To think this is the start of it!

[Andsoitstarts]

So... primary school offers day today.
Up pop the Facebook joiners group for different schools.
As not to miss anything I join mine.
And so it begins...
“Let’s all introduce ourselves... my child is Tarquin and you may hear us speaking Russian in the playground as we believe it’s good to immerse him in a second language at all times”
“My daughter is Sophia, she is so ready for school as she’s been reading literature for 10 year olds comfortably for the last year”
Please don’t tell me this is the start.
I feel like commenting “My son is billy, he still picks his nose and wipes it in annoying places and only mastered using a knife a couple of months ago”

It's not the love of, or ability to read that's the issue though, it's the parent's need to brag about it.

Same here catspaws I could read by two and by the time I started primary at 4 I was on proper books. Other kids had other skills, I never managed handstands ;) but that’s what I was good at and I loved books then and now.

OP: parents may be nervous. They may be lovely, they may be nightmares. There’s usually a mix.
Little Reuben may have a Russian Mum and long to hear some playground Russian. Little miss bookworm should be encouraged.

My friends kid has a decent grasp of both Russian and Spanish from just chatting to his mates at kindergarten. Kids are pretty amazing at how they learn, and more languages are a big big advantage - emigrating in your thirties and having to learn a new language is a pita. My kid does it with ease.

It’s just the bragging in the introductions that makes me laugh!
My kid’s got skills too!
They can write 5 family members names without assistance and their drawing is out of this world (well to me anyway!!!)
I just don’t think it needs to be said as an introduction.
Just a simple “Hi, I’m so and so, my kid is Billy and he’s been at so and so preschool. He can’t wait to start school!”

I could have put that dd was “recently attempting to read Great Expectations “at 3.5. True she extracted it from a book case opened it at random and muttered p-i-p says Pip. She then pushed it under the bookcase saying,”Too much words, silly book”!

She was reading fluently at 4 as was her ds . I have a photo of me as a toddler picking out words in a book. I was told I could read at three. None of us are genius level just bookworms.

You'll get it with everything. In reception ds2 had to make a house for homework out of a
Cardboard box.
We had funny shaped windows, paint dripping from the roof, a door in an odd place and so on.
Some kids had conservatories, white picket fences and garages.
I think some parents didn't see the message that it was the children's homework

Which area are you in OP?

This sounds like it didn't happen...and if it did, what's it to you, let people be proud of their kids if they want. geeeeeeze.

Christ. Can't bothered with all that.

My DD can spell poo and wee. And she draws people with big tits - lets just say her recent thank you cards have been 'interesting'. I live in a vair posh area and she has got into a naice church school. This is going to be fun

I am glad facebragging was not a sport when DS started school. Hopefully the school also has a reasonable number of humble parents.

As for parent homework.... don't get me started.....

My almost 5 year old (in reception) still cant cut up stuff very well. Don't worry about it. She enjoys school dinners and no one's ever mentioned it. I think a lot of the meals are easy to just use a fork with and there's always help if they need it, the dinner ladies are all mums.

“My son is billy, he still picks his nose and wipes it in annoying places and only mastered using a knife a couple of months ago”

I really think you should post this. When I had children starting school I'd have gravitated towards you immediately, bosom friends.

Puts hand up enthusiastically - please be my friend.

Love the people using this thread for a stealth boast. I’m presuming you’re all being terribly ironic

So I think we’ve established that the reading novels aimed at 10-year-olds and the use of two languages isn’t unusual —it is— but the boasting by parents is completely unnecessary.

What’s wrong with ‘Hi, I’m Victoria, my daughter is Harper. Pleased to meet you all.’?

Please post an obvious amused comment. I don’t think I would be able to help myself.

Why are people being so unpleasant to the OP?

yes this is only the beginning. My DS is 7 and normal and every of school I have to take a deep breath because no he hasn't read Harry potter yet, no he doesn't know how to sky, etc. Good luck!

'Literature' Oh dear. It's great if kids love books. I have been a bookworm since I was small. But a pre-schooler is not reading 'literature aimed at 10 year olds' because there's no such thing.

this made me laugh. however, if you moved house to get your kids into that school or suddenly became a super active member of your local parish church, then i have less sympathy.

All sounds very irritating. I hope that Tarquin and Sophia can dress and go to the toilet themselves, eat with a knife and fork, put their shoes on the right feet and communicate with other children etc
You do know that you don't have to join the Facebook group don't you?! You will probably find parents that are more like you and then you can start your own group! My advice would be to take advice from the school itself and to take what other parents say with a pinch of salt.

Of course there is nothing wrong with reading books or being bilingual but is it how you would introduce yourself?

One of mine was a very early reader and it actually made starting school difficult as she had a teacher who insisted she had to start with the reading readiness books, basically books with no words, then books with one or two words. At the time she started school she was reading Aesop's Fables and she got really upset and bored at school. One of my other's read late and enjoyed school and had no frustrations. The late reader is the one with an A in A level English Literature. So I'd have a wry smile about it because in my experience education is a marathon not a sprint.

OP I hope your little one enjoys school, lots of time between now and September to sort out the knife but I'm sure he will get help if he needs it.

So I think we’ve established that the reading novels aimed at 10-year-olds and the use of two languages isn’t unusual —it is

No I don’t think it is. Depends where you live. If you’re in an expat community or a community where lots of people have mixed marriages, or travel overseas a lot, it’s the norm. I’d imagine it the norm in most British Indian/Pakistani houses too.
Loads of kids read well by the time they start school.
There are 14 languages in our kindy class. I’d imagine plenty of places in London or any big city have multiple languages spoken at home and school (isn’t the DM always banging on about how dreadful it is that twenty languages are spoken in an inner city classroom..?)
Many of my British Indian or Pakistani friends speak English plus a regional language (or two) to their kids. These arent hot housed tutored kids, they’re just talking to their parents.
Monolingualism isn’t the norm in an awful lot of the world. It may be in the shires but it’s certainly not in most of London.

I’m interested to see that reading and language acquisition are seen as something posh pushy parents do, whereas I suspect there are plenty of kids in very modest settings speaking multiple languages. And reading isn’t expensive. These are two things it doesn’t take money to do.

It’s not like they’re taking the kids to verbier to work on their skiing - reading and language are basic stuff that all communities emphasise.

The UK is getting a real anti-intellectual streak. Kids who love books mocked . Nice one.

@FrenchJunebug I actually think it's the OP who has been unpleasant - this made up story is just her opportunity to show off how nice and normal and unpretentious she is compared to all the other insufferable parents being obnoxious about their DC.

I live in central London and being bilingual is NOT the norm. Also you could be bilingual and have difficulties reading like my son who is dyslexics . It find it awful that kids are labelled in anyway before they start school. Let them be who they are or want to be.

"Tarquin's" full name, names and ages of siblings and his previous school - his full CV - are included in the Facebook page?
Now I really don't believe you