Taking Kids to Meeting

[Etiquetteworry]

So it's DD1's parent induction evening at her new school tonight 6-7pm. DH is working abroad for a few days and neither of my usual babysitters are available. Could I take my 2 and 4 year old to the meeting and plug them into an iPad to keep quiet or do I risk alienating myself from all these parents and teachers I've never met? I really want to attend as I've never been to the school before.

Lots took theirs last week at our school. They played with toys left out by school for that purpose. Not everyone has childcare options for these things. I'd say there were about 10 children there. It'll be fine.

It really depends, if your children are ok to entertain themselves for few minutes while you are talking to the teacher, I think it's fine. They normally prepare for that, by providing toys, etc.
But if your child is a kind who needs constant attention from you and interrupt the conversation with the teacher, you should think about other options. It's more your loss, rather than teachers loss.

I attend these every year as part of the PTA, it’s not unusual for younger siblings to come and they are usually pretty short.
Ideally you would be able to just bring the child starting school but if you can’t get a sitter what can you do?

Just be warned - ours was about 1 3/4 hours long last week... about 15 minutes of actual useful content (at the end of course) and 1 1/2 hours of edu-waffle that we'd all heard before at the prospective parents' meeting.

I went to one last week. There were a reasonable number of children there. I'd go and sit at the back and you should be fine. Ours was only 35mins long, although not overly useful.

Why don’t you call the school and ask? How come you’ve never looked round it??

They won't be the only children there. At mine recently the head teacher's own son was there, with her husband- he's starting the school himself this year and presumably her husband wanted to be able to attend the meeting!

Depends on the school I would say. The child starting school is not permitted to attend at our school, but we had to take you her sibling as he wasn't able to stay in nursery (on antibiotics). It's a bit shit they're having it 6-7pm. Ours was 17.45 to 18.15 so most kids were still in nursery/at childminders.

Thanks all, it was very informal, plenty of other kids there, I need not have worried.

@BendingSpoons sounds just like the one I went to last week-maybe it was the same one. Although it would have been very informative to totally new parents. Just not those of us already part of the school. It's good to show willing though eh!

Peabodys I'll be there again for DS I'm sure, even though it will probably be the same presentation. Wouldn't risk missing useful info!

The child starting school is not permitted to attend at our school

@NanooCov - What a ludicrous idea, it's the child's school, they should always attend!.

The child starting school is not permitted to attend at our school

*@NanooCov- What a ludicrous idea, it's the child's school, they should always attend!.

Three out of the four secondary schools that our DC have attended between them have parents only information sessions separate from the pupil induction days. At every one I have attended - as either parent or PA / PTA member providing refreshments - there has been at least one child brought along anyway, in almost every case, by a couple, not a single parent. A definite air of, rules are for other people about many of them, too. (Not that I am suggesting that this applies to the OP, I hasten to add).

But MarchingFrog what are the schools grounds for having "parent only" meetings at all, it is the child's education, at 4 it may be that they're not fully aware enough to know what's going on, but that's hardly a reason to exclude those that might be - or those that are least interested.

At 10/11 though, it's crazy, there's no information that should be parent only, and it's a waste of everyone's time to give the information twice.

@sirfredfredgeorge The kids have two introduction sessions with their classmates plus a one on one session with their teacher. They're not short of opportunities to familiarise themselves with the school. The parents session is just for the parents. It's also a very large school (6 classes of 30 in Reception) so they have to run two parents sessions. Add kids into the mix and it would be chaos.