Parent stupids

[fireheart]

So I have a new job of sorts...still after-school care, but regular hours. The parents on the whole also seem to be less stupid.

However, that said, there are two cases of parent stupidity I have encountered so far. Not so much suck, as the parents were just slightly clueless and rectified the issue the next time their kidlet was in.

#1) On the enrolment form it is listed at least TWICE that the kids are required to wear closed-toe shoes (so no flip-flops or sandals). We've had at least 3-4 kids come in wearing flip-flops. Ballet flats are OK, but flip-flops are not for obvious safety reasons. >.<

#2) This one's probably more annoying. We have a high number of kids at both the services I'm at currently (the one I'm working at for the holidays and the one at the start of term) with food or other allergies. (Most of them are the standard milk, egg, soy, nuts, sesame) One such child is NOT allergic to milk (or lactose-intolerant), but is not allowed to have any. Why? Because it's a "lifestyle choice" according to mum. And yet, she has no issue with her child consuming milk products (cheese, ice cream etc.) this just left me slightly confused

And a slightly mild one, but if you're going to send your kid to a program for the entire day, PLEASE DON'T SEND TWO-MINUTE NOODLES! It's a MAJOR OHS issue. (Thankfully I've only had 1 child out of 25 send noodles to the service, which is better than the 10/50 I had at my previous job)

[kaherbert]

Maybe the child who doesn't drink milk but does eat milk products is like my niece and me. We cannot gag down milk. It tastes incredibly sour and the "texture" causes a huge gag reflex.

My parents went around and around with my elementary school about it. Because of deadly allergies I brought my own lunch. I couldn't get a tray because you were required to get a cookie. 1/2 the cookies were peanutbutter and they were mixed together with the chocolate chips cookies in the container that the lady putting them on your tray had. Since touching peanuts can kill me, tray was out.


So I brought a thermos with apple or orange juice instead of milk. This drove the person in charge of my 3rd grade class crazy for some reason. She once got me a carton of milk and ordered me to drink it. I did - and 1/2 through gagged and threw up on her. No-one else fussed about my juice.

My niece takes a reusable water bottle.

[Deserted]

And a slightly mild one, but if you're going to send your kid to a program for the entire day, PLEASE DON'T SEND TWO-MINUTE NOODLES! It's a MAJOR OHS issue.

Can you explain this, please? Why is it a health/safety problem?

[greek_jester]

Can you explain this, please? Why is it a health/safety problem?

I'm guessing the combination of children plus boiling water. Not a good combination.

[fireheart]

I'm guessing the combination of children plus boiling water. Not a good combination.

This.

We tend to drain the water for these (and noodles are served as an occasional accompanying snack for afternoon tea) anyway, but in the case of this particular service, the kitchen is open access (compared to my old service).

[MoonCat]

Some people believe that kids MUST drink milk. If they don't they'll suffer from all sorts of horrible health and growth problems.

When I was a kid, there was this program called "Milk for Health." They went so far as to hold a school assembly once a year with some kind of mini-play acted out on the stage, and there was a woman who was, if I recall correctly, dressed up as some sort of "milk fairy" or something. All of this was to convince you that you absolutely NEEDED to drink milk lest you die of ricketts or whatever.

Of course, as a kid I didn't realize that the dairy council or whatever they were called was behind this program.

[fireheart]

Some people believe that kids MUST drink milk. If they don't they'll suffer from all sorts of horrible health and growth problems.

We offer water as our main drink and discourage the kids from sharing food for obvious reasons. The issue really only crops up for things like Milo. We don't force it on the kids, it's completely optional.

This one was more or less "mums" lifestyle choice going through her kid.

At least with the school I WILL be going to in Term 3, the kids who can't have milk are allergic or lactose-intolerant (I'm slightly lactose-intolerant, I can't have full cream milk but I do OK with other forms of milk)

[Seshat]

Required to take a cookie? WHAT?

[Ben_Who]

Some people believe that kids MUST drink milk. If they don't they'll suffer from all sorts of horrible health and growth problems.

When I was a kid, there was this program called "Milk for Health." They went so far as to hold a school assembly once a year with some kind of mini-play acted out on the stage, and there was a woman who was, if I recall correctly, dressed up as some sort of "milk fairy" or something. All of this was to convince you that you absolutely NEEDED to drink milk lest you die of ricketts or whatever.

Of course, as a kid I didn't realize that the dairy council or whatever they were called was behind this program.

Don't happen to live in Wisconsin, do you? They have a colorful history of dairy advocacy.

My mother got really weird about milk at one point when I was approaching adolescence. Suddenly Kool-Aid was the healthiest thing a growing child could possibly want. It had Vitamin C and everything. Milk, on the other hand, was a destructive fluid sent by the devil capable of killing you on sight and dragging you to hell. A single glass would render you impotent, obese, give you pimples, cause warts, telephone your friends and spread rumors about you, and steal money from your piggy bank while you weren't looking.

Even that young, I was hard to fool; Kool-Aid was twenty-five cents a quart, milk $2.25 a gallon, and Mom was desperate to save grocery money any way she could as both her kids hit their growth spurts at the same time and entire hams started disappearing from the fridge. It was just weird watching her champion the health benefits of soft drinks - right up until I was about 16 and went to the dentist, and she wound up with a bill that would have bought two hundred gallons of milk...

[Kit-Ginevra]

Is it true-or just an urban myth that I've heard that in Wisconsin,because of the dairy folks...
-if you had an order of apple pie,it had to be served with cheese?
-and that they dyed their margarine bright red to put people off it?

[blondemarmot]

You haven't lived until you've had a slice of warm apple pie with a nice slice of sharp cheddar slowly wrapping down the edges.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Is it true-or just an urban myth that I've heard that in Wisconsin,because of the dairy folks...
-if you had an order of apple pie,it had to be served with cheese?
-and that they dyed their margarine bright red to put people off it?

1. Tell that to the folks at the local Mickey D's; they've never served cheese with any of their quote-unquote apple pies.

2. Never heard of this.

3. I should probably be exiled someplace else, but I'm from Wisconsin and I don't like cheese all that much. I'll eat it as part of other foods and I do like some cheese spreads, but otherwise I'm not such a huge fan of it.

Also I've become rather lactose-intolerant so I can't have too much dairy food at a crack or else I become very unpleasant to be around.

But I consume plenty of sausage and beer, so things even out somewhat.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Is it true-or just an urban myth that I've heard that in Wisconsin,because of the dairy folks...
-if you had an order of apple pie,it had to be served with cheese?
-and that they dyed their margarine bright red to put people off it?

Not just Wisconsin, but the US, Canada and others.

The Politics of Yellow: Butter vs. Margarine

Margarine - Legal Issues

[Dreamstalker]

I was told that the apple pie/cheese thing was a New Englandism (or maybe it was caramel and cheese--never tasted the former, but I can't get enough of the latter)

[fireheart]

New stupids I've encountered this week.

-Parents, if you plan on booking in your child and/or cancelling the booking, PLEASE LET US KNOW!!! It is annoying preparing food for 24 children and then having to throw out 2 plates worth when only 18 kids show up or preparing food for 10 children and having 15 show up. (We are contemplating having me stay back a bit some days so I can prep the afternoon stuff so all I'm doing when I come in is just cooking the afternoon snack)

-Similarly if your kid is absent from school, LET US KNOW. The school does not pass on messages like that to us as we're out by 10am and not back until 2/2:30. (our licence agreement does not let us stay in the school beyond these times and if we have an assembly on, I can't enter until 3pm)

-If you have a request for your child's activities, PLEASE for the love of God, FILL OUT A CHILD PROFILE! Out of the 30 or so kids (that we get in on a regular/semi-regular basis), I've only seen 1 child profile filled out. It wasn't too demanding, just more that this child had a chance to play outside which we do anyway.

-Please let us know if your kid is on a certain diet...I found out the other day that one kid is on a vegetarian diet and is not listed as being on one. Same goes for dietary restrictions.