Preschool Horror Stories: How Working with Two-Year-Olds Scarred Me for Life
Take it from me: you might think that working at a preschool/ daycare will be fun, but it could end up being one of the worst experiences of your life. If you're thinking about this kind of work, be sure to thoroughly check the place out before you accept a job there. And if the manager hires you during the interview instead of calling within the next few days to offer you the job, be wary: this probably means that they have a hard time keeping workers and are desperate enough to hire anyone who wants the job. In the three months that I worked at this particular preschool, five or six teachers quit…and there were only eight teachers to begin with! I wish I'd been more suspicious when I was hired so quickly; I should've realized that there was a reason they were so desperate to hire people and I never would've taken the job! Before I took this job, I was pretty sure I didn't want to have children, but now I'm one hundred percent sure, and I can't even be near a child without thinking that I'm going to get kicked or bitten or worse! So if you want to continue liking kids, do not work at a preschool!
Published by Crystal Funke
I'm a playwright from Charleston, SC. I write monologues, ten-minute plays, and musicals. If you'd like to read any of my plays, you can find them here: www.myspace.com/rockstar1231. I hope they make... View profile
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13 Comments
Post a CommentI work with two year olds, and I love my job most days. But this article made me laugh, because as much as we have structure and as much as I enjoy the children and learning and playing with them they can be crazy and I see some of the behaviors mentioned in the article on a daily basis. Between the scratching, biting, and hitting... not to mention the attempts to eat non edible objects and bizarre things they try to bring or put in to the toilet... 2 year olds are a handful! I have worked with other age groups and by far think that 2 year olds are the most difficult! I
I also work with two year olds at a pre-school. After reading your story. I do not think you found the time to entertain your kids, or try to do any fun things with them. A two year old's attention span is almost non exsistant, so a person who wants to work with them has to want to always find new, and creative ways to work with them. My class room has 19 crazy kids, and 3 adults. Our classroom is always hectic, but we try very hard to have structure as well as always coming up with new ideas for the children to do. Children also sence their teacher's very well, and if they are loving, stricked, or anything in between. If you would have taken the time to know the children and actually talked to them. I do not think half of the stuff you are saying would have happend.
I really hope my baby never will have the chance too have a teacher like you, you will do better in a farm
2 year olds are little people with their own personalities. They cannot be lumped together and expected to behave like angels. I teach a class of 15 2-3 year olds and it definitely requires a lot of effort, lots of love and patience, and knowledge. Read up about early childhood development, learning through play, and make sure you have activities planned for the day. You obviously went into this job blindly thinking it was just a form of babysitting.
I work as a teacher for a two year old class. I think that its absurd you would take a job that you have to love just to get insurance. To stay there when you clearly were not suited for it, is appaling. I also think its sad you discourage people from what is a very rewarding career. There are bad times, and they are hard to deal with at time. But there are also the mornings that they will run to you like your a god. The fact that you referred to them as "children of the corn", also shows that neither you nor your coworkers actually put any time into actually teaching the children anything. Shame on you!
Really ! I thought this whole article was in jest. It is only after reading the other comments that I get the feeling you are serious. Kids are the most adorable, innocent creatures in the world. How can you not like them? and two year olds, they start exploring the world around them then and are so much full of enthusiasm and energy that is so infectious. I envy pre-school teachers for they are so lucky to work with innocent, sweet kids rather than politicking, backbiting coworkers....
Clearly it sounds as though YOU should have done your homework before accepting a job there. Working as an educator in early education is tough, but it sounds as if you had a similar reaction to someone who sees a cute puppy in a window display. You thought working with children would be "cute" failing to recognize how each child has specific growth and development periods. 2 year olds are naturally curious, they are just beginning to see that they are not the center of the universe and as such they will test more boundaries. I would also question a preschool that allowed you to take an assistant teaching position immediately. Did you have any training or schooling for child development prior to starting? Were you familiar with consistent stages of development between the ages of 2 and 3? Were you given any support resources or input on working with children and how to handle their behavior issues? Before you swear off children permanently, keep in mind that when you have your own, it
Toddlers have built-in love thermometers. When they sense someone is not as enthusiastic, the feeling becomes mutual. Looking after kids is not for everyone, if you guys are not passionate about it, please remember you are not helping the growth and development of a healthy child. And some people just have a way with kids. The responsibility requires becoming child-like again, live in their world and speaking to them in their own language. Being humorous and playful definitely changes your relationships with kids.
A lot of the problem with children is that their parent's are lazy and don't do their jobs, so us child care workers end up with demons all day. It is the parent's jobs to teach their children, we only reinforce it.
oh my god what is wrong with you i work at a hospital with two year olds and i adore them all they are a lot of work but when you watch them grow and learn it is all worth it they dont always do bad they do good as well and the only reason they mess up at times is because they are still learning