I dunno, I taught mine how to tie shoes, ride a bike, and tell time (with a learner watch with the minutes printed by 5s) between pre-K 4 and kindergarten. My kids aren’t geniuses, but I was raised to be self sufficient and raise my kids that way. |
You’re assuming they taught them how to get dressed and are not dong it for them at home. My kids pre-k and K teachers would often give me kudos for teaching my kids what I assumed where basic life skills that parents taught at home (tying your shoes, zipping/buttoning your jeans, coat, getting dressed on their own). I kept saying thank you but secretly thinking it was really odd until I ask someone at work and found out they were still laying their kids clothes out every night and making sure they got dressed correctly in the morning. After that I started looking more closely and understood just why the teachers were so surprised. I was FLOORED at the things most kids couldn’t do and that parents didn’t seem to be actively practicing and trying to get their gets to do on their own. I volunteered in a K classroom and came home telling me husband that every K-2 teacher should get an immediate raise because they clearly do God’s work. |
I wasn't teaching my kids to tie shoes while schools were closed in 2020 and 2021 (or ride their bikes, or read, or anything). I was spending the day trying to get my 5 and 6 year old to stop fighting and pay attention to this torture they called DL, then staying up late to catch up on all the work that I didn't do, plus doing all the extra household work and cooking for 4 people constantly at home. |
As we’ve learned in the past two years, NOTHING is “a parent’s job” anymore. |
Luckily tying shoes isn’t one of them. Don’t be a lazy parent. |
NP. I spent the solid 362 days of FCPS virtual school ensuring my 1st grade could read, write and stay on track in math. Shoe-tying eluded me during that year, while DH and I also worked FT. Sue me. |
That a dentist comes to the school might be addressing a different issue. Tooth decay in student’s baby teeth might actually show that the kids aren’t being seen for regular dental check-ups and dental cleaning. Lack of dental check-ups and regular cleaning by a dental hygienist is quite likely to be related to the extreme difficulty finding dentists who accept Medicaid or MCHIP for children, and the very limited and relatively high cost of dental insurance. It IS sad. And it’s one more reason to support a policy of providing adequate health care for everyone— that includes dental care and comprehensive mental health services. |
There are reasons kids may be delayed in the ability to tie shoes or tell time or ride a bike. They also aren’t necessarily reasons that you can tell by the sight of a child. So maybe parents are working on it but it is a much longer process for some children. Have some kindness for others, you truly don’t know what people have going on in their lives. |
Exactly. Working parents of young kids are burnt out. Our mental and physical health really took a hit from the school closures. |
I actually bought a Melissa and Doug shoe tying board. None of my kids had shoes that tied.
You’d be shocked at what her peers in kindergarten don’t know. A lot still can’t write their names or speak English. Some kids didn’t know how to hold a book or that we read from left to right. It’s way beyond remedial teaching. I will say though that my daughter had never been in school before either. We had a nanny and her preK never opened. I think this past fall was the first day of school for the majority of her classmates. No one had been to preschool that I talked to. |
And many physicians who see children with Medicaid for vaccinations, annuals, etc. really drop the ball by not talking about the importance of regular dental visits.Many missed opportunities to talk about the dangers of frequent bottles of juice and milk, when the children should be on to sippy cups of water. Lots of poor parents believe that baby teeth are not important because they will be replaced by adult teeth. |
Teachers are parents too and I’m sure they aren’t making a zillion excuses for not teaching their kids basic life skills like how to tie your shoes. |
Yes, and this was taught in K 40 years ago! |
Parents are pretty lazy these days in general. Anyone who works in a school knows this. Flame away. But nothing is ever their fault or responsibility, or their kids. This is our education crisis. |
Interesting perspective. I think that what the school expects of me as a parent and what the school expected from my parents are completely different. My parents were responsible for getting me on the bus. As a parent, I'm responsible for homework, charging chrome books, spirit days, snacks, other dress up days, and a never-ending parade of extras. I do it and I support the teachers 100% but, seriously, my parents just had to get me on the bus. |