My two-and-a-half year old daughter recently moved up to a new room in day care. She's adjusted rather well, though I had heard a few things about the room that were not complimentary - or rather, about how they treated the kids. But I never saw anything unusual - just a bunch of kids running around playing.
Then the other day, I came to pick up my daughter and all of the "teachers" in the room had a concern - that my daugter "doesn't listen" - that they sometimes have to chase her to get her to be changed or that she refuses to sit down on the rug with all of the other children for group activities. They asked me what I did to get her to listen. I was surprised - I said something about her doing that sort of thing to us (my wife and I) as well and that there wasn't anything we did to get her to "listen" - when I later told my wife about this, she got very upset. And then I did, too. Two-year olds don't listen - that's what makes them two-year olds. What do they expect? Military precision drilling? My daughter has always done her own thing. In the older room, they let her. I'd often see it when I picked her up - everyone doing a group activity except her - she'd be off happily doing her own thing. She'd be social sometimes too - she liked to be social sometimes - but she also liked to do her own thing. I rather like that - I don't want some mindless follower for a daughter. I think I did the same thing when I was a kid, though I was also less social - I did what I wanted to do rather than what the group was doing.
I think it is a problem because the "teachers" should know better - two-year olds sometimes listen, sometimes they don't. That's just how they are at that age. I wouldn't start to expect real listening til at least three or later. If they bring it up again, I'll probably ask them just what the heck do they expect out of a two-year old.
Reminder
12 years ago
2 comments:
You're missing the point. Right at two is the proper place to begin breaking the spirit of your children and teaching them to be conformity robots. You're already six months behind; the teachers are criticizing you, not her.
Yeah, that thought has crossed my mind, too - especially given that it is a religious day care center (which for reasons of geography and finances is currently the best option right now - I am worried about what drivel they'll start putting into her head when she gets older- then again, I also wonder if that's not the best way to innoculate her against it - expose her to it now while at the same time explaining to her at home what religion is really about, instead of having her be approached by evangelists later in life. I went to a religious day care and nursery school and it didn't keep me from being an atheist because my parents aren't particularly religious (or really at all)).
Post a Comment