What is it with the leg stroking?!

[christmaspigeon]

A memory came back to me of how in primary school the girls would sit around the teacher at story time and ..... stroke the teacher's legs!!!

I just told my teen daughter about it and she said they did that in her school too!

Why do they do that? Is it just me that thinks it's weird? Any teacher's on here had experience of this?

Before Covid when I was reading stories to my DN i would often collect random kids and it def happened to me. I had to tell a few of them to go away as I didn’t like it - especially with bare legs.

Omg! I thought it was only me! We had one teacher who was just awful and she loved it when we would stroke her legs during storytime. She made out that it was a treat for us! We were so young and gullible!

I had a teacher who liked this way back in primary school... early 70s.

I was very young but even then I remember being very uncomfortable with it and def didn't join in.

It was a treat to stand behind the teacher’s chair during carpet time and stroke her hair when I was at primary school! All the girls fought over who got to do it.

I suppose it seems creepy and weird in hindsight because we’re all taught now to be in the alert for abuse of children from even the kindest-seeming adults, but humans are tactile creatures, touch is a soothing, bonding and comforting thing, we’re hardwired to enjoy touching others and being touched. I can’t think of anything worse personally than loads of sticky schoolie hands in my hair, but each to their own.

This never happened in my school, what sort of schools did you all go to 😂

A new one on me even though I’m 60. Can’t say I ever came across it. Or anything else dodgy concerning teachers for that matter.

I had a teacher that used to stroke the girls leg/ knee. I chose to study English at a lower level because of it. He used to squat down and put his arm around your shoulder too. Strangely non of us talked about it or complained.
25 years later I went back to the area bumped into an old school friend and we went out for a meal and reminisced about our school days. It turned out he did it once too often and was charged. Don’t know what else happened she couldn’t remember.

Little kids often touch you legs, feet etc. Or stand next to you and stroke your shoulder to elbow. I drew the line at them lifting my trouser leg to see what sort of socks I had on that day🤣 I tend to wear ones with animals and birds on. Some staff used to tell them off. I don’t know why they do it but lots do. Perhaps it is that thing of needing tactile contact. It doesn’t happen more at story time. I don’t tell them off but I used to ask them to sit further back. It never really bothered me.

“ Your legs feet” etc It does happen more at story time.

Time I went to sleep I think.

What. The. Fuck

I had a teacher who used to clip kids in the back of the head with their mega bling rings that were like knuckle dusters.

But stroking. Teachers.

Never been aware of teachers being stroked.

We had the PE teacher who was a sadist to the boys and liked to "wrestle" or "guide" the girls but then every comp in the 80s had one didn't they. Pervy fucker.

All in primary school

I also had a teacher who would clip you round the back of the head with knuckle duster rings.

And a head teacher who would come up behind the boys if they were misbehaving and punch them in the back.

No stroking but remember my favourite teacher letting all the class shake her hand when leaving at home time.

When my dd was at nursery, she used to randomly go up to the nursery workers and kiss them on the leg or arm etc if sitting down. I suppose this is an extension of this sort of behaviour. I definitely don’t remember anyone doing this at school neither would I have done this despite desperately needing cuddles and contact. The teachers weren’t nice enough.

I was at primary school in the 70s...don't remember any leg stroking of teachers! Some of the girls used to take it in turns though to brush the teacher's long hair.

I do remember throwing myself around the legs of the exchange teacher and clutching them who was standing up when I was 5 at some kind of end of term do as he was leaving and going back to Aus. Even at 5 I remember the sort of embarrassed acknowledgements/laughs and didn't do it again.

Nope not at my school. Teachers were nice enough, but why???

yups.
ex teacher here, and when I was sitting on a chair on the carpet reading stories, many children would touch me or each other. Stroking legs, arms, hair.
As I said it was either me if they were sitting close or each other.

I think it ia a natural need for small children to have physical contact and at a quiet encouraging time like story time, they comfort seek.

That was a few years ago, and as I see my kids teachers, I am not sure it is something that would happen now.
Although..... dds reception teacher was very young and very amazing and they all adored her and tried to hang on to her all the time.

and it was only little kids, under 7s.

We didn't encourage it, but it happened, sometimes I would gently stop it.
Similarly,, if I was sitting on one of the little chairs at a table, and a child came up to ask me something, some children leant against me, leaning on my shoulder etc, and occasionally they would then touch my hair.
And when on playground duty they would all hang on your arm, or run up and fling themselves at me, give me a hug and then run off.

Not leg stroking, but we all wanted to hold the teacher’s hand at break time and had our own little waiting system going. If you didn’t get one of the teacher’s hands you joined onto one of the children either side of him/her. Long chains would sometimes form. Closer was obviously better.

No one did it with the “lunch ladies” at midday break as they were terrifying!

I'd prefer that to the pulling your laces undone during story time..or tying them together 🙄

@TheSockMonster

Not leg stroking, but we all wanted to hold the teacher’s hand at break time and had our own little waiting system going. If you didn’t get one of the teacher’s hands you joined onto one of the children either side of him/her. Long chains would sometimes form. Closer was obviously better.

No one did it with the “lunch ladies” at midday break as they were terrifying!

We did the same, but with the less scary dinner ladies patrolling the playground. They always walked in pairs and you didn't want to be in the middle of the two dinner ladies as they walked close together (presumably to hear each other speak over the playground din) so you'd get squeezed between them.

I don't remember the stroking of teachers' legs, but the girls would often sit in a line or circle to plait each others hair, or play the "guess what I'm drawing on your back with my finger" game.

Leg stroking, yes! I taught reception, there was a bit from the younger ones. One boy was a boundary pusher, and I gently trapped his hand between my knees because he was definitely going higher.

Thing is, you are slightly trapped by the situation- holding the book with two hands, with the pictures turned to the children. You don't want to interrupt the flow of the story- that never ends well! So you keep reading calmly, ignoring the little fingers stroking your ankles and calves. Move your leg if they are getting a bit high. This little lad was a real boundary pusher, very deliberate, negotiating all the time. So I squeezed my knees. Neither of us said anything. I let go and he backed off. All without a pause in the story.

@paganbilly

I'd prefer that to the pulling your laces undone during story time..or tying them together 🙄

Oh yes, got that too!

I just remember wanting to be as close to the teacher as possible! Children can be so sweet and trusting - it breaks my heart a bit.

On a more general note, many small kids like physical contact, hugging, hand holding etc. Of course, teachers these days are instructed to avoid any and all physical contact with the young children in their care. In reality, many female preschool/primary school teachers don’t adhere to this rule, though male teachers generally have to if they want to keep a job. It actually takes a bit of practice to stop yourself from ever doing a “good job” shoulder tap, as you’re surrounded all day by these little people who often swarm around you, but any casual shoulder tap type contact as a male teacher and you could be getting your marching orders the next day.

I'm a primary teacher and have had a number of children try to do this over the years, mainly when they are sitting on the carpet during story times. They'll try to stroke your legs or your shoes, I had one child who used to try constantly to put their hand underneath my trouser to touch the skin on my leg (obviously discussions were had about appropriate touching) and kids will try to touch my hair a lot. I think it's a mixture of sensory, feeling different materials and textures on different items of clothing, whilst also seeing the teacher as a bit of a mythical creature (at least I remember being fascinated by my primary 1 teacher's hair because I didn't see her the same as other people but she had hair like some of my mum's friends and I always wanted to touch it to see what it was like).
The PPs who have mentioned about teachers encouraging it though, that's just weird.