"Why do all your friends say school"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents feel bad about sending their kids to daycare I guess so everyone calls it “school”. I call it daycare.

Yup this. My sister called it "school" when her daughter was an infant. It's daycare, people.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because there is more of a focus on learning now, and less of a focus on quality 'care. Curriculum planning is now required for infants. Care givers or providers are now called teachers.

Give it a few years, and the shift of shoving academics into the toddlers early will pass. It will all be about developmentally appropriate play based learning at playcare.

This obsession with curriculum and learning metrics starting in infant rooms is one of the reasons I decided not to go back to work. Obviously a lot goes into a decision to stay at home or continue work, but I hated my job, was seriously considering staying home anyway, and then when I was touring day cares I just got such a bad vibe about all the "learning outcomes" that I decided that I would not go back and wait a while before searching for a new job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in North Carolina and every church around here runs "pre-school" starting at 1 year old. Yes, one. "Larlo is going to Good Shepard pre-school in the fall when he's 16 months!" They seriously send their toddlers to "pre-school" three times a week for half day. They play. It's not school, and anyone who knows anything about early childhood development knows pushing academics on kids this young is a terrible idea. It's insane. And they all think I'm crazy there I won't be sending DS in the fall when he's barely 18 months old.

So, even in the grades when everyone agrees it's school, there's more than just academics, and many of the activities overlap. My high school senior eats lunch at school, is part of a chess club at school, plays sports at school, and takes a ceramics class at school.

If you're having a fit because someone calls daycare/nursery/preschool "school". If you can't handle someone using the word "school" for a 2 year old playing with playdough, do you think I should stop saying "he's at school" when he's playing with clay now?

The same kid's preschool was full day and had no academics. It was still preschool, and daycare, in the same way that something can be a square and a rectangle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in North Carolina and every church around here runs "pre-school" starting at 1 year old. Yes, one. "Larlo is going to Good Shepard pre-school in the fall when he's 16 months!" They seriously send their toddlers to "pre-school" three times a week for half day. They play. It's not school, and anyone who knows anything about early childhood development knows pushing academics on kids this young is a terrible idea. It's insane. And they all think I'm crazy there I won't be sending DS in the fall when he's barely 18 months old.

So, even in the grades when everyone agrees it's school, there's more than just academics, and many of the activities overlap. My high school senior eats lunch at school, is part of a chess club at school, plays sports at school, and takes a ceramics class at school.

If you're having a fit because someone calls daycare/nursery/preschool "school". If you can't handle someone using the word "school" for a 2 year old playing with playdough, do you think I should stop saying "he's at school" when he's playing with clay now?

The same kid's preschool was full day and had no academics. It was still preschool, and daycare, in the same way that something can be a square and a rectangle.

Again, like others have said, it is because the primary job of daycare and after school care is custodial care. Daycare in their country needs to be updated and changed to be a positive experience for everyone and it will never change if we continue to pretend it is "school". Activities and curriculum have nothing to do with it - we put our children in daycare and aftercare because we need someone to care for them when we can't.

[Anonymous]

Actually when my kid was in daycare, they learned stuff like it was school so I can see people using that term. I can't remember what we called it. That was 20 years ago.

[Anonymous]

I noticed this years ago when enrolling dc in preschool. The school was for children ages 2-6. They offered half day programs, but also “full day” preschool and “extended day” preschool. I asked what the difference was between the latter two and the director tried to find a circumspect way to say that “extended day” was childcare for working parents without actually saying that that’s what it is. There was no additional academic instruction after the “full day” program ended. The extra hours were just childcare until working parents could arrive for pick up. I couldn’t understand why the director had to use such oblique language to describe the service options they were offering. It was as though the employees had been taught not to use a term like “after care,” so “school” was the only acceptable term. It did make me uncomfortable that they seemed not to want to admit to providing childcare, like that’s something objectionable.

[Anonymous]

Idk but I hate the word "daycare provider". Why can't there be one word like nanny or teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I noticed this years ago when enrolling dc in preschool. The school was for children ages 2-6. They offered half day programs, but also “full day” preschool and “extended day” preschool. I asked what the difference was between the latter two and the director tried to find a circumspect way to say that “extended day” was childcare for working parents without actually saying that that’s what it is. There was no additional academic instruction after the “full day” program ended. The extra hours were just childcare until working parents could arrive for pick up. I couldn’t understand why the director had to use such oblique language to describe the service options they were offering. It was as though the employees had been taught not to use a term like “after care,” so “school” was the only acceptable term. It did make me uncomfortable that they seemed not to want to admit to providing childcare, like that’s something objectionable.

I think sometimes they're circumspect because the full-day options aren't just for working parents. Some SAHPs have their kids in full day programs. They don't want to alienate those potential clients.

I have a flexible work schedule and my children always wanted to do aftercare throughout elementary school because their friends did aftercare. If they came home right after school, they'd wander the neighborhood for a couple hours until their friends got home, or I'd make them do their homework. Much better to stay where their friends were.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Idk but I hate the word "daycare provider". Why can't there be one word like nanny or teacher.

Because DCP'S and Nannies aren't teachers.

[Anonymous]

I call it school because I want to brainwash my kids into accepting and liking that school is a part of their everyday life (they love their daycare, which is a Bright Horizons in my office building). I have zero guilt and it's not about being pretentious or pretending they're studying Shakespeare or linear algebra at ages 2 and 4 months. Plus, it's one syllable and easier to say than daycare.

[Anonymous]

You know, before I had kids this used to drive me crazy too! But now all the other kids and parents and our daycare call it school and I find myself doing it too. Ha.

[Anonymous]

It is the word “daycare.” It has a stigma attached to it. You don’t want your child to be a daycare kid... it’s depressing. Now when it’s “school” it sounds uplifting. Your baby is learning and it is good for him/her!! Look how smart your baby is going to school! Whatever you want to call daycare is fine. The reality is the same- the child is away from home, being cared for 8,10 or 12 hours a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At least you don't have to live in Ohio.

I mean - have you been to Ohio? Cincinnati, Columbus or Cleveland? Don’t knock it down if you don’t know it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sister is here (lives in my hometown in Ohio) and she told me she noticed 3 of my friends talking about their infants "school." She was laughing and thought it sounded rediclous to call daycare school. She just thought it was a bit pretentious and over the top. I've never thought about it before but I guess the word daycare is fading out. Just a funny observation I thought I would share. It's now an inside joke. "O does baby Larla have a spelling test today." "She's probably tired from her chem final."

Maybe you should have spent some time on a spelling test. The irony.

No, it's clearly not a typo, so don't try that one, either.

[Anonymous]

Daycare is daycare no matter what your baby is learning!! I agree that we are trying to soften the stigma but it is still daycare and everyone knows it.