Do I have an issue with letting my Dd go or is this okay?

[Cheeseontoastfordinnertonight]

For context, we live overseas, school
starts at age 6, my Dd turned 5 in the summer. She goes to Pre school three full days per week, she’ll attend *Proper school full time in September.
Dd attends Pre school in the country we live in so is learning the native language. On the two days she is at home with me, I teach her reading and writing in English (I’m a teacher) We also sometimes visit the park, beach, shop, do crafts, see friends, visit the library, cafes etc.
Dd sees friends at Pre school and at the weekends and neighbours on the street after school, she also attends ballet lessons and is starting swimming after Christmas.
I work on the days Dd is in Pre school.
People seem to judge/have an issue with this and don’t understand why she isn’t in Pre school full time, her teacher implied that it may be that I have an issue letting her go/like having her with me…yes, I do! But I feel it also benefits Dd too and she’ll be at real school full time soon enough anyway.
I have friends who home school and friends who have had their dcs in nursery since they were babies.
Am I doing things the wrong way? Becoming really sick of others opinions

*On the other two days

It's fine. Like you say, she will be in full time school soon so its nice to spend this time together whilst you can.

@Summerishere123 The teacher is being really pushy about it and I feel like my friends all wonder why she’s not full time (their kids are)

Do whatever feels right for you and your daughter. Do you have to pay for pre school? Maybe the pushy teacher is trying to boost their coffers.

@Lovemychair We don’t pay

I had the same in Spain. The other children were all full-time and the staff couldn't understand why I wanted DS to be part-time. I wasn't working but he went to have time with other children and learn Spanish.

Sounds like a lovely life for your dd so l wouldn't make any apologies

Sounds like she's having a lovely time with you. I did the same - DD went to nursery (pre-school) 3 days a week. Due to when he birthday fell I didn't put her in Reception full time either - Teacher was mildly aghast.. she went full time from the Easter after her 5th birthday. She's 16 now and being part time at school at 5 is a long distant memory.

Cultural differences I presume OP...
I'm foreign (from the continent), and in my country the concept of a full or part time SAHM didn't exist in my generation, or my mother's, or my grandmothers generations.

We didn't pay for childcare in Ireland but the nursery we had DS in practically made me keep him home some days! They had the space but said they thought he'd benefit from being with his baby sister two extra days a week and they were very happy to have him 3 days instead.

Sounds like it might just be the culture where you are OP, and like they don't understand that you're doing it differently because they don't have experience of people doing this? That or they're struggling to fill the extra two days if no one else is part time and they want the funding.

I'd disagree with this if it was in the UK and school is from age 4. But where the rule isn't 4, I absolutely wouldn't have my child in school full time if I didn't need to.

@WiIIowT That’s exactly it, she’ll need to be from age 6

@SeulementUneFois I think it must be that, yes. My friends who homeschool where we are, are all from other countries. Do you mean there were no sahms, they all went to work? I work but around these hours and some weekends too.

@WiIIowT What is the reason you wouldn’t have them in school if they didn’t have to be?

@Beamur I don’t know why it’s so shocking to them, they’re still little

@junebirthdaygirl It really is 💜tired of having to justify it though, just want to be left to make the most of the time.

Sounds like a lovely set up to me op. Stick to your guns

@KatieB55 Yes, exactly the same. Did you send him part time or did they make you do full time?

@BitOutOfPractice I’m determined to 🙏

What country are you in? In France for example most women I know went back to work after 3 months maternity leave. The culture and social system is set up to encourage this (very good state childcare) and the cultural norms are also in favour of it. As a society, getting women back into the workforce (and more generally back to being "women first not mums first") is seen as the right thing. It filters through to things like breastfeeding past the first few months being seen as odd, too. Also, state childcare and education is much more explicitly understood as a place where children are formed along the lines of and in line with the national culture and norms, together, rather than just being a way for working parents to have someone caring for their child, or as a place where children get an "education" in the more narrow pedagogical sense - it's just a very different ideology.

That doesn't mean it's the right thing for you, but that sort of cultural difference can really feel very stark when you're in the crosshairs of it - I say this as someone who has a fair few Anglo-French friends and they've all commented on the experience of the two different cultures.

I think that in some countries where schooling doesn't officially start until older, there is an expectation that children will be in full-time preschool for those younger years. So while it isn't compulsory you are probably going againt the cultural norm.

Because unless it's compulsory, doing wonderful things with parents is also great learning for little ones minds. Once it's compulsory the choice is gone, but having a lovely balance and spending time with my little one I'd do time and time again x

The system in the uk is wrong. Full-time school at 4 with no choice..and constant pressure on early years to do phonics etc instead of play

@waterrat Totally agree!

@WiIIowT Yes, I feel the same