Parental Corner

I am a dad of an amazing 2.5 year old girl. She can be the sweetest little angel, but sometimes this is what it feels like in our home:


EDIT: This pic is from about a year or so ago.

LOL, that's an awesome pic, and it looks very much like it feels to have a toddler
 
So we've pulled the kid from that nursery school after his 5th day there, he was getting hurt every day, and getting more upset to go there each day. They tell us that it's hard to adapt to the new environment and that there's separation anxiety and stuff, and that kids will get bumps and scrapes in the playground, which all sounds reasonable, but...

Friday seemed fine but he cried for a minute when he saw us coming to get him, we figured he was glad to see us after being at the school for the first time.

On Monday he came home with a grazed leg, probably a playground incident, not too much to worry about. Cried again when he was picked up.

On Tuesday he cried when he was dropped off as well, and he came home with a bite mark on each arm, we called the teacher, and the teacher was very apologetic and said he was playing with another boy and they fought over a toy and the other kid bit him, doesn't explain the second one, but toddlers bite sometimes and as long as they are aware and they are stopping it from now on, that kind of thing happens.

On Wednesday, he came home with a bruise on his cheek, I called the principal and said he's unhappy and he's getting hurt every day and what happened each day, she said the one kid is a biter because he's teething but they have teejel now and are watching him (different story from what we heard from the teacher, getting worried), and they get bumps and scrapes on the playground, I asked for them to look after him because he's getting hurt every day and he's not sleeping at night and he seems very unhappy.

On Thursday, I dropped him myself to see if he's just crying because it's his mom leaving him there, and he got very upset when we got there, and cried when I took him to the class, I told the teachers that he didn't sleep well, and if he's having a bad day, phone my wife and she will come get him.

They didn't call, but when my wife had taken him home that afternoon, she saw a lekker hand print on his arm as if someone had slapped him or grabbed his arm really hard. Now that's the last straw, an adult has clearly hurt our child, my wife phoned the principal and demands to know what is happening, she says she will find out as soon as she's back at the school, I called later that afternoon and make a big scene, she says she is interviewing all the teachers of that group and they say there were no incidents, I say this now looks like abuse, she sounds panicky and says it's definitely not abuse and talks about setting in and playground incidents, I say this is an adult that has smacked my kid so hard that there's still a mark by the time he gets home, and we're pulling him out of the school.

I am seriously pissed of and I think I must file a complaint against them. I do feel sorry for the principal (owner) because she has only just bought the school, including the staff, but I worry for the other kids.

The poor child woke up in the middle off the night and took like an hour just to calm down and stop crying, something has affected him badly.

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I'm sorry to hear this Matt and I feel for your family and little one. I seriously get goose bumps reading this. That's just not on. Shocking!

I'll agree that kids will be kids and bite and pull and kick. But that is clearly an adults hand print. Someone needs to answer for this.
 
Shiitt no take him out. My son was also in a school were he came home with bite marks and stuff. Ever since taking him out there and moving him to his current school, it has gone much better. Still the occasional scrape or graze mark from playing out side, but nothing mayor. How ever, you will get your bullies at each school, but hopefully the teachers will intervene when needed regarding that.
 
Ya look I can expect some bumps and grazes, but not every day, and I can expect him to take time to settle in, but he should get less upset each day, not more upset. That mark on his arm is just a huge red flag though and they just say there were no incidents, not even a story like he was falling off the jungle gym and I caught him by the arm or something that might maybe explain it, there's no way I can let him go back there in good conscience.
 
See this is when I am happy I don't have a child, I will be the parent that over reacts. Take him out of the school, and seriously consider having a long sit down with the principle and discuss the issues that you have. Because that is not on, I am one of the few who still believe that a child that young shouldnt have marks on him from an adult grabbing him or slapping him.
 
See this is when I am happy I don't have a child, I will be the parent that over reacts. Take him out of the school, and seriously consider having a long sit down with the principle and discuss the issues that you have. Because that is not on, I am one of the few who still believe that a child that young shouldnt have marks on him from an adult grabbing him or slapping him.

I'm worried I haven't reacted strongly enough, he's not even 2 yet, there's no justification for a mark like that, she needs to figure out what's going on there and get rid of that person quickly, problem is these things seem to happen when she's not there and of course everyone denies everything.
 
Matt, ask the principal if he would prefer the cops, the newspapers or both to get involved. That's just completely unacceptable. Kids will be kids, even my 7 month old sometimes comes back from daycare with bumps and scratches. However the caretakers actually write down exactly what happened and how it happened and at what time every time. However, looking at that hand print its an adult's hand print, which means either one of the teachers assaulted (yes it's assault) your child, which is scary enough. Alternatively it's a non-staff member that did that, and that is downright terrifying.
 
Matt, ask the principal if he would prefer the cops, the newspapers or both to get involved. That's just completely unacceptable. Kids will be kids, even my 7 month old sometimes comes back from daycare with bumps and scratches. However the caretakers actually write down exactly what happened and how it happened and at what time every time. However, looking at that hand print its an adult's hand print, which means either one of the teachers assaulted (yes it's assault) your child, which is scary enough. Alternatively it's a non-staff member that did that, and that is downright terrifying.

I'm definitely taking this up with the principal again when I go to pick up his stuff. If she hasn't taken some sort of definitive action, I'm reporting them. At least my kid is out of there, but there's other kids.
 
I'm definitely taking this up with the principal again when I go to pick up his stuff. If she hasn't taken some sort of definitive action, I'm reporting them. At least my kid is out of there, but there's other kids.

Cops, papers or both...don't let them get away with it even they have a plausible explanation.
 
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That mark on his arm looks very suspect. My little monster is very active and has gotten into the odd scuffle and bite, both received and done himself. Thats to be expected, but that arm... my blood would be bubbling hot, don't hurt my son. You can slap his bum or so, but that manhandling right there. A lot of abuse happens when they yank a child by the arm...

I cant understand how ppl mistreat children...how they live with themselves...
 
hey, have I posted a picture of my little monster here?

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That mark on his arm looks very suspect. My little monster is very active and has gotten into the odd scuffle and bite, both received and done himself. Thats to be expected, but that arm... my blood would be bubbling hot, don't hurt my son. You can slap his bum or so, but that manhandling right there. A lot of abuse happens when they yank a child by the arm...

I cant understand how ppl mistreat children...how they live with themselves...

I don't know how they can do it either, I mean kids can be difficult, but they are just kids. And these are people who have decided on a career in child care.

hey, have I posted a picture of my little monster here?

Awesome man, he looks pretty chuffed with that award hey...
 
Matt I am really sorry to hear that he had gone through something like that. Its something I cannot tolerate at all. Give him lots of cuddles and reasurance. The new school will also be a trial at first since that bad experience will bother him and make him scared. If at all possible when taking him to the school, stay with him for at least 30mins to settle him in.
 
Matt I am really sorry to hear that he had gone through something like that. Its something I cannot tolerate at all. Give him lots of cuddles and reasurance. The new school will also be a trial at first since that bad experience will bother him and make him scared. If at all possible when taking him to the school, stay with him for at least 30mins to settle him in.

Thanks Wyvern. He seems to be happier already. I think we'll keep him out of school for a few more months after this episode, and try again when he can go to a 2-3 year old class.
 
Biting is very normal. I was bitten by a child at preprimary (quite badly to the point of blood, the kid had bitten many) and my twin punched the kid in the nose and almost broke it. Needless to say he never bit anyone else. What is the name/location of the school if i may ask?
 
Biting is very normal. I was bitten by a child at preprimary (quite badly to the point of blood, the kid had bitten many) and my twin punched the kid in the nose and almost broke it. Needless to say he never bit anyone else. What is the name/location of the school if i may ask?

Ya I can understand biting, that happens and loads of kids go through a biting phase, as long as the teachers know who's doing the biting so they can at least try prevent it, that's totally understandable. The big problem was what happened to his arm, and that makes me question everything. Maybe everything has a reasonable explanation, and maybe I'm over reacting, but I can't take the chance. All the people seem so nice though, it's probably just one person who gets too rough when no-one else is looking, and there's no way to know who it was, and no proof against that person.
 
Ya I can understand biting, that happens and loads of kids go through a biting phase, as long as the teachers know who's doing the biting so they can at least try prevent it, that's totally understandable. The big problem was what happened to his arm, and that makes me question everything. Maybe everything has a reasonable explanation, and maybe I'm over reacting, but I can't take the chance. All the people seem so nice though, it's probably just one person who gets too rough when no-one else is looking, and there's no way to know who it was, and no proof against that person.

Many people look nice around the parents trust me. After working in a teaching environment, the person a teacher is to you is not necessarily the person they are to your child.
 
I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that if (when) I make a move to CT that it would probably be in both our best interests to leave my son here till I can get us settled and ready for him.
 
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