Five minutes to eat school dinner?

pigpen

katrina1981 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. Caught the attention of the deputy head today and she said she would look into it, apparently according to my daughter the headteacher was in the dinner hall supervising lunch today and she had more time to eat. No minutes were being shouted down today.

Some interesting replies as to who to complain to.

I do wonder if she was confused.. how many times do we say as parents.. you have 5 minutes to.. tidy your room/get your pjs on/eat your dinner... and then count down one minute after maybe 3 or 4?? In which case she might feel rushed but the supervisor actually gives them 20-25 minutes.. which for the majority of children is plenty.

katrina1981

QuackQuackOops wrote: »

Oh my. Yet another case of a parent kicking off big time because of something the children have said.

When will parents learn that children do not see the world the same as an adult. 5 minutes to them might be 20 to us.

When your child tells you something how about you check out the facts before you get annoyed? Otherwise you're going to be a nervous wreck by the time shes 16 because teenagers are the biggests liars going and hyperbole is their middle names.

For your information I never kicked off, I am very diplomatic when I speak to people, my daughter is a very clever girl and would not lie about such a matter. It must have been an issue as the head was standing in at lunch time the following day.

At the end of the day my daughter told me she felt she never had enough time to eat her lunch, hopefully the issue is sorted, otherwise I will be having a word again.

toshkininny

QuackQuackOops wrote: »

Oh my. Yet another case of a parent kicking off big time because of something the children have said.

When will parents learn that children do not see the world the same as an adult. 5 minutes to them might be 20 to us.

When your child tells you something how about you check out the facts before you get annoyed? Otherwise you're going to be a nervous wreck by the time shes 16 because teenagers are the biggests liars going and hyperbole is their middle names.

So you would totally ignore it if your daughter said she only had a small amount of time to eat her dinner? As far as I understand it the OP was trying to check facts before broaching the subject.

milliebear00001

katrina1981 wrote: »

For your information I never kicked off, I am very diplomatic when I speak to people, my daughter is a very clever girl and would not lie about such a matter. It must have been an issue as the head was standing in at lunch time the following day.

At the end of the day my daughter told me she felt she never had enough time to eat her lunch, hopefully the issue is sorted, otherwise I will be having a word again.

Sorry, but I couldn't help replying to the bit highlighted. As a teacher, I get fed up to the back teeth with parents who tell me this when I know, for a fact, that it isn't true.

Many, many parents have no clue what their kids are like in school, nor are they always aware when they are being manipulated.

Your daughter may have lied, she may have 'exaggerated', she may have been unaware of how long five minutes really is, she may have told the situation to you exactly how it actually happened. A parent's first duty should always be to have a quick talk to the adults involved in the situation to find out what actually happened, rather than accepting a young child's version at face value. Not saying this isn't what you did OP - but there are plenty here who are suggesting that this should not be the first action, when it ALWAYS should be.

moomoomama27

milliebear00001 wrote: »

Sorry, but I couldn't help replying to the bit highlighted. As a teacher, I get fed up to the back teeth with parents who tell me this when I know, for a fact, that it isn't true.

Many, many parents have no clue what their kids are like in school, nor are they always aware when they are being manipulated.

Your daughter may have lied, she may have 'exaggerated', she may have been unaware of how long five minutes really is, she may have told the situation to you exactly how it actually happened. A parent's first duty should always be to have a quick talk to the adults involved in the situation to find out what actually happened, rather than accepting a young child's version at face value. Not saying this isn't what you did OP - but there are plenty here who are suggesting that this should not be the first action, when it ALWAYS should be.

Couldn't agree more!! We have many a ranting parent telling us about their little dahhhhrling, and how they are so mature and wonderful and that they want xyz sorted out, when infact the total opposite is often the case!

toshkininny

moomoomama27 wrote: »

Couldn't agree more!! We have many a ranting parent telling us about their little dahhhhrling, and how they are so mature and wonderful and that they want xyz sorted out, when infact the total opposite is often the case!

Most probably true, but if that's what you think about the kids that you teach - maybe you shouldn't be in the teaching profession !

katrina1981

moomoomama27 wrote: »

Couldn't agree more!! We have many a ranting parent telling us about their little dahhhhrling, and how they are so mature and wonderful and that they want xyz sorted out, when infact the total opposite is often the case!

Whilst I agree with you that some may exaggerate their child's behaviour, I am not lying about my daughter, she really is very good. Never a bad report and always praised for her behaviour.

A quiet word in a teacher's ear is what I indeed had.

Quite annoyed that you would insinuate that my daughter would lie, she is completely not like that at all, and it is a terrible shame you think so little of your pupils.

moomoomama27

toshkininny wrote: »

Most probably true, but if that's what you think about the kids that you teach - maybe you shouldn't be in the teaching profession !

I don't teach, I volunteer in youth services! Believe me, some of the children we have are terribly behaved. However the majority are lovely, so I think I'm fine where I am, and with what I'm doing!

My point was that some children either a) wrap their parents round their fingers or b) the parents just like conflict, and cant admit that their child can sometimes play up!

moomoomama27

katrina1981 wrote: »

Whilst I agree with you that some may exaggerate their child's behaviour, I am not lying about my daughter, she really is very good. Never a bad report and always praised for her behaviour.

A quiet word in a teacher's ear is what I indeed had.

Quite annoyed that you would insinuate that my daughter would lie, she is completely not like that at all, and it is a terrible shame you think so little of your pupils.

I was speaking in general, in reply to the comment I quoted, I don;t recall calling your child a liar at all!

Again I am a volunteer youth worker, and I do think very much of the children, very much indeed or I wouldn't volunteer my time!