Gonna Piss Some People Off

Last week our preschool had graduation. Before I go any further let me tell you a bit about our 3 year old glass at the preschool.       

Names have been changed of course.

There are maybe 12 kids in the class. There are 2 teachers. These two teachers are by far the best two teachers I have ever seen. With raising 4 of my own kids and then working in child care myself for 16plus years, I am the expert on "teachers". So In this class there are about 5 kids without issues, thankfully mine is one of them. The remaining 7 have some stuff going on,  ranging from small issues to larger ones.

 

Lets start with Renee- Renee has some sort of anxiety issue that seems to effect her ability to make friends and deal with most situations. These issues are prominent and obvious. She is often hiding under a table or sucking her thumb and cries pretty easily at anything.

Then we have Rick- Rick has two older and seemly super- nerdy-smart parents. I think they may be rocket scientists or something. However Rick is far from one. I would even go as far as to say he is strongly autistic. He is compulsive, not potty trained, does not communicate, and quite rambunctious in general he seriously is in his own world around there. 

Then we have MaryAshley- She, I think is maybe just spoiled, but either way she has cried for hours at drop off daily for over two years. She is almost four and her parents tote her around like an infant. I'm not sure the girl can walk.(she can) Her parents are "textbook" parents who coddle and hug and etc etc. She has not adjusted well to preschool and I'm not sure if she ever will. 

Then we Have Suzy- Suzy comes from a real screwed up family. Mom walked out, dad has her, then don't, then does, then don't and various relatives assist in her raising. Her relatives pick her up reeking of smoke and lack of showers. She is so attention starved that she will jump on any adult that enters the room and talk your ear off. 

Then there is Kory- he is also suffering from some serious mental disorder. It is not uncommon to enter the classroom and see him climbing on top of the shelves or just whirling round like he is the Tasmanian Devil.

He seems blank all the time and is a danger to himself.

Now you would think this is a scary environment for my princess. It is not. Somehow these two teachers seem to manage this group quite well. They teach and show all the kids love and attention daily. How they do it? I know not. But when you enter the classroom on any given day you are sure to see one or several of these children doing what they do and the teachers handle it all so well. They maintain as much control as humanly possible. They stay positive and they make certain that all the kids are included in whatever is going on no matter how hard it is to keep them focused. Imagine reading a story and having the Tasmanian Devil tear through the block center while you do so. It happens all the time. The seem unfazed. They correct the situation as much as possible but continue teaching those who are willing or able to learn.

I am assuming the parents of these kids are in DENIAL. Because I can tell in 5 minutes if something is a bit off, sometimes even 5 seconds.  

So back to graduation. The 3's were performing for the graduates and they had a 3 song set they would be doing. The kids had never been on stage or performed period. So when the curtains opened and the music started the 3 year old class stood and their little mouths dropped open at all the lights and all the people. The kids that would normally function appropriately in the classroom began singing and dancing just as they had practiced but the others, well they did what they do.

Picture the scene 7 or 8 lil sweet peas singing and dancing. Then you have Renee who totally freaked at the sight of all the people. She immediately hid under a chair and began to wail. (like she does everyday in the classroom) Rick began running around stage knocking over chairs and pushing people  (like he does everyday in the classroom) MaryAshley sat on the floor refusing to get up and cried. She wanted to be held  (like she does everyday in the classroom) Suzy- went to the edge of the stage and tried to evoke the front row into a convo about her shoes.  (like she does everyday in the classroom) Kory- he began to try to climb the curtains. and pulling the cords to the curtains.  (something like he would do everyday in the classroom)

This did not bother me or most at all. We laughed at their personalities on stage. They did what they do everyday. Problem is the next day several  parents came in or emailed complaints about the performance. Saying that the teachers had no control over the kids and the whole show was a FAIL and "hard to watch." There was lots of blaming the teachers and it really hurt the teachers feelings. I was livid when I found out. Because excuse me??? But did YOU not know your child was your child!!! They did what they do everyday and YOU see them do it and do nothing. YOU do not get them the help they need or attempt to teach them  a better way. When YOU drop off Kory he immediately climbs something  and you just walk out. I've seen YOU do it! And when YOU drop off Rick he immediately starts running around knocking things over and YOU do NOTHING! Hello?? If you have to hand over your damn near four year old to another adult to hold for an hour and a half while she "adjusts" then what the hell did you expect to happen on stage? Did YOU think these kids would magically turn into well behaved well adjusted kids and stand still and sing? Are YOU kidding me? YOU do not care each day when YOU see them behaving this way in class and the teacher has to manage it, plus 11 other kids. Why now that your child showed their issues or lack of parenting to the entire stadium do YOU care? I know why. Because YOU are embarrassed and YOU wanna blame someone. Now that the entire school saw what we (me and the teachers, as well as other parents) observe everyday in the classroom. Now YOU complain! And to blame the teachers... well that is just damn wrong. Shame on YOU in denial Parents! YOU need to figure out what's going on with your kid. And YOU need to teach him or her that 4 year olds can walk and that knocking other kids over is not appropriate period. YOU need to stop denying that your child is different and maybe needs some help . YOU you and no one but YOU.

My First Customer Complaint---You be the Judge

This week  I got my first official customer compliant on my job since I started 15 months ago. Here's how it went down. The first time I encountered this lady she had an air about her that was unpleasant she came in on the cellphone. When I attempted to gather the info needed she acted irritated that I was disrupting her call. She was not very nice but hey some people aren't, no biggie. The next encounter was when I was training a new staff member who happens to have an accent but speaks clear English. During training I go stay with the person interacting with the parent to ensure that they get proper info and do things correctly. On that day the lady rushed in, threw her baby's items on the counter and then seemed irritated that it took the trainee an extra minute to check in. When the staff asked the lady's name for the second time the lady removed her name tag and put it in the girls face so that she could see the correct spelling. RUDE! That day she dropped her baby off with 1 bottle 1 barefoot, 1 sock foot??? She rushed and was quite impolite.
Yesterday this lady pulls up I immediately go up front to check her in but she stays in her car I wait a few minutes, she does not get out so I return to the play area. Ten minutes or so later she gets out of her car. In her arms she has a baby bottle, 2 diapers, wipes, a bag of grapes, a container of applesauce and her baby tucked dangling under her arm all while still talking on her phone. She almost drops the baby whom she sets down and the baby takes off running down the parking lot. Still balancing all the stuff she had she catches the baby and semi-totes semi-drags him into the building,,,,still on the phone. I greet her and instead of a hello or good morning I get "Donald Blanking" ( the child's name, obviously changed). I look the child up and begin to ask the preliminary questions that she seems irritated by because again I am disrupting her phone call. She flings all the random items on the counter and asks rudely in the middle of my questions "are you through?" I was not. But I told her yes she could go. 
Two hours later we are changing the baby's diaper and notice that he has a pretty bad diaper rash and welts on the inside of his thigh?  They are red and look painful. She has provided us no diaper cream or explanation for this. Then on his back, chest and arms he has about 50 small bumps. This looks like a rash you would get with chicken pox or an allergic reaction or even a virus related rash. Either way the mother told us nothing about the rash and knowing her temperament I call the owner just to inform her of that I would be calling  the mom to come pick him up. Our policy states that if a child has any rash other than diaper we need a doctors note to state it is not contagious. The owner gives me the go ahead. Knowing this won't go well I put on my sweetest voice and place the call. Here is how the call went:


Stank Ass Attitude Mommy
Sweet, Professional Me
My Thoughts, what I would say if I did not need this job


Hi Mrs. Blanking I am calling you because when we were changing Donald we noticed a rash all over his body.
Yeah and (not going well)
And It is our policy that any child that has a rash must have a doctors note provided so ....
she cuts me off- it's from a new laundry detergent we tried
okay I really do not need to know what it is ( I know that this is BS because why would it be in his diaper area) just need a note stating it is not contagious
Well it is not  like that statement would serve as the note
Yes ma'am however I will need a note to put in his file so that we are covered, the note only needs to state that it is not contagius
Well I do not have one
Could you get one to me
No I cannot
Okay well he really cannot be here with such a rash until I have one.You see other parents come in to tour the facility and if someone questions it I need something to be able to ensure them that it is not contagious. Just to be sure I called the owner and let her know what was going on and she agrees that Donald should be picked up.
Well what exactly are you saying
I am saying that he will need to be picked up
Why didn't you tell me that when I dropped him off
As if ! Bitch you wouldn't even get off the phone and provide me the basics, How the hell was I supposed to know he had that rash? Should I go over the entire sick policy with everyone at drop off?  That's what I wanted to say
What I did say was:  Well  ma'am I only noticed the rash when he was changed. It's not as if we go stripping and inspecting the kids when they come in. Seriously
Well you still should have told me, this is very unprofessional
Unprofessional!!!! Are you kidding me! You cannot even find an additional sock for his foot or provide cream for the diaper rash, or time to place his 16 items in a diaper bag or some info at drop off not mention your kid ran away in the parking lot all while you continued on your lil phone call
How long before you are expecting me to be there
30 minutes 
Well I won't be there in 30 minutes
Well when can you get here 
45 minutes
That will be fine At this point whatever he has has already been spread around the facility.  
And when I get there I want to talk to your supervisor because this is very unprofessional
What is it with her do you not have any other adjectives other than unprofessional?
Okay I'll have her call you 
No I want to see her in person
She is not on site
Well I will wait
Okay see you soon
I call the owner who happens to be coming in anyway to pick up her kids. When she arrives she attempts to call Mrs. Blanking and Mrs. Blanking  does not answer her phone. Shocker since its always attached to her head. She eventually rolls up and the owner comes up to talk to her while I busy myself in the back.The first thing she says is I want you to know that my child is not sick. Those are mosquito bites. Mosquito bites WTH happened to the detergent excuse? 
The staff member pulls up the boys shirt to show her that he is covered in many small bumps that are definitely not mosquito bites. She then says in faked shock Oh I did not know those were there. You know what it is? That is a new shirt he is wearing he must be irritated by the material. Okay now you are just making shit up. First off the shirt is anything but new and what about the detergent excuse you threw at me over the phone? She says a few other unimportant things but what she did not say was that I was unprofessional. She did not mention me at all. My owner told her off the bat that I followed protocol and that is what I should do. I guess she needed to hear that from someone with a bigger paycheck.
Ugggh