Why are some parents so clueless?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I try my best but I have been known to miss an important detail in an email, forgotten something, arrived late. Apologies!

I try but can't be perfect and you don't see in this one mistake the 95 percent of the time that I do a great job and feel like Super Organized Mom.

This. Chill out OP. I get that you’re putting in time to make sure parents are informed, but sometimes things get missed because people are dealing with work/family issues or just plain forget.

+1,000 I have no clue how people like OP can expect working parents of more than one child to stay on top of every single ridiculous request from schools and parents organizing things. It's too much! All the class parties and events and snack day and so on and so on. I am very organized with a weekly white board and a monthly calendar plus a notebook organizing all my kids' school activities etc but I still miss stuff because the demands are just out of control. Why does sports need to have a snack, for example? Bring your own freaking snack for your kid if you let your kids snack all the time. But don't make other busy moms sign up to bring snacks, especially when we don't let our kids stuff their face with garbage just because they ran around on a field for an hour. I have 10 given sign up genius' at any given time that I have to manage, let alone the rest of my family's life and my career. So step down, OP.

Or spirit week?
I am supposed to find this buried in the school newsletter, then remember to send my kid in with a hat a week from next Tuesday.
If you want my kid in a hat, send an email Monday afternoon that says HAT DAY Tomorrow .

You people are hilariously unable to be adults. If you got the email Monday afternoon you would 100% be complaining that you don't have a suitable hat and ONE day is not enough notice to go procure one.

In this thread: Send the email very early so I can clear my schedule. Also in this thread: Send the email the day before and no earlier so I don't have to remember anything!

How hard is it to put it on the calendar when you get the email? I'll give you a clue: not hard.

Do BOTH. Or else admit that snack and spirit week are not important to anyone, even the person organizing it, and just let it go.

I posted earlier on this thread that the teenage boys I coach are able to get all of their stuff together, and part of that is because it is important to me, and I make it clear that it should be important to them too. This stuff is important to no one.

[Anonymous]

It's people in general, not just parents.

[Anonymous]

My DH is highly competent at what he does (surgery) but can't seem to read and follow kid activities. Forget about knowing the kids' schedules even if they are on the calendar. I manage all the kids activities. I did this when I was working and now that I'm a SAHM.

[Anonymous]

PP here. I think many people open the email, glance at it briefly and never look at it again. Then there are people who literally have thousands of unopened emails just sitting in their inbox. I'm sure those people miss things all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow some of you PPs are total jerks. These are activities your kid is involved in and you just can’t be bothered because you have more important things to do? It’s sad that your kids will see how unimportant they are to you when you are late or they show up unprepared etc. Guess what, we are all busy and somehow get our kids together for their activities.

Are you even a parent? There are a million things to do every day to take care of our kids. Just because they are unprepared for something EXTRA doesn't mean they have bad parents or parents who think they are unimportant. Plus, PP and others -- some kids are involved in more than one activity and maybe yours is not the most important one of many.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow some of you PPs are total jerks. These are activities your kid is involved in and you just can’t be bothered because you have more important things to do? It’s sad that your kids will see how unimportant they are to you when you are late or they show up unprepared etc. Guess what, we are all busy and somehow get our kids together for their activities.

Are you even a parent? There are a million things to do every day to take care of our kids. Just because they are unprepared for something EXTRA doesn't mean they have bad parents or parents who think they are unimportant. Plus, PP and others -- some kids are involved in more than one activity and maybe yours is not the most important one of many.

DP here. I'm a pretty involved parent. I remember last year my kid started strings. I put the concert in my calendar. The day before my DS says he has to wear a black shirt. I go out of my way to go buy him a black polo shirt at the mall. Then the day of, he says it is a white shirt or he doesn't know. I emailed the strings teacher. I'm sure she thinks I can't read because I realized there was a very clear letter that stated that the evening concert for families was a white shirt and the during school concert was a black t shirt that everyone in the orchestra was given. I went back to the email and the email was soooooo long. Keep the emails short, people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow some of you PPs are total jerks. These are activities your kid is involved in and you just can’t be bothered because you have more important things to do? It’s sad that your kids will see how unimportant they are to you when you are late or they show up unprepared etc. Guess what, we are all busy and somehow get our kids together for their activities.

Are you even a parent? There are a million things to do every day to take care of our kids. Just because they are unprepared for something EXTRA doesn't mean they have bad parents or parents who think they are unimportant. Plus, PP and others -- some kids are involved in more than one activity and maybe yours is not the most important one of many.

DP here. I'm a pretty involved parent. I remember last year my kid started strings. I put the concert in my calendar. The day before my DS says he has to wear a black shirt. I go out of my way to go buy him a black polo shirt at the mall. Then the day of, he says it is a white shirt or he doesn't know. I emailed the strings teacher. I'm sure she thinks I can't read because I realized there was a very clear letter that stated that the evening concert for families was a white shirt and the during school concert was a black t shirt that everyone in the orchestra was given. I went back to the email and the email was soooooo long. Keep the emails short, people.

Exactly. And does that mean you treat your kids as if they're not important? No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow some of you PPs are total jerks. These are activities your kid is involved in and you just can’t be bothered because you have more important things to do? It’s sad that your kids will see how unimportant they are to you when you are late or they show up unprepared etc. Guess what, we are all busy and somehow get our kids together for their activities.

Are you even a parent? There are a million things to do every day to take care of our kids. Just because they are unprepared for something EXTRA doesn't mean they have bad parents or parents who think they are unimportant. Plus, PP and others -- some kids are involved in more than one activity and maybe yours is not the most important one of many.

DP here. I'm a pretty involved parent. I remember last year my kid started strings. I put the concert in my calendar. The day before my DS says he has to wear a black shirt. I go out of my way to go buy him a black polo shirt at the mall. Then the day of, he says it is a white shirt or he doesn't know. I emailed the strings teacher. I'm sure she thinks I can't read because I realized there was a very clear letter that stated that the evening concert for families was a white shirt and the during school concert was a black t shirt that everyone in the orchestra was given. I went back to the email and the email was soooooo long. Keep the emails short, people.

Wait--you're admitting there was an earlier email that had the relevant instructions, and which you admit you failed to read and follow, but then you blame the teacher by saying the message was "soooo long"? When a teacher emails you, you need to take the time to wade through it all, when it comes, however long you think it is. This wasn't even a PTA email or one from some extracurricular activity. It was from a teacher. Let me guess -- "It's only strings, not a 'real' class" is how you'd respond.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow some of you PPs are total jerks. These are activities your kid is involved in and you just can’t be bothered because you have more important things to do? It’s sad that your kids will see how unimportant they are to you when you are late or they show up unprepared etc. Guess what, we are all busy and somehow get our kids together for their activities.

Are you even a parent? There are a million things to do every day to take care of our kids. Just because they are unprepared for something EXTRA doesn't mean they have bad parents or parents who think they are unimportant. Plus, PP and others -- some kids are involved in more than one activity and maybe yours is not the most important one of many.

DP here. I'm a pretty involved parent. I remember last year my kid started strings. I put the concert in my calendar. The day before my DS says he has to wear a black shirt. I go out of my way to go buy him a black polo shirt at the mall. Then the day of, he says it is a white shirt or he doesn't know. I emailed the strings teacher. I'm sure she thinks I can't read because I realized there was a very clear letter that stated that the evening concert for families was a white shirt and the during school concert was a black t shirt that everyone in the orchestra was given. I went back to the email and the email was soooooo long. Keep the emails short, people.

Wait--you're admitting there was an earlier email that had the relevant instructions, and which you admit you failed to read and follow, but then you blame the teacher by saying the message was "soooo long"? When a teacher emails you, you need to take the time to wade through it all, when it comes, however long you think it is. This wasn't even a PTA email or one from some extracurricular activity. It was from a teacher. Let me guess -- "It's only strings, not a 'real' class" is how you'd respond.

This is great advice for people who have nothing else to do but read that one email.

[Anonymous]

Some people just hate emails.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow some of you PPs are total jerks. These are activities your kid is involved in and you just can’t be bothered because you have more important things to do? It’s sad that your kids will see how unimportant they are to you when you are late or they show up unprepared etc. Guess what, we are all busy and somehow get our kids together for their activities.

Are you even a parent? There are a million things to do every day to take care of our kids. Just because they are unprepared for something EXTRA doesn't mean they have bad parents or parents who think they are unimportant. Plus, PP and others -- some kids are involved in more than one activity and maybe yours is not the most important one of many.

DP here. I'm a pretty involved parent. I remember last year my kid started strings. I put the concert in my calendar. The day before my DS says he has to wear a black shirt. I go out of my way to go buy him a black polo shirt at the mall. Then the day of, he says it is a white shirt or he doesn't know. I emailed the strings teacher. I'm sure she thinks I can't read because I realized there was a very clear letter that stated that the evening concert for families was a white shirt and the during school concert was a black t shirt that everyone in the orchestra was given. I went back to the email and the email was soooooo long. Keep the emails short, people.

This is when you phone a friend. Ask another parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow some of you PPs are total jerks. These are activities your kid is involved in and you just can’t be bothered because you have more important things to do? It’s sad that your kids will see how unimportant they are to you when you are late or they show up unprepared etc. Guess what, we are all busy and somehow get our kids together for their activities.

Are you even a parent? There are a million things to do every day to take care of our kids. Just because they are unprepared for something EXTRA doesn't mean they have bad parents or parents who think they are unimportant. Plus, PP and others -- some kids are involved in more than one activity and maybe yours is not the most important one of many.

DP here. I'm a pretty involved parent. I remember last year my kid started strings. I put the concert in my calendar. The day before my DS says he has to wear a black shirt. I go out of my way to go buy him a black polo shirt at the mall. Then the day of, he says it is a white shirt or he doesn't know. I emailed the strings teacher. I'm sure she thinks I can't read because I realized there was a very clear letter that stated that the evening concert for families was a white shirt and the during school concert was a black t shirt that everyone in the orchestra was given. I went back to the email and the email was soooooo long. Keep the emails short, people.

Wait--you're admitting there was an earlier email that had the relevant instructions, and which you admit you failed to read and follow, but then you blame the teacher by saying the message was "soooo long"? When a teacher emails you, you need to take the time to wade through it all, when it comes, however long you think it is. This wasn't even a PTA email or one from some extracurricular activity. It was from a teacher. Let me guess -- "It's only strings, not a 'real' class" is how you'd respond.

This is great advice for people who have nothing else to do but read that one email.

Kind of. Do most people set aside time to really sit down and read through email, put things on their calendar, write out the dress code for school concerts, etc? Do you have a weekly time for this? A daily time for it?
I tend to check email a few times a day when I have a few minutes here or there and I either respond, throw it out, or save it. It’s kind of rare that I really go back and comb through those saved emails.

[Anonymous]

Millennials

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow some of you PPs are total jerks. These are activities your kid is involved in and you just can’t be bothered because you have more important things to do? It’s sad that your kids will see how unimportant they are to you when you are late or they show up unprepared etc. Guess what, we are all busy and somehow get our kids together for their activities.

Are you even a parent? There are a million things to do every day to take care of our kids. Just because they are unprepared for something EXTRA doesn't mean they have bad parents or parents who think they are unimportant. Plus, PP and others -- some kids are involved in more than one activity and maybe yours is not the most important one of many.

DP here. I'm a pretty involved parent. I remember last year my kid started strings. I put the concert in my calendar. The day before my DS says he has to wear a black shirt. I go out of my way to go buy him a black polo shirt at the mall. Then the day of, he says it is a white shirt or he doesn't know. I emailed the strings teacher. I'm sure she thinks I can't read because I realized there was a very clear letter that stated that the evening concert for families was a white shirt and the during school concert was a black t shirt that everyone in the orchestra was given. I went back to the email and the email was soooooo long. Keep the emails short, people.

Wait--you're admitting there was an earlier email that had the relevant instructions, and which you admit you failed to read and follow, but then you blame the teacher by saying the message was "soooo long"? When a teacher emails you, you need to take the time to wade through it all, when it comes, however long you think it is. This wasn't even a PTA email or one from some extracurricular activity. It was from a teacher. Let me guess -- "It's only strings, not a 'real' class" is how you'd respond.

This is great advice for people who have nothing else to do but read that one email.

Kind of. Do most people set aside time to really sit down and read through email, put things on their calendar, write out the dress code for school concerts, etc? Do you have a weekly time for this? A daily time for it?
I tend to check email a few times a day when I have a few minutes here or there and I either respond, throw it out, or save it. It’s kind of rare that I really go back and comb through those saved emails.

Yes, they do, if you want your kid to show up with the right dress code, etc. I work full time and some how manage to read instructions about my kid's activities. I sometimes get annoyed with other parents constantly asking ME what the instructions are. As if they are sooooo busy and some how I am not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow some of you PPs are total jerks. These are activities your kid is involved in and you just can’t be bothered because you have more important things to do? It’s sad that your kids will see how unimportant they are to you when you are late or they show up unprepared etc. Guess what, we are all busy and somehow get our kids together for their activities.

Are you even a parent? There are a million things to do every day to take care of our kids. Just because they are unprepared for something EXTRA doesn't mean they have bad parents or parents who think they are unimportant. Plus, PP and others -- some kids are involved in more than one activity and maybe yours is not the most important one of many.

DP here. I'm a pretty involved parent. I remember last year my kid started strings. I put the concert in my calendar. The day before my DS says he has to wear a black shirt. I go out of my way to go buy him a black polo shirt at the mall. Then the day of, he says it is a white shirt or he doesn't know. I emailed the strings teacher. I'm sure she thinks I can't read because I realized there was a very clear letter that stated that the evening concert for families was a white shirt and the during school concert was a black t shirt that everyone in the orchestra was given. I went back to the email and the email was soooooo long. Keep the emails short, people.

Wait--you're admitting there was an earlier email that had the relevant instructions, and which you admit you failed to read and follow, but then you blame the teacher by saying the message was "soooo long"? When a teacher emails you, you need to take the time to wade through it all, when it comes, however long you think it is. This wasn't even a PTA email or one from some extracurricular activity. It was from a teacher. Let me guess -- "It's only strings, not a 'real' class" is how you'd respond.

This is great advice for people who have nothing else to do but read that one email./quote]

No, this is great advice for a parent who wants to know what needs to be done for their kid's activities.