Why do parents think schools are daycares?

Farawyn · Nov 21, 2016

Well.

Life gets inconvenient at times. Especially when you are a parent.

These are FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS and I'm sooooooo over the whining.

Suck it up, people.

BeckyESRN · Nov 21, 2016

I was going to respond, but I just cannot adequately put into words how this makes me feel right now. :nono:

kidzcare · Nov 21, 2016

I can see both sides of this coin.

On one hand, as a parent you need to expect that there will be hiccups to your schedule. No one can control when or to what degree a child will be sick. It could be during the school day, on vacation, or any other time that is inconvenient. There is no way to plan for that.

On the other hand, before I worked in a school I had to deal with the headache of trying to find child care on random institute days and the like. It is very challenging. Not everyone has family nearby to help and a babysitter at $10/hour will be at least $80 for the day. Very likely more if you have several children. So a worker who is making minimum wage (or not much more) will lose money for that day and may not have personal time to take off. I worked in a lower income area than I do now and several times I had parents in tears on phone about losing wages and knowing that they will not be able to afford the basics that week.

Flare, ASN, BSN · Nov 21, 2016

i saw that article -was disappointed that i couldn't respond that it's probably state law that keeps the nurse from medicating the child, not just school policy. I still may try and tweet to him on my almost never used twitter acct, i'm sure that guy is on twitter - TWIT!

And you can always just tell your snowflake, "no- i'm not coming with Tylenol - suck it up, it's a headache. Drink some water"

MrNurse(x2), ADN · Nov 21, 2016

I see both sides, I do, and I really do understand the plight of the working poor, but we make allowances to cover contingencies, it is part of being a parent. We have 3 deep coverage, but one day all three failed, but that is the exception. With responsible coverage, parents can reduce the need for taking time off.

MrNurse(x2), ADN · Nov 21, 2016

i saw that article -was disappointed that i couldn't respond that it's probably state law that keeps the nurse from medicating the child, not just school policy. I still may try and tweet to him on my almost never used twitter acct, i'm sure that guy is on twitter - TWIT!

That thought went through my head, too. I was disappointed that there was no comment section.The other thing I noticed was his bio, sometimes I wonder, do both parents really need to work? If it is causing that much headache and you alone make in the top 5%, do the things really matter? Yes, we could all fall under that microscope, but I know what we have in place to cover, including earning less than our potential so my kids are not pawned off on someone. Just my $0.02 worth.

Farawyn · Nov 21, 2016

The author of the article is not the working poor.

JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN · Nov 21, 2016

The author of the article is not the working poor.

This.

I hate making a clearly sick child lay on the cot in my non-matter-how-hard-I-clean-it-germ-filled office because they do not have a person to pick them up. That child may end up missing even more school in the long-run. This has happened more than just a handful of times.

In MA, we did get a recent approval that employees will get extended sick time that doesn't just cover their own illness, but illness of a child if needed. Not sure if all employers follow it, of course.

And yes, I need permission to medicate your child. Especially since you may be the parent that didn't feel the need to turn in your child's health form and I have zero info about his/her allergies prior to giving them any medication, orders and permission not withstanding.

(I also find it interesting that the author wants an extended school day, asking for teachers to be paid for it. Okay, I support being paid for time, but this can equal a 10-12 hour day 5 days a week. And some schools struggle meeting budget needs as is.)

Eleven011 · Nov 21, 2016

Just to comment on Inservice and/or staff work days - Ya, these may be inconvenient for the working people (myself included) but these are known MONTHS in advance. They are planned into the school year calander. If you can't figure out what to do with your kids with several months notice, there might be a problem.

BeckyESRN · Nov 21, 2016

I don't think a lot of people realize what teachers go through already. I know we vent about teachers, but this is something else! The teachers in my building arrive by 7:30am they leave between 4:30 and 5pm. They get 40 minutes of "planning" in which they are expected to grade papers, develop individualize plans for each student, make phone calls/email parents, and get ready for the rest of the day/week. I've never spoke with a teacher whose day ends when they leave the building. Parents expect teachers to be at their disposal and in constant contact, no matter the time of day. We actually had parents complain to administration because "they" felt that a teacher was "taking too many days off". Of course, this teacher was actually at training in an attempt to maintain her professional license and complete state required trainings, but now she feels like she can't take a personal day because people complained.

The school schedule is hard on working parents, but it is not new and everyone is given plenty of warning before "random" days off-unless it's a snow day!- It's not like we decided on Monday that we are going to take a day off on Tuesday just to screw with everyone.

The nursing stuff cannot be helped! We need an order or we lose our license. It's pretty simple

DowntheRiver · Nov 21, 2016

My favorite part of this article is where he suggests that teachers do Parent/Teacher conferences at the family home. Um, obviously this is going to occur after business hours or on weekends. So you want already over worked teachers to work even more? Smart. Clearly it makes sense the way they're doing it now.