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Daphne
One of the things I had in mind to do this year was to go to bed early. Earlier. And by earlier, I mean before the clock strikes midnight and Cinderella turns back into well, still Cinderella, but the version with the rags instead of the glittery dress.
Not that I look any different before and after the strike of midnight (hello, PJs) – it just seems like a respectable time to go to bed for a 31-year-old. But then the hours between 10pm and midnight is the only time I get to sit down with a cup of Milo to wrap up some work, write a little, (re)watch an episode of Breaking Bad (I can’t believe I just discovered the show! I’m up to season 5 and it’s shot right up to my list of top 3 favorite dramas of all time), and before I know it, it’s 2.45 in the middle of the night.
Thankfully, the new helper has been really good with Finn, so when he wakes up at 6.30, I give him a morning kiss (or a few), then shuffle out like a zombie to hand him over to Aunty Nan (the helper), before collapsing back into bed for a couple more hours.
And the best part of my morning routine these days?
I usually wake up to monster hugs by a pair of tiny little hands. Truett’s hands, to be precise. He’s in a phase where he has to smother me with hugs and kisses before he leaves for school in the morning with daddy so he sneaks up on my bed and tries to snuggle me to death. Once I’m awake, he’ll kiss me all over my face and say “ok bye mom, gotta go to school now!”
Even though I’m admittedly not a fan of mornings in general, it’s absolutely the best way to wake up.
It’s crazy. I often think about how awesome it it so be a mom but what’s more awesome? Being this kid’s mom. It’s awfully biased of me but I feel that way about all my kids.
For the record, morning-snuggles phase is welcome to stay as long as it likes.
I read about the shocking case of child abuse at NTUC’s My First Skool (Toa Payoh) yesterday and it took me several tries before I managed to get through the video footage – it was just too painful to watch.
That’s got to be every parent’s greatest nightmare. As it is, I was a complete mess on the first day Truett started preschool. He was fine, off running and having a good time before I could even wave goodbye. I was not so fine. I put on a brave face but I got to the car and started sobbing like I was in some Greek tragedy while imagining the worst. What if his friends were mean? What if the teachers hurt him? What if a cabinet fell on him? (true story I heard)
It took a lot from me to be ok leaving my kids in the care of strangers for 3 hours a day, five days a week.
I have a lot of respect for preschool teachers because kids that age can be a real handful. I have 3 and I already want to lose my shit on some days so I can’t imagine having to deal with 15 tantrum-y preschoolers on a difficult one. Ok, maybe I can imagine what that’s like. It would be like walking into battle against a horde of evil Chuckies armed with only a small stick. Which you can’t even use to smack them with so you’ll mostly be backed into a corner waving it wildly, screaming “stay away from me!!!” as they advanced menacingly.
That’s probably why I’d suck as an educator.
That’s also why I think the world of teachers who have to put up with our kids for hours everyday and do it with seemingly endless amounts of love and patience.
But cases like this makes me go into panic attack mode all over again. It makes me want to stalk the kids in school and do a daily review of the CCTV footage. Or better yet, break in and install a couple of hidden cameras to surveil the place myself.
At this point, let me just say that teachers need to maintain their composure all the time and there is no plausible scenario where hurting a child is acceptable. It doesn’t matter how brattish the kid is – if you can’t deal with it in a fitting manner, then perhaps teaching preschoolers isn’t your thing. Go find a job where you can pick on someone your own size. And a note on the teachers who might have witnessed the whole thing – keeping silent and ignoring it makes them equally culpable. They have a responsibility to put a stop to this madness, rush the kid to the hospital and then sucker punch the perpetrator in the face.
In life, there are several things that are deserving of an immediate punch to the face and abusing a kid is one of them.
Parents are calling for harsher punishment and I can’t say I disagree. On some level, it’s comforting to know that this has unleashed the wrath of a hundred thousand outraged parents on their ass. We’re sending a message that child abuse has no place in our schools.
Hopefully this sort of thing doesn’t happen again and I hope the little kid gets well really soon.
