I'm genuinely looking for answers as I am starting to wonder whether I'm just a cold-hearted btch for thinking these women are being far too precious.
DD(6) goes to breakfast club and after-school club every day of the week and has done since maybe 2 months after starting school in reception. Whilst I read all newsletters and talk to staff at the BC and ASC, I'll admit I don't have the best working knowledge of the school.
Maybe a week or two after the start of this term, a letter went out to all the parents in DD's class from her class teacher. It was generally just a couple of reminder points about how she does things in her class and the show and tell rota. It was slightly abrupt but we've had lots of changes recently with a new head (I think asserting her authority - 7 staff left at the end of July) and I just thought "meh".
One of the points of the letter was about parents not taking their child into the classroom at dropoff and leaving them at the door, whilst encouraging independence by getting the child to hang their own coat up, put their own bookbag in the right box etc. This didn't make an iota of difference to me as DD had been doing it since reception (obviously the staff at BS and ASC don't go around in the morning hanging up each individual child's coat for them [hgrin].
Anyway, that was that and I thought no more about it, until it was mentioned in the school newsletter about year 1 and year 2 children being left at the door by their parents. Ok, no problem again as doesn't affect DD. But after going to a friend's house after school one day, I had the obligatory coffee and chat when I went to pick her up and the mother was fuming about this new rule. She said that the teacher had spoken to her about it one time (albeit it sounded in a nice way) and her attitude was "if my daughter wants a kiss and a cuddle inside before I go then she will have a kiss and a cuddle inside before I go". Ok everyone has different parenting ideas and I know I'm lucky in that DD takes everything in her stride and I've never had a problem with clingyness or whatever so I thought fair enough, knowing what her daughter is like I can understand her attitude (or vice versa [hhmm] ).
So DD went to a party yesterday and it was the topic of conversation at drop off and quick chat before running off to chill out do housework. The other mums there also thought it was a ridiculous rule and was of the "how will little Johnny and Little Sally cope with putting their own stuff away".
Just to clarify, the door that they are to be left at is an outside which leads into their classroom (as I understand it, and has generally been the case with most classrooms at the school). The children then go through the classroom to hang up their coats in the cloakroom, come back to the classroom to put their book bag and lunch box away.
I must admit when having a coffee with the first mother that I was just thinking "PFB" but now having listened to the other mothers I'm wondering if I do expect more of DD then I should and that I am a cold-hearted btch for not hanging DD's coat up for her [hgrin].
Or are they ALL just PFB (even though some are not First borns)
Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.
Primary education
Are they being a bit precious? re: year 2 children being left at the door
GreatBallsOfFluff · 16/10/2011 03:49
As a Y2 teacher I spend the first half hour of my day "policing" the door when I could be working with individual children or a small group before lessons begin simply because some mothers seem to think their child is completely helpless without them and they can't possibly hang up their own coat or carry their own lunchbox all the way to the classroom 
Still laughing at Guillotine telling you off 
YANBU.
I dont think I have taken any of mine in since Reception. It was either leave them in the playground and rush off to work or wait with them in the line till they were called in.
What used to really annoy me was the same parents every day who would park themselves right infront of the classroom door and refuse to move until their child came out. They would then fuss around putting their coat on etc whilst still standing in the doorway!
It was infuriating.
Now DS2 gets school transport so I dont have to deal with all that until DS3 goes to school next year
I am going for a lie down.
I would like to add that DS2 (who now gets school transport) has attachment difficulties that make seperation very hard for him. Tempting as it was to follow him, reassuring him that I was going to be there at the end of the day and NO I wasnt going to leave him for ever,
I still left him at the door.
Classrooms seemed to be designed to discourage the sort of behaviour in the OP. They sort of funnel kids in dont they?
I am still shaking slighty as I realise what I have done, having two kids in my 40s, primary school for another decade 
(dont mean the teachers btw - just the whole school thing)
Apologies GreatBallsOfFluff. As you can see by the time of my posting it was yet another sleepless night and I don't do lack of sleep well... 
Don’t want to miss threads like this?
Weekly
Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!
Log in to update your newsletter preferences.
You've subscribed!
YANBU. In DS1's reception class it used to absolute hell in the morning but if you wanted to drop and run, you couldn't because the reception cloakroom was rammed with parents and 2 metres from the school gate which led onto the road. I used to push DS1 into the throng and then wait in the playground to make sure that he didn't escape from custody .
Now they have to line up and there is a parental exclusion zone. So much better. I screech up to the front gate, eject DS1 (now in Yr3) ("no kissing in front of my friends") and leave.
This reply has been deleted
Message withdrawn at poster's request.
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.