my childrens school functions and always walked (30 min) to the school when they needed me, always with my DCK's in tow. We had great times! My former employer called me after quitting 6 years prior and offered me an awesome job and agreed to most of my requests, which included, 2 months off in the summer, 3 weeks vacation during my 10 months of employment + any additional days off to attend any school functions my kids had going on at the their school. It is a very "cushy" job and I honestly have the greatest employers who are flexible and understanding - two of the greatest men I know! I try not to take advantage - so I dont attend ALL functions at the school as I would feel way to guilty doing so, even though that is a part of my contract. BUT I miss my boys terribly. I knew Id have to get up alot earlier seeing as my work location is an hour away from my home. Ive been back now almost 3 years and Im exhausted. My boys are now 10 and 8. The first two years back to work were amazing - i got to dress up, wear make up and heels again. I was excited to get up at 5:30 every morning to blow dry my hair. I felt and looked fabulous. Having been on both sides of the fence, i totally regret ever going back to work. My weekends now consist of cleaning the entire house, doing laundry, cooking, groceries and any other errands that have to get done. While doing daycare, i had at least 2-3 hours everyday while the DCK napped, to clean, and/or get some laundry folded and put away, start dinner, prepare next days lunch etc. leaving me more time at night to spend with my boys and my weekends more free for family outings. I cant remember the last time we went bowling or to a movie on the weekend...im way to busy and then before i know it, im way too tired. Most times our clean clothes are just left in baskets in rooms for everyone to fend to on their own. I use to bake fresh goods everyday, and work hard on our dinners - now we buy or baked goods and eat frozen food 2-3 nights a week. I HATE IT! I had so much more time with my kids at night - now, its home, cook, clean up, homework, bath and bed. Then starts my night of me showering, picking out everyones clothes, preparing lunches, packing bags and so on. And this includes my husbands help. I feel like i dont even know my children. Even when i am asking about their day, i feel like im not even listening because i am busy trying to get things done. If the school calls me for an issue, ex: if they forget their lunch, i cant go and bring it to them. Im an hour away. The whole process of working outside of the home is far more stressful then doing daycare (although daycare is mentally draining) I hate fighting the cold, i hate fighting the traffic and the snow. This summer, i have decided to re-open my daycare and not return to work.

[Fun&care]

It's funny but I feel the same-I don't feel like I know my kids anymore, and I feel like I hardly get to spend any time with them. But I am doing daycare! Because it always seems that the daycare kids take up so much of my time and attention. I hate it because although I am right here, I can never do anything with my son because I am watching the little ones and I am so tired of hearing myself say "not right now buddy, maybe later". I find it more painful that I am here yet always feeling like I am letting him down. I would rather have less time with him but for it to be quality time, without one million distractions. Not to mention that I would probably spend way less time cleaning if we weren't here to mess it up all the time, and dressing 5 kids to go do the bus run in -25 weather just isn't doing for me anymore.

I am currently looking for employment innisfildaycare and your job sounds like a dream! I am hoping though that I can work part time...maybe 6 hour days...well see!

Being a stay at home mom would be wonderful but we can't afford that