Preschool Problems - Simi Valley,CA

with one of the boys in my daycare, since age 18 months, he's been militantly saying, "TIME-OUT"....& pointing his finger like a gun! I don't do it, but he certainly does! He started doing it at home over a weekend (& they rarely use time-out!)....came in on Monday doing it & it's just been toooo funny!

Mom & I have talked about it, laughed about it.....& that's about all we've done. Neither of us are concerned, both of us realize that we are humans & can make mistakes/slips/errors. The same child also yells, "shut up" to my dogs & the neighbors' dogs! That phrase Mom does claim...because she said the whole family yells at their dogs.....thank goodness it wasn't me!

Kids can be crazy with their mimicing.....I think the tone of voice is more the issue than the actual words.

As a preschool owner and director there are a few things that could be going on here. Yes, the teacher could be speaking inappropriately, or it was something said out of context in a split second that your son picked up. Let's face it we are all not perfect even as moms we have yelled something out in the heat of the moment we have regretted or wished we said differently. Teacher's try so hard to speak professionally and sometimes when you see a child headed for a dangerous situation you just may raise your voice etc. None of us are perfect, however if it is her dialogue, and happens often then yes I would consider another center. Also, I have had situations where children pick things up from other children, or even at home. I once had a mom come to me and say that when her daughter was playing with her dolls she would say things like bad baby and was very aggressive. I assured him that she was not seeing it at school, we would NEVER treat a child like that. Turns out one of my staff members babysat and said dad walked around yelling and cursing, which made her terribly uncomfortable and she never babysat again. She also said the 8 year old neighbors came to play with her (she is 2) and were very aggressive. So this little girl was obviously being exposed to this language and aggression at home. There are so many children in preschool, and they all come from different back rounds and yes when children are exposed to these things they can pick up inappropriate actions and words. Is there any way you can hang around and observe to see if you notice anything inappropriate? If your son is happy, loves going to school, and you have not seen anything wrong then it could have just been a one time thing. Sometimes things can really be taken out of context. One more situation I had was a little girl told her mom to mind her own business and the mom was furious and said that her daughter said the teacher said it. When the mom questioned the teacher the teacher explained that the little girl was constantly hovering over and tattling on another child, so the teacher clearly spoke to the little girl, telling her not to worry about what the other girl was doing just to worry about herself, and she would take care of it. She told her it wasn't her worry or her business, she would handle things. The little girl took from that mind your own business!!! I was there when it was said and the teacher did not raise her voice she was just explaining to her it was non of her concern or her business. So you can see how children can take things out of context. You can also speak with other parents and see if they have concerns. If they do then there would obviously be reason for concern and action. I hope this helps. Good luck!!

Hold on mom. He is mimicking, but remember the room is filled with a lot of children from all types of homes. The other children may be the ones saying some of these things.

Maybe when he uses this tone remind him to "use his inside voice".

Remind him, "we do not touch the walls, we walk with our hands behind our backs".

There are rules at any daycare that maybe we do not have at home and in a 2 year old room, the sound of the children (thunderous) can mean there is some loud instructions given if a teacher is across the room.

I remember our daughters daycare rooms could sometimes be pretty loud with music playing and the children all excited and playing and yes, the teacher may be dealing with one child, but need to call out to another child to "Stop touching the walls, Timmy!"..

It is different at home when it it is only a few children or only 1 child..

Just give it some time.

As a past preschool teacher & director, I would suggest that if possible do drop by visits (unannounced). Talk to other parents in his class, because I feel chances are he is hearing & seeing this some where. Children model what they are exposed to, and if this occuring with the teacher, I would recommend speaking to her supervisor and explaining your concerns. Suggestions for different verbage can be given, she may be getting burned out as a preschool teacher. And may not even realize the words she is using. It happens to the best of us in every profession. Good luck!!

I would think he had to have heard it from someone. My son is 3 also and he is one of the youngest in his classroom at pre-school and there are some older girls in his that think they are all teachers helpers and like to correct the other kids and I hope it is because they don't know any better really yell at him. This drives me crazy. Do you know the other mom's? Anyone else having similar issues? I would be concerned as well. It was so hard for me to leave my son in a program (just miss him that's all - I am a SAHM) and if I thought for a second anyone was mistreating him I would loose my mind. I hope you are able to get to the bottom of this. Please be sure to let us know what happens

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Hello, Can you volunteer in the class a few times? I always volunteered in my kids' classes. The teacher may not be the same way when you are there, but believe me when I say that her real personality will come out if you are there a few times. I've seen it. You son may have seen her need to say those things to somebody and it may not be a big deal.
Good luck with your precious little boy.
K. K.

i dont think its anything to worry about. if he starts fighting you going then look into changing schools. i would look into your school districts and see if they have preschool at their school sites.