Back to School Night gripe

[Anonymous]

Such whining parents! The school calendar is out for about a month before BTSN. You can't find a sitter With 3/4 weeks advance notice? Guess what, I don't feel sorry for you. Do you want the school to provide you with dinner too?? Geesh...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BTSN has never included children.

Parents owe it to their kids to make arrangements for childcare. You want to be involved in your kid's school? Get a babysitter and show up.

Why should the school care more about making it easy for you to meet your responsibility to your kids than you seem to care?

It is unreasonable to expect people who don't have a rolodex of babysitters on call to fork over $40-$50 for 2.5 hours. Everyone is not in a position to do this. Very insensitive.

[Anonymous]

I actually won't be going to my school's back to school night because to be honest - it isn't that informative. I'd much rather save my sitter fees for parent conferences and any other evening activities offered by the school.

[Anonymous]

Back to school night is a useless dog and pony show. Back before internet, email, classroom blogs, robocalls, portals and the ever-informative DCUM, parents needed to attend to get handouts and learn about the school year. What new information do you people really expect to hear? It is a chance for people to look at the other parents in the class. If you can't make it then everything will be recapped in another email or thread somewhere.

[Anonymous]

There is no need to spend 40-50 dollars on a babysitter. Swap with a friend, go in with another family, find a teenager, trade babysitting days with a neighbor, etc. I have had children at two separate schools-one that allowed kids in BTSN and one that didn't. It depends on what you want to get out of the night--if you want to look at art on the walls, have 30-60 sec. converstaions with teachers and other parents, and do a more "school open house" type of experience, than you should advocate for bringing your kids. If you want to talk with adults and delve into what is going on in the classroom, kids make this almost impossible. I personally enjoy BTSN without kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BTSN has never included children.

Parents owe it to their kids to make arrangements for childcare. You want to be involved in your kid's school? Get a babysitter and show up.

Why should the school care more about making it easy for you to meet your responsibility to your kids than you seem to care?

It is unreasonable to expect people who don't have a rolodex of babysitters on call to fork over $40-$50 for 2.5 hours. Everyone is not in a position to do this. Very insensitive.

It is unreasonable for a parent of school age child to think anyone on this board gives a damn about you having to make arrangents to attend YOUR child's BTSN! If you aren't resourseful enough to make arrangements to attend, stay home! It's like Christmas, it comes around EVERY year, no secret! Stop your damn whining....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BTSN has never included children.

Parents owe it to their kids to make arrangements for childcare. You want to be involved in your kid's school? Get a babysitter and show up.

Why should the school care more about making it easy for you to meet your responsibility to your kids than you seem to care?

It is unreasonable to expect people who don't have a rolodex of babysitters on call to fork over $40-$50 for 2.5 hours. Everyone is not in a position to do this. Very insensitive.

It is unreasonable for a parent of school age child to think anyone on this board gives a damn about you having to make arrangents to attend YOUR child's BTSN! If you aren't resourseful enough to make arrangements to attend, stay home! It's like Christmas, it comes around EVERY year, no secret! Stop your damn whining....

Sorry about the typos, "arrangements","resourceful"...but you got the message...

[Anonymous]

PP, you need to chill. Why are you whining about the griping when the title of the thread is "gripe". Seriously, take a Xanax or go for a walk or something.

[Anonymous]

really - we got the "fuck you and your lack of resources - we don't want you at our back to school night with your sniveling kids" about three posts back.

[Anonymous]

Take your kid, who is really going to stop you. Ignore the dirty looks, if any. Usually plenty of other kids there anyway. Tell your dear kiddies to be quiet, read a book, play with the DS (audio down) or other projects off to the left somewhere. In my case, I was picking up mine from aftercare around six. BTSN started at 6:30. There was no way I was going home first and coming back. You have to do what you have to do. Just do it and stop seeking opinions!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, you need to chill. Why are you whining about the griping when the title of the thread is "gripe". Seriously, take a Xanax or go for a walk or something.

No Xanax or walk needed...just handle your responsibilities like the rest of us! By the way, "chill"
went out about 5 years ago...

[Anonymous]

Please don't bring your kids. Just STAY HOME. If you bring your kids when it is clearly outlined to leave them home you will look a) desperate, b) intentionally needy of attention, c) irrationally high-strung to leave high-maintenance precious snowflake with a sitter, d) too disorganized to plan more than 5 minutes in advance, or e) all of the above.
Good God the problems you people THINK you have are just ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like PTA organizes childcare in many of the schools - for those parents saying that school shod provide/have, maybe work with the PTA?

[Anonymous]

Who needs All My Children or Comedy Central when you have these forum??s! Erica Kane could learn a lot from some of you. I love it!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no need to spend 40-50 dollars on a babysitter. Swap with a friend, go in with another family, find a teenager, trade babysitting days with a neighbor, etc. I have had children at two separate schools-one that allowed kids in BTSN and one that didn't. It depends on what you want to get out of the night--if you want to look at art on the walls, have 30-60 sec. converstaions with teachers and other parents, and do a more "school open house" type of experience, than you should advocate for bringing your kids. If you want to talk with adults and delve into what is going on in the classroom, kids make this almost impossible. I personally enjoy BTSN without kids.

This is what a babysitter charges in my neighborhood for 3 hours--$60 for 3 kids. Whenever I have had a teen ager over to sit things have gotten broken or the house has been wrecked by my very wild 10 and 12 year old boys unless an adult is in charge. I don't have the kind of relationship with my neighbors where we "swap" babysitters anymore--they have FT nannies with contracts. So no, I do have to fork over the $60 to go to a dog and pony show on a school night. Not everyone can do this easily and it really feels like an imposition. Their should be an option for kids to be dropped of with a caregiver in the multipurpose room or gymnasium where they can be entertained for a few hours. Janney charges $550 per year in PTA dues--what the heck is that money being used for? A moonbounce at the Fall and Spring Picinic? Whatever...Childcare at these events would be a better use.