taking a kid to Open House

[Anonymous]

I want to attend a charter school open house this saturday but right now it does't seem like I will have childcare for my 3 year old. Do parents ever bring kids that young to open houses? Not sure what is acceptable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want to attend a charter school open house this saturday but right now it does't seem like I will have childcare for my 3 year old. Do parents ever bring kids that young to open houses? Not sure what is acceptable.

Some people do. Drives some other parents nuts so expect to get a few 'looks.' If your child is being really disruptive/distracting please just leave and go to the next one.

[Anonymous]

What 11:12 said.

Don't stay home because of childcare issues for sure, but if you can leave your child at home it will most likely go better.

EdFest is a different story. I wouldn't attend that with children unless absolutely necessary.

[Anonymous]

People do. If your child can sit quietly with a small toy (even on the floor off to the side), you're good. If your kid is loud and distracting, you should leave.

[Anonymous]

I took mine, many times. He sat on my knee and looked at a book.

Others literally let their three year olds run riot, to the extent that we couldn't even hear what was going on. If my kid was disruptive I would have taken him out. I suggest you do the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What 11:12 said.

Don't stay home because of childcare issues for sure, but if you can leave your child at home it will most likely go better.

EdFest is a different story. I wouldn't attend that with children unless absolutely necessary.

Really? I was planning on taking my my 3 yo to Edfest. I thought it was family friendly? From the website:
EdFEST will also feature many free services and fun activities for the whole family:
- Flu shots for adults, immunizations and dental services for kids and teens, free health screenings and lots more family fun, games and entertainment brought to you by the DC Department of Health
- Sports activities for all, such as soccer, basketball, and tennis brought to you by the DC Department of Parks and Recreation, including information about DPR Fun Days, Winter and Spring Break Camps, Cooperative Play, and more
- Story time with DC Public Library

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What 11:12 said.

Don't stay home because of childcare issues for sure, but if you can leave your child at home it will most likely go better.

EdFest is a different story. I wouldn't attend that with children unless absolutely necessary.

Really? I was planning on taking my my 3 yo to Edfest. I thought it was family friendly? From the website:
EdFEST will also feature many free services and fun activities for the whole family:
- Flu shots for adults, immunizations and dental services for kids and teens, free health screenings and lots more family fun, games and entertainment brought to you by the DC Department of Health
- Sports activities for all, such as soccer, basketball, and tennis brought to you by the DC Department of Parks and Recreation, including information about DPR Fun Days, Winter and Spring Break Camps, Cooperative Play, and more
- Story time with DC Public Library

Yes they will have all that - but it's not "child care." You can't (at least I wouldn't) leave a 3 yo unattended at one of the 'activity' stations while you go and talk to the reps from the schools you are interested in. And it's really, really packed. There will be long lines, cranky kids and moms with supersized strollers trying to wheel through tight spaces.

Only way I'd take a child is if there were another parent available to stay with them while I made my way to the school booths.

[Anonymous]

I brought my kids (3 and under 1) to Edfest and all open houses. I wanted to know what my kid thought of the schools. I felt that it was much more useful to attend the open houses of "safety schools" than reach ones, but my kid was good at all of them.

I never found children to be as disruptive as some of the parents, frankly. A few times kids would make noise but that was nothing compared to the parents asking questions about the cupcake policy, dress code, ethnic origin of Spanish teachers etc. I don't believe for a second that anyone would turn a school down based on their cupcake policy.

Edfest was crowded but my kids were fine.

[Anonymous]

We took our children to Edfest and it was fine, even fun. But both of us went so we could tag team talking to different schools, while the other interacted with the kids. I think it would have been hard if just one of us had gone with the kids.

[Anonymous]

depends on the school. I know Amidon-Bowen has specifically said kids are welcome at their open houses.

[Anonymous]

We brought our kid to EdFest when we were looking for PK3 two years ago, and it wasn't an issue at all. She just walked around with us and then played with some of the mascots that were around. I don't know why people would advise you to not bring your kid.

[Anonymous]

Dont. Especially don't if they tell you not to. Some schools may even turn you away and tell you to reschedule for another date when you can find childcare. I hope ours still does.

Find a friend, make a deal to trade off. Just don't inconvenience everyone else for snowflake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dont. Especially don't if they tell you not to. Some schools may even turn you away and tell you to reschedule for another date when you can find childcare.

I think that's dreadful. I think that it's important that a school be a welcoming place for a family.

I didn't take my kid to open houses because I had the option not to, and also because my 3yo wasn't going to have any say in the matter anyway. But I would not have been impressed by a school that turned away families that didn't have childcare options.

[Anonymous]

Kids are most welcome at the CMI open house this Saturday. Winter fest will be going on at the same time so there be lots of current Cmi families there.

[Anonymous]

Kids are always welcome at Eaton open houses. We like kids.