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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think nursery should be READING children stories

28 replies

greatpotential · 14/12/2018 15:37

...instead of getting them all to listen to an audiobook on headsets?

Have been settling my 3 year old at a new, v expensive, nursery and was astonished to see that when the nursery nurse offered to read the preschoolers a story, she actually led them into a corner, stuck headphones on them and left them there. Really worried me. I thought I was paying through the nose for care for my child, and for him to learn to socialise with other kids. Not for expensive headsets so my son can sit by himself in a corner!

I understand that nursery workers can't spend every minute at my individual child's beck and call, but would rather they let them do free play than put headphones on them. He has a lifetime of screens and headphones ahead!

AIBU to be surprised by this? Have no experience of nursery - is this really normal and am I likely to run into practice like this at other settings??

OP posts:
endofthelinefinally · 14/12/2018 15:41

I think that is awful.
Reading a story is such a lovely experience for children.
Sad

LovesLaboursLost · 14/12/2018 15:41

I have never heard of this. Surely it’s in addition to group storytime, if a child wants extra stories when they can’t have them one on one? If there are still times in the day when they are actively read to, then I think it’s ok.

Goingonandonandon · 14/12/2018 15:53

HOw about speaking to them about it??

They probably also have story time, when all the children sit down and listen to a story read by a member of staff. If the ration child to minder is 1 to 5, then a nursery nurse might not have time to read with one child if he/she has five in her care. But I am pretty sure if you speak to them that they will have a set time every day, maybe twice a day, for stories. Just not one-to-one every time.

Goingonandonandon · 14/12/2018 15:53

by ration I meant Ratio obviously.

Lilyhatesjaz · 14/12/2018 15:54

My nursery does a group story at circle time with an adult reading. Some children like lots of stories during the day. This is OK if there are 4 or 5 children to share the story but there are not enough staff to read one to one to individual children maybe this is what is happening at your sons nursery.

Jezzifishie · 14/12/2018 16:02

My Dd's nursery does a mix. When I pick her up at the end of the day, they are often sat in a circle and listening to the teacher reading a story. However, I know that she does occasionally watch things (like the animated version of room on the broom) on the iPad.

Original poster
greatpotential · 14/12/2018 16:23

Really interesting responses. Perhaps because this wasn't at official 'storytime' they fell back on the headphones set up.

For context there were 5 of them wanting to listen, and they sat there listening to the same story but not interacting. While the nursery nurse was busy during this time, there were other carers in the room who would have been free to read. Or even played the audiobook on speaker?? I can understand stuff like this in emergency, but really felt that they were being parked and the headsets was being misused.

I don't mind downtime and I don't hate technology. Bizarrely, if they'd all been watching an episode of Thomas the tank engine and enjoying as a group I wouldnt mind - I'd often come back to that when he was at a previous childminder. I hated seeing them being isolated in what should be a group experience

OP posts:
CheshireChat · 14/12/2018 16:38

I think that's pretty rubbish actually.

Jezzifishie · 14/12/2018 16:39

Yes, I totally get your point about the isolation. There's only a couple of iPads at Dd's nursery and 18 kids, so they must all be in a heap if they all wanted to watch at the same time! Somehow that does feel a bit more sociable, but I'm not really sure they would gain from it apart from complaining that someone's sitting on their head Grin

Thiswayorthatway · 14/12/2018 16:42

DC's nursery do a mix of live reading and story tapes, fine in my view. Live reading gives opportunity for questions and discussion though.

hazeyjane · 14/12/2018 16:44

Jeez, that's a bit shit.

missyB1 · 14/12/2018 16:46

Christ that’s depressing Sad

laramara · 14/12/2018 16:49

That is not good, young children really learn so much from having adult led stories shared with them, I would definitely talk to the Nursery manager.

PermanentlyFrizzyHairBall · 14/12/2018 16:50

YADNBU. Not appropriate at all for preschoolers. Stories are still interactive at that age. You read in small groups and it initiates discussion. Sometimes kids will get particularly interested in a particular page and linger or need to ask what a word means. It's meant to be a lovely social experience for young kids.

IamChipmunk · 14/12/2018 16:51

Thats really sad. My DS has was in nursery full time from 7mo. He went to 2 nurseries in that time, someone always read to them in a group or one-one. They did watch stories on the computer sometimes but not at the expense of being read to.
He has started school this year and they still do storytime where they are read to.

I wouldn't be happy with that it thats their source of being read to.

Goingonandonandon · 14/12/2018 17:03

Don't you think though that it's a bit over dramatic to say that it should be a shared experience, (assuming he is at nursery from 8 until 6) if he spends 8 hours a day in sharing experiences with other children, being read to in a group, doing anything from eating to playing to exploring outside, craft, etc (and an hour rest) and having maybe half an hour of stories on a computer? Really? I would struggle that myself, being in a constant stimulation 'experience' and having to share space and time with others, for 10 hours in a row. Just me though, maybe others are fine with it. I need time on my own a little bit every day.

Jezzifishie · 14/12/2018 17:17

Goingonandonandon - that's very true! My DD had a phase of having chill out time in the toilet. The staff were worried about her, but she was perfectly happy and just enjoying a calmer moment to herself. I think they find her a corner now, so she doesn't need to hang out in the loo Wink

Amanduh · 14/12/2018 17:26

We did it as a reading rotation every day. One group with teacher reading, one group with headphones and audio book, one with other teacher doing a reading related activity with questions or art. Second job I had rotated them daily - one day group story, second audio books, third reading activity. It’s all about different reading experiences to get them immersed in stories! Some children don’t like reading or being read to, some thrive from it. We liked to mix up activities so they realised reading was fun.

DoJo · 14/12/2018 17:52

Children in Early Years education are expected to get the chance to use technology and listening to stories on headphones is one of the ways that advisers often suggest for younger children who may not be able to manage a table or computer game, so it probably isn't an alternative to being read to so much as an addition.

Neverunderfed · 14/12/2018 18:01

I wouldn't like that at all.

lilythesheep · 14/12/2018 18:02

It seems odd it was on the headset. My Dd's nursery sometimes puts an audio book on towards the end of the day for the children to listen to but they are all listening together and they then talk about the story afterwards. They also do normal adult-led reading, in a group or small groups. I'm happy with the audio books as it seems like it's good for their concentration to listen to a story and just follow it aurally. At home we often put on an audiobook for DD to have chill out time in her room listening to, and that works well for refreshing her now that she doesn't nap. All listening to the same story on headsets seems a bit weird, but it wouldn't actively annoy me (whereas if they were just sticking them in front of paw patrol or something it would make me think they couldn't be bothered).

duckeggbluenotblue · 14/12/2018 18:05

That's awful 😔

CurlsLDN · 14/12/2018 18:15

Well using technology is part of the early years curriculum. This can take the form of occasional iPad play, showing videos on a computer, or all sorts of other engaging things...such as listening to a lovely enriching educational work of literature through headphones.
There's a great leaflet here that outlines lots of ways technology can be introduced in early years education, well beyond a computer screen
www.early-education.org.uk/young-children-and-technology

I would suggest you ask them before getting outraged. Education has changed hugely since we were at school so things that might seem odd at first glance may be a great element of a well rounded education.

hazeyjane · 14/12/2018 18:45

I think there is a difference in incorporating technology, when the opportunity presents itself, into a setting and also when it is a learning opportunity. Sitting a bunch of preschoolers asking for a story on separate sets of headphones is just poor practice, imo.

Technology is being dropped from the ELGs next year, I believe.

helacells · 14/12/2018 20:27

That's terrible I'd be pulling my kid out. You're paying for personal one on one attention not this bull. Makes you wonder where else they half job it.

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