Children forgetting how to use knife and fork

maman

Aranyani said:

And key workers couldn’t even do what the wfh parents were able to.  A lot of schools were essentially just babysitting the key worker children, not educating them (for very understandable reasons often) so they got very little.

Schools were told specifically that they were to provide care for vulnerable children and those of key workers. This went against the grain for many teachers who tried to fit in some reading practice and design activities that were 'educational' but the government's aim in the first lockdown was essentially childcare and safeguarding for this group. 

unforeseen

Silvertabby said:

unforeseen said:

I can understand children not wanting to do school work BUT regressing back to nappies and forgetting how to use a knife & fork (their examples) seriously? 
That is normal day to day care of children, Covid & lockdown don't come into it. If parents are failing at such a basic level then it surely brings into question their suitability to ever have become a parent in the first place. 

My primary school teacher friend tells me that, even before covid, it wasn't unknown for mum to drop off a child with an already 'fully loaded' nappy.  When my friend asked mum to change the child, the response would be along the lines of ' no - that's your job now'.

Because children were arriving at school hungry, not having had breakfast, the school started a free breakfast club.  Children still arrived in class hungry, because 'mum hadn't got up in time to bring them in'.

Then there was the little girl who turned up in the same, unwashed, pair of knickers all week, until the school bought her some new ones.  Mum drives a nearly new car and smokes like a chimney......

I rest my case m'lord

Aranyani

Silvertabby said:

unforeseen said:

I can understand children not wanting to do school work BUT regressing back to nappies and forgetting how to use a knife & fork (their examples) seriously? 
That is normal day to day care of children, Covid & lockdown don't come into it. If parents are failing at such a basic level then it surely brings into question their suitability to ever have become a parent in the first place. 

My primary school teacher friend tells me that, even before covid, it wasn't unknown for mum to drop off a child with an already 'fully loaded' nappy.  When my friend asked mum to change the child, the response would be along the lines of ' no - that's your job now'.

Because children were arriving at school hungry, not having had breakfast, the school started a free breakfast club.  Children still arrived in class hungry, because 'mum hadn't got up in time to bring them in'.

Then there was the little girl who turned up in the same, unwashed, pair of knickers all week, until the school bought her some new ones.  Mum drives a nearly new car and smokes like a chimney......

 Bad parents are not a new phenomenon.

Aranyani

maman said:

Aranyani said:

And key workers couldn’t even do what the wfh parents were able to.  A lot of schools were essentially just babysitting the key worker children, not educating them (for very understandable reasons often) so they got very little.

Schools were told specifically that they were to provide care for vulnerable children and those of key workers. This went against the grain for many teachers who tried to fit in some reading practice and design activities that were 'educational' but the government's aim in the first lockdown was essentially childcare and safeguarding for this group. 

I’m not criticising the schools or the teachers, just pointing out that these children didn’t even get homeschooling during the closure period and not due to parental neglect.

euronorris

Of course there are bad parents out there, but can we please remember that there were many great parents out there trying to wfh full time, whilst home schooling primary age children. The two do not mix, especially if you have more than one primary aged child. So, in those cases I can well understand why the parents didn't engage with the home schooling aspect fully, as they needed to hold onto their job and keep a roof over their heads. We were lucky as my husband was home full time anyway, so he looked after DD whilst I worked, but many, many others were not as fortunate. One of my colleagues has 3 primary aged children and she and her husband were both trying to work from home whilst home schooling the kids. It was unbelievably hard work and there were multiple times where she just had to let them entertain themselves for an hour or two so they could hold onto their jobs!

With regards to regressing back to nappies, it is conceivable that some children struggled with this as a result of the upset and stress of the whole situation. It's easy to think that the younger kids wouldn't have noticed as much, but they do, and they did. They see mum and dad stressed, they suddenly couldn't go to school or see their friends or family. It was a very unsettling time for them, and I have at least one friend who's son starting having night time accidents again (having been dry overnight since he was 2). Now granted, that's night time, but it's difficult to see that it could have been a daytime issue for some children.

Of course that doesn't excuse bad parents, and there will absolutely have been cases of that, but the vast majority were doing their best in a really cr***y situation.

[Deleted User]

My niece and nephew have never been able to use a knife and fork. Before dinner my grandfather used to say, “all joints on the table shall be carved.”  Now it’s not elbows you need removed from the table but her feet. 

As for the home schooling during lockdowns it is something friends and colleagues have struggled with whilst trying to hold down a full time job working from home. Especially those with younger children.  Too many spinning plates. 

Daveydawg

I don't think it's just lockdown or home schooling. When my daughter was 7 or 8, she asked to take some school friends out for a birthday tea. She chose an American diner place and we agreed. We even did the our little girl is growing up thing. I think there were between 8 and 10 kids, can't quite remember, because it felt like hundreds of the little horrors, they were practically feral and I reckon I aged about ten years in two hours. One of the mums dropped off the invited kid, plus her not invited sister, aged 4 and in a nappy. She handed me a nappy bag, told me she needed changing, but she thought it was just number 1s and drove away. Apparently, it wasn't.
Out of the kids, there were two that couldn't use a knife and fork, were literally grabbing stuff with their hands and it didn't matter what it was. We didn't even get chance to cut the cake before it was pulled to pieces. There was another who did use a knife and fork, but held them in her fists and stabbed at her food. Hardly any of them closed their mouths as they ate, or stopped taking/shouting. The majority thought it was acceptable to run round the restaurant screaming. One even made it behind the counter to where the food was being cooked, with the skills of a ninja. Six adults and none of us saw how she got there. There was so much food dropped on the floor and trodden on. Got to say, I was really shocked. My kid has never behaved like that and if she did, I wouldn't be accepting party invitations for her! At the end of the party, I apologised to the staff and asked for stuff to clean the mess up. The waitress told me not to worry, as they were used to it and expected it with every party. What chance have those kids got, if they don't even know the basics?

Pollycat

The correct way to brandish cutlery is to hold your knife with the index finger along the top of the handle. And forks should be held with the tines pointing downwards

New research shows 40 per cent of Brits don’t know right way to hold cutlery.

If 40% can't do it properly, how can we expect them to teach their kids the right way?

strawb_shortcake

That's the way I was taught @Pollycat
I used to cringe at my Nephew who used his fork like a spoon and would argue that was the right way because you could get more in your mouth

Aranyani

Pollycat said:

The correct way to brandish cutlery is to hold your knife with the index finger along the top of the handle. And forks should be held with the tines pointing downwards

New research shows 40 per cent of Brits don’t know right way to hold cutlery.

If 40% can't do it properly, how can we expect them to teach their kids the right way?

My mum still tells me off for holding my knife and fork like a pen.  I tell her if my way gets the food from the plate to my mouth successfully then it is just as correct as any other way.