Why does this matter?

My questions are:

Why does it matter how much time I spend with my child? Why does it matter what activities we do together? Why does it matter what age they sat/crawled/walked/spoke? I mean, seriously, does it matter? They are going into pre-K, just have a part that asks if there are any developmental milestones missed. I am not going to add up the amount of time I spend with them. I don't remember when they walked, I don't remember when they sat up. They say pee and poop and they occasionally need help getting back dressed, just like any potty trained three year old. Just like the kids my mom used to have in her kindergarten class, sometimes they need help, sometimes they don't.

 

Damn I'm cranky.

 

My DH and I had the same reactions while filling out their forms. And we refused to fill out the questions on how we "punish" and for what "offenses." As psychologists we instead wrote a little thing about the definition of positive and negative reinforcement. I'm sure whoever reads those forms will be rolling their eyes, but seriously why are they asking? Its not like they will tailor their discipline to each kid.

:blush: I'm cranky too!

 

You may be cranky but you are right, none of that matters...I dont think! I would leave that part blank, what difference is it going to make, right?

 

Or maybe I'll just write "WNL" (within normal limits) on everything.

 

I have NO idea why it matters!!!!! I just had to fill out a form for my 14 yr old that asked the same what age did he sit up etc.... questions! Huh, at whatever age babies normally do! That whole section I felt like was a waste - and full of guesses. Maybe there are some parents out there that would not want to reveal or that just forget that their child did not sit up until age 12 and they figure by asking those questions that they will have to answer??? And the how much time do you spend with the child question???? A big reason their business exists and they have the hours they do is because people work. It is not like you are checking them into the kennel!

 

I LOVE the WNL answer, I wish I had thought of that 2 weeks ago! That is how I will answer those questions from now on!!!

 

:umm: Ridiculous questions and I'm glad the kids school never did ask me that. If there are any serious delays or issues you would make them aware of it... but having a later walker or talker has nothing to do with how they are today. :gah: I like your wnl answer. :good:

 

They do seem ridiculous, but I think they do it as a way to get a background on the kids and possibly find any "red flag" areas. Not all people are honest about their child's development when enrolling them in school (pre-K or elementary), so I think that sometimes those forms serve as possible background information on the child. We've had parents enroll their kids in developmental preschool in our district saying that the child had some language delays and when they arrive for the evaluation they are non-verbal or have maybe 1 or 2 words and they are 3.5. Or they say their child still throw tantrums occasionally and when they meet the child in person the therapists and teacher see that the child has significant behavioral issues, etc.

But, I get what you are saying - they are very detailed and over the top.

 

Is this a program they have to qualify for? or it's just forms and they are in no matter what?
My kinder gave us forms that even asked if we drank alcohol and how much money we made--their were aid programs the school participates in so that's what they wanting income for, I declined to answer and let them know I didn't think we needed any aid. I also wrote a long thing about how I recoginzed that a lot of people in the region suffer from problems with alcohol but that our family tried to model a health relationship with alcohol in the same style as Leighann's answer about disapline. Likewise, I'm sure the who ever read it rolled their eyes. If I'm lucky they realized that the question made certain assumptions that they were wrong to automatically make.

 

Meli, no program, just a normal private preschool thingy. I want to put them in a more structured thingy during the day because they're now the oldest at their daycare (with the exception of the summer kids) and I want them to hang out with other kids when all of the older kids (in the daycare now) start kindergarten.

Plus they already know all of the curriculum at the daycare and can spell and read a bit. Oh and Alice is getting in trouble because she's bored and knows how to sneak upstairs and how to take the covers off of outlets. I figure she'd do better in more of a classroom situation and less of a house situation.

ETA: I'm cracking up at the food questions. Do they not know that an almost four year old's palatte changes from day to day?
"What is their favorite food?" Well, you see, that depends. If the moon is in Jupiter and Polaris is in Cancer, and if it's low tide, they like chicken. If the sun rises in the West, they like pizza, and if the mountains have snow, they like liverwurst.

 

Who knows. Preschools/daycares can ask some crazy stuff... I would be pretty irritated too that they are concerned with how much time you spend with your kids.

On a side note, I'm glad I'm not the only mom who doesn't remember exactly when they walked, sat up, etc...

 

I remember the piles of paperwork I had to fill out to get my boys assessed by the California Early Start program. I just left most of the milestones questions blank. Who remembers much about that first year anyway? I wanted to answer them all - "I have twins, do you think I actually stopped and wrote down when baby a first rolled over from his front to his back, considering that he'd just rolled into a pool of his brother's spitup?"

 

Bex, I think your WNL answer is a good. I would have to say to most of those questions "huh?" They are alive, walking, talking and doing what kids their age are supposed to do. What more could they want? I understand having to consider for any developmental issues but I am sure at this age, you'd have an idea about speech, etc. I know I certainly do not remember most of my kids milestones. Just last night DH and I were trying to remember when DD started walking.

 

When I worked at the pediatrician's office, that's all they would write on the developmental tests. "WNL."

But alas, I just found out that the school I started filling out the paperwork for has a blemish already, a child was burned and the school covered it up/didn't tell the parents. So I'm looking at a different school already.

 

Eek. Is this Kiddie Academy? They are all independently owned, but yikes!

We had to fill out that crap starting at age 1. Favorite foods, activities, etc. Um, the are 1. I pretty much just throw food at them and see what sticks and try to keep them from crying.

We haven't had to do forms that ask how much time we spend with them.

 

It's my experience that most forms ask for way more info than they need (and often more than they're legally entitled to ask), regardless of the reason for the form. It's true of applications for jobs, education related things, applications for credit and more.

 

Well obviously if you only spend 2.5 hrs a day with your kids vs. 4 they can anticipate that your child will be an unrepentant nose picker and probably grow up to be a stripper.

No seriously, WTF?