5 Things Your Child’s Preschool Teacher Really Want You to Know

You dropped off Junior at preschool this morning and, as you breezed by his teacher on your way out, received a stiff smile and a tight ‘Hello’. You get the feeling she’s a little displeased with you – but what did you do wrong? What isn’t she telling you?

What do your children’s alternate caregivers really think?

Here are 5 things they wished you knew:

1. We Know When You’re Lying About Your Child

We spend all day with your bundle of joy; we see him interact with other kids, we feed him, change him, play together and go through his lessons with him – so there’s really no point lying to us about anything! Don’t tell us he can already read or write when he clearly can’t, or that he’s really not a picky eater – it’s the school food.

Being up front with us about your child’s problems and quirks will help us work together with you in dealing with them, and benefit the little one more at the end of the day.

2. Your Child Shouldn’t be Here When He’s Sick

We know that its really hard to get time off work at the last minute, and you’ve only got a small, valuable stash of annual leave days – but sending your kid into a centre full of other vulnerable young children when he’s got the flu (or even worse, the dreaded HFMD) is not just inconsiderate, its also a recipe for disaster. You wouldn’t want your baby learning, playing, eating and napping next to a sniffy and coughing kid, so don’t let your child become Germ Central in school when he’s the one who’s down.

Having to be around so many people and going through a full day of preschool also puts a strain on your ill child, so do him, his class and his teachers all a favour and stay home with him when he’s sick.

3. We Only Have One Set of Eyes and Ears

At any one point of time there’s about 5-10 children under our care, so we can’t have our full attention on your baby alone when he’s here. We do our best to ensure that he’s always safe, happy and learning, but we can’t know every little thing he’s done or said during the day – so interrogating us about his every move when you come pick him up is really an exercise in futility (and we don’t appreciate it!)

With so many fidgety, energetic children to watch over, we also cannot be responsible for your child’s belongings – either teach Junior to look after his own toys and books or send him to preschool without them (we’ve plenty of toys for him here!)

4. Breaking School Rules Isn’t Ok For You Either

They’re there for a reason! Sending your child to school out of uniform because you didn’t have time to wash it adds unnecessary trouble to us, as does your not signing in and out when you pick up your kid.

We’re not trying to be difficult and we understand that you may already be late for work, but the process of signing in and out is a Ministry requirement put there to protect your children, and the 3 seconds it takes you to do it won’t make any difference either way.

5. Little Accidents Will Happen, but That’s Not a Big Deal

We understand that seeing your precious little one hurt is heart-wrenching, and it is for us too – but young children still in the process of developing their motor skills and spatial awareness will inevitably fall down or bang into objects at times. A few minor bruises and scratches now and then won’t cause any long-term damage, and we’d clean it, patch it up and put a cute plaster on it – so don’t tear our hide off every time a little playground mishap occurs!

Getting dirty and paint-smeared is also part of the fun of growing up, and children really shouldn’t go to school worried about getting their uniform stained. So relax, put the clothes in the wash and ask Junior all about the face-painting fun instead of letting your wrath explode over him and his poor teachers – you’d find that much more satisfying and enjoyable, and probably save yourself some grey hair as well.