People Who Work With Children, But Don't Like Them


What is the deal with people who work in professions designed to cater to children and then they can't stand children and/or they have no patience with children?!

We take our kids to a pediatric dentist.  He costs us far more than a "normal" dentist because he is a specialist, but I wanted to take my kids to a dentist who supposedly wouldn't scare the shit out of them and who I assume is trained to work with the under 12 crowd.

This guy has an office that looks like a carnival.  He has kids movies on the big screen, aquariums full of beautiful, bright fish, video games, stuffed animals, goody bags, balloons and, of course, ice cream (he's gotta make sure we still keep getting cavities - he knows where his bread is buttered).  His staff dresses in matching outfits that are different colors every day and they all have perky, glow in the dark smiles.  That's where the fun ends.


It is like a crap shoot when you walk into his office, because you never know which dental assistant you're going to get.  It seems as if only half of them have been told that their job is to interact with children and poke-y, noisy, scary tools all day long and that the combination of these things can make kids react poorly.

We took Gomer in about a month ago and they said he needed x-rays.  OK, let's get some pics.  Open wide, Gomer.  Wider.  Wider.  Wider, damn it!!  The assistant could not get the film in his mouth.  She snapped at him and told him to open even wider.  When that didn't work, she practically mounted him and shoved his head back so she could "try another angle."  She gagged him with the film and then she finally gave up in a huff and said we wouldn't get x-rays because Gomer was "uncooperative."

Gomer is 7.  He has a terrible gag reflex and she's shoving a 4 inch piece of plastic down his gullet without any warning or compassion.  She's lucky she still has all her fingers.  Needless to say, we're looking for another dentist.

There a salon down the street that brags that they specialize in children's haircuts - especially baby's first haircut.  Again, it's another joint that's decked out like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory with an over priced toy store attached (think crap from the dollar bins at Target marked up to $12).  This salon is run by people who I think barely graduated from beauty school.  I made the mistake of taking Gomer there for his first haircut.  They have this whole package deal where you get before and after pics, a locket of his precious baby hair and for an additional upgrade you can have the whole thing video taped.  We stopped short of the video tape option.  (Don't punch me, I was naive and this was my first child, I had no idea what a fucking racket this was.  We never took Adolpha - that should get me some of my cred back.)

Gomer was terrified of the stylist and cried and screamed the whole time while this woman bobbed and weaved with extremely sharp and pointy scissors.  I tried to keep Gomer's attention and calm him down while the Hubs snapped about 100 pictures of this momentous occasion.  It quickly became apparent this woman had never cut a baby's hair before.  She was completely out of her comfort zone and had no idea what to do.  At one point, she actually grabbed his face in her hands and told my 10 month old baby to "settle down."  I told her to get her hands off him and focus on her damn job.  In the end, Gomer screamed himself hoarse and he ended up with an incredibly uneven hair cut.  The Hubs got a fantastic picture of him giving the stylist the evil eye though that still makes us laugh.

And then there was the preschool teacher who hated preschoolers.  She was a total bitch.  She worked in Gomer's classroom a few days a week and Gomer told us he hated her because she was mean to him.  We thought he was exaggerating until a few months into the school year and I finally met Miss Diane.  It was Gomer's 4th birthday and Adolpha and I arrived at school with treats.  Another teacher wished him a happy birthday and Gomer reminded her that it was also Adolpha's 2nd birthday that day.  Miss Diane sneered, "Are you still telling that lie, Gomer?"  WTF, lady?

"Gomer isn't lying.  He and Adolpha were born on the same day, two years apart.  I should know.  I was there," I said.

"You mean it's true?" she sputttered.

"Of course it's true.  Gomer doesn't lie!"  (I wish I could still say he never lies.)  "And besides, why would you think he lied about something like that in front of his mother?"

"Well, I don't know.  It just seemed far-fetched to me.  That's got to be pretty rare to have two kids, two years apart."

"I don't know how rare it is.  I can tell you how special it is.  Gomer is thrilled to have such a unique birthday and he loves to share his day with Adolpha."  Bitch.

These are just a few examples, I know there are more.  Let's hear it.

If you like what you read, check out my BOOKS!

193 comments:

shelle said...

I never understood these people, and I NEVER understood why their bosses didn't cut them loose after figuring out what hateful people they are. I worked in childcare for years and loved my job, but was sometimes stuck with the kind of people you describe. The kids know it, too, and it hurts them. Sigh.

Anonymous said...

Pediatric urologist.....cranky and impatient. Will NEVER go back!! Also, mean pediatric dentist, who had no empathy or patience with my then two yr old. I was an RN prior t becoming a mom, so I was doubly pi**ed when my kid was treated with such unprofessional ism. They're both lucky I didn't punch them WAY BElOW the throat ;) Love your blog, btw!!!

Susan said...

LOL! Can you black out the face of the stylist and post that picture?

Anonymous said...

My oldest (6) still freaks out at the dentist. Our pedi dentist and the entire staff are wonderful with the kids and I seriously can not imagine how traumatic it would be for her or anyone else within a 100 foot vicinity if they weren't like little happy preschool teachers wielding sharp dental cleaning tools. After a 15 minute explanation of what everything is, pick your flavor of cleaner, etc she still has to be held down just to get her teeth counted. We get to go in the "special room" for screamers.

That said, all the kindness and soft voices in the world have yet to convince her to settle down long enough with one of those film squares in her mouth to get a single xray. Getting a cavity filled would require sedation I am sure.

Our 6 month visit is this Saturday. They want xrays. Pray for us.

Amanda @ Life, Experience Needed said...

I was going to ask the same thing!!!

Ali said...

Omg, there's a teacher at my daughters preschool that you can definitely tell hates kids. My daughter is in after care, I have to work. The school provides aftercare until 6pm. Not 545, not 550, 6pm. On Wednesdays she's the aftercare teacher. I dread Wednesday. When I get there, at 6pm, my kids coat is on, she's ready to go. The teacher seems annoyed that she's there until 6. Most days I don't even have to ring the bell, she can see me pull up on camera and buzzes me in before I even get to the door. She's never nice in her tone towards the kids either. Any other day of the week the teachers tell me, don't rush it's no big deal, if you're a few minutes late it's not the end of the world. Technical school policy says if I'm late, I get charged an extra $15. I've never been late, but I just know that if I was late on a wed for sure that bitch would charge me.

shelley in So. IL said...

When I taught first grade, I have to say, I would totally question a story about the birthdays. But, I would never argue about it with a child and would be even less likely to accuse a child of lying with or without the mother standing right there. If it was something that so irked me, I might ask the mom as an aside, just to check facts. I heard a lot of lies from kids and learned to take that whole 'honesty of children' thing as the biggest lie of all. But the level of tact and cynicism from this woman is pretty over the top.

Now that I'm a mom, my whole memory of my teaching years (and I did that for 12 years, so it is a long history) has been tainted. I thought I had a pretty good handle on things and now with 4 kids, I know I was totally delusional. You know those blogs about apologizing to people about judging from when you didn't have kids? Yeah. That is me.

Kristy said...

Yeah - I had a 6th grade teacher who CLEARLY hated kids. He would scream at us "I'm gonna rip of your head, spit down your throat and watch you drown!" if we didn't stop talking in class...he even threw black board erasers at us. But we were obviously exaggerating so unfortunately he still has his job and till terrorizes kids. My mom's boss had to home-school her daughter because she had a nervous breakdown about going to his class.

Amanda said...

Your posts always make me smile :)
They are dead on.
Im thinking about trying my hand at writing, would love your input.

http://newmamamisadventures.blogspot.com/2012/03/you-should-write-blog.html?spref=fb

Anonymous said...

I vividly remember being about 4 years old in the dentist office when the assistant put those x-ray strips in my mouth and told me to bite down...so I did, and bit her finger on accident. She yelled at me, went out into the hall and yelled at another tech that this kid bit her. Being a highly sensitive child, to be accused of trying to hurt someone was the most hurtful thing anyone could say to me. And I didn't understand adults who were mean to little kids. I still have a problem with those films to this day. Poor kid.

unplannedAdulthood said...

I had an art teacher who would tell me my drawings were ugly because in one drawing I had a speech bubble with a crow telling a joke. She told me speech bubbles on drawings didn't belong and were a cop out from a real drawing.

I had a teacher who, when I couldn't find a paper, picked up my entire desk and shook it out on the floor AND THREW IT ACROSS THE ROOM and then yelled at me to clean it up. (This was in a very "highly decorated" school in one of the wealthiest districts)

Anne Birdsong said...

I remember when I was a new Mom I attended some kind of conference/workshop thingy geared towards daycare workers, teachers, parents, basically anyone who deals with children. I went alone, and at lunchtime I sat at a table with a bunch of daycare workers who were talking amongst themselves. I remember one said to the others, "When I first started this job, I would think to myself, 'Oh the poor little baby is crying'. Now I just think, "Ugh. The baby is crying". I was working towards being able to be home full-time with my kids then. That comment speeded up the process.

BetseeT said...

Oh, I went to a "Children's Emergency Room" in a Detroit suburb. My SN son needed to have stitches on his head. (Head-banger - whole 'nother story.) Anyway, he was in a 5-day-a-week facility, we brought him home for weekends. (Don't judge till you've been in our shoes.) ANYWAY! My son is STRONG, freakishly so, especially when he's being held down. I have recommended that he be papoosed with a blanket with just one arm out - as I've taken him to get blood drawn and this way it only takes four of us to hold him down, instead of six. Yes, grown-ass adults. I think at the time he was 10. This one RN tells me she can do it, no problem. We can just hold her down. Now, honestly, you need to have everything in an array that you're going to need, and you got to move fast. So we six held him down, she got the IV in, then they all let go of him! WTH! Needless to say, he yanked that IV out and we got to do it all over again. Idiots.

Jessica Nettles said...

My children had this teacher in second grade who seemed determined to make every child she encountered get a glimpse of hell. My daughter was told that being left-handed was evil (I guess that confirms my evil, as I am left-handed). My son was bullied by her diabetic son, and then punished when he attempted to fight back. What was even worse, is that she would pretend that she loved my kids. She was a total bitch. After her little diabetic darling attempted to kill my child by locking him in the bus luggage compartment, we left the school completely. What is scary and ironic is that she is now the principle of this school.

Anonymous said...

Wow! I don't like teaching or babysitting or anything of the like because I admit I'm not fond of kids. I LOVE my children and my friends' children and I guess my nieces and nephews. But I have to say, the very few times I've been "in charge" of children I have loved on them and happily waved them good-bye at the end. At least I can fake it until I don't have to take it anymore! Why do employers keep these people, who obviously are like me, around kids full-time?

unplannedAdulthood said...

Oh, in kindergarten we were drawing cats, so I drew one with pink spots. My teacher told me it wasn't realistic enough so I had to draw another one. I refused on the basis that my neighbors had a cat with pink spots (which they did! I don't know if they dyed the fur or if it had some kind of medical condition).

She, however, would not back down because these were going to be displayed on parent night, so she ripped it in half and put it in the trash so I had to make another one.

Courtney said...

The Pediatric ENT! He is ranked as one of the best in the country and has the personality of a dried out raisin. At the first appointment, he shoved the otoscope in my son's ear so hard that my son claimed to see spots! He then chided me for asking too many questions about the procedure. Only after we've had a combined 3 sets of tubes in our kids plus an adenoidectomy has he warmed up, as we have helped to fund renovations on his summer home!

Lisa said...

My son's pediatrician when we moved from San Francisco to the middle of nowhere. He was 15 months old, saw the shots lined up on the counter and started crying and pointing. The doc came in to give him his checkup and she said "what's his problem?" Gee, I don't know, maybe it's the 3 needles he sees on the counter. He's not a fucking moron.

Shelly said...

We are dealing with a lousy second grade teacher this year...at our last PT conference she actually told me that she noticed that my daughter did better work when she offered her encouragement. Really?!? who would have thought that a little positive reinforcement would work? This is the same teacher who made my daughter and two others do flashcards during indoor recess while the other kids played around them because their scores on a test went down a couple of points. Grrrrr!

Megan said...

Yes. There is the gym teacher in our elementary school who does not know how to relate to boys. Particularly those in the pre-teen age range. My son's 6th grade class misbehaves so badly, that they spend gym class writing essays. Perhaps it's the fact that they get BORED hearing the same rule explanations they have been hearing since kindergarten (Yes, they do teach kindergarteners how to play volleyball?! On a regulation net?! That is a riveting game let me tell you) that they start goofing off. In a society where we hear about childhood obesity constantly and with a group of kids who obviously have energy to burn, why not punish them by having them run laps or something?! Thank God this is my last kid to go through her gym class. Sadly, the music teacher and the art teacher are not any better. The "specials" tend to be less than special.

Pam said...

Would also love to see the picture!

Unknown said...

OMG!!!!! I'm thinking they all work with kids b/c adults would never take that shit!!!

Cosmom said...

My favorite is the CHILDREN'S librarian at my local library...she's a real gem. I have met more than one that clearly has no interest on kids and I don't get why they don't work in a different section.

Pam said...

We dropped our pediatrician, not because he looked at himself in the mirror while he talked to you (that should have been reason enough) but because he told me my son was faking illness the very same day he ended up in hospital with a blood disorder. He was an egotistical moron. I'm convinced he loved the salary and prestige being a doctor gave him, but kids irritated him.

kg73 said...

Ha!!! I am a preschool teacher and I will openly admit that I LOVE kids and I have far more patience with them than my OWN KIDS!!! LOL!

Amben said...

me too!

Kim said...

We lucked out with our dentist, who is totally awesome with my kids (we're going to be lost when he retires.) But my daughter's third grade teacher was awful. She would test the kids on stuff that she never bothered to teach them in the first place. Apparently, she felt that the parents were supposed to be doing the teaching for her (um, then why are we sending our kids to school???) Then she was really surprised when the kids got wrong answers. We were so glad when the school year ended and the teacher was transferred to another school.

Paula G said...

Not a mathematician, but the if you have 23 people in a room there is a 50% chance that two of them will have the same birthday. Wow, can't even begin to apply that to families but I know more that one family where a parent and child have the same birthday, or two siblings share the special day. So, can't be that uncommon.
On the 'people in the wrong profession'; OMG I see this so often. Won't share a personal horror story, but there is one teenage assistant at our daycare who needs to be sending out her resume in another field of work :)

Anonymous said...

About the x-rays - I have a small mouth (it runs in the family) and had a hard time getting the film in the back back of my mouth and also not gagging it out if they actually get it in. One day a genius dental hygienist came in with what looked like one of those single-serve butter containers (the kind you get at some restaurants with the peel-off lid). It had salt in it. I had to dip the tip of my tongue in the salt, close my mouth, and not let the salt touch anything. This results in your tongue making kind of an S or U shape in your mouth. She was easily able to put the xray in, run to the other room, press the button, and come back.

This is a pretty nifty trick! I could swallow swords now if I so had the desire! Your gag 'reflex' isn't really a complete reflex as its very easy to overcome with basically a little mind-over-matter. I can seriously shove objects into the back of my mouth with no problem, AS LONG AS I'M CONTROLLING IT. I also occasionally gag while brushing my teeth, because it is a reflex, and if my tongue is in the wrong spot and my toothbrush goes in the wrong spot it's like I'm 7 all over again.

I hope this helps next time he needs xrays. I would call and ask them if they do this, and if not clean out a butter package and put some salt in it.
~Nicole

threelittlebirds said...

They go on to do with adults, er well...older children first, then try with adults. I've been a victim of such crap at 17 years of age during an X-ray. I had been in a catastrophic crash and had a broken leg. Needless to say - NO manners at all. My Mom was incensed! I got to write a letter. Whatever.

I bring it up because my theory is that they get by with it because kids can't leave; can't fight back. If Gomer was an adult, I'm sure he could give it to them straight! In the meantime, he's got the Warrior Mom to kick some ass and keep things real.

You're pretty awesome. And you remind ME to treat kids just the same as I would any other person ...well, maybe with some extra sugar on top because they make me smile always and just deserve it!

Julie said...

Being the only one not commenting with a horrible works-with-children example, I just have to say my sister and I also have the same birthday two years apart (in May).

I like to tell people it's because my parents only have sex once a year.

But then my brother was born in November to ruin that theory.

Anonymous said...

Ber glad you don't have a child with autism ... this list keeps getting longer and longer ... (he's doing it all on purpose, after all ... this "pretend-autism" thing *eyes rolling*)

Jen Hunter said...

My son had a preschool teacher who told me he needed to be tested for ADD/ADHD. He was THREE! The Dr. told me they don't test for that until kids are like 7. So then I told her the Dr. said he was fine and just a typical 3 year old. So a few weeks later she told me he wasn't ready for preschool (by now he'd turned 4) and that if I wanted to pull him out "she'd understand". BITCH. You bet I pulled him out. I even go to church with this woman. Needless to say, we don't talk anymore.

Anonymous said...

We have a third grade teacher who clearly is way past her retirement time. My son was having a hard time concentrating at the beginning of the year (I fully admit, he can be lazy when he's bored, and after the meeting where she told us he didn't study for a test--the New England states apparently included Russia and Canada--we spoke very sternly to him and took away EVERYTHING until he could show us he could do better in school. But she kept bringing up his coloring--when they do math, there are the math problems, and then you color the picture in by the corresponding answer. "He's coloring it like a kindergartener, it's sloppy" etc. Ok. I call two weeks later, after he had been busting his ass (he wanted his next karate belt and we had said not until he improved at school), and when I asked if he had improved: "Well, no, not that I noticed, but I haven't really been checking." Say what? "Ok," I said. "Well, I have noticed that his test grades and papers are all coming back 90s and 100s." "Well, yes," she said,"I guess his scores are better. But he still scribbles on his math paper instead of coloring it neatly!" WTF, Lady! It's math, NOT ART! But, OK, I sat down my son, and I said, "Son, sometimes, some teachers like certain things. I want you to carefully color your math paper. I don't care if you don't have time to finish it (that was his reason for coloring sloppily, had she taken time to ask), just color it neatly." So that kid spent HOURS on anything he had to color, I swear. He had a glowing report card.

Anonymous said...

I was going to ask the same thing. DYING to see it!

Anonymous said...

kg73, same here, and one of my friends (also a preschool teacher and mom) has dubbed the feeling that results from this "teacher-mommy guilt." I periodically feel awful that I could listen to a kid scream for 10 minutes and not even be fazed, but the minute my two start arguing I want to jump out the window!

Anonymous said...

LOL I had an art teacher who did something similar...we were doing gradation and he RIPPED MY PAPER in half..mind you, this was HIGH SCHOOL...I worked really hard, and he gave me my only failing grade EVER, in art or anything else...when my mother came to the school to argue he said, "Well, I must be a frustrated artist." YA THINK??

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for sharing this. I don't have kids yet, but I was exposed to some pretty mean and miserable "professionals" as a kid at both the family dentist and orthodondist offices. I stopped getting dental care at age 18, when my mom could no longer force me to go. It took an unbearable toothache, therapy, and heavy medication to get me to go back after 15 years. Listen to your kids when they tell you someone is causing them pain or upsetting them.

Anonymous said...

Prior to becomming a nanny, I was an early childhood educator for several years & it would definitely amaze me to see the number of people who work in the field who clearly do not like dealing with children:( At the end of the day, Pre-school teachers are grossly underpaid so if you chose to follow that carrer path it should be because you love children & you want to aid in being an instrumental part of molding & fostering young minds (not for the pay-check!). I had several horrible teachers going up & I swore when I became a teacher that I would do everything possible to have a postive impact on the lives of young children. Working with children is not easy...I often consome plenty of wine (after hours of course:) & take my fustrations out on the Hubs (that's what he's there for right?! lol) but I personally couldn't imagine a more rewarding career choice!

amy said...

That's cool they have the same birthday! You only have to buy 1 cake! lol!

Justgr8ce said...

My daughter, who just loves everyone deserving or not, had a teacher who actually seemed to enjoy embarrassing her. My 7 year old daughter can be a bit of a perfectionist. One day she was having difficulty understanding a math problem. This frustrated her and she started to cry. Not balling out loud, kicking and screaming, snot dripping out of the nose crying, just crying. You know, tearing up at the most inopportune moment, sort of like almost every other woman I have ever met whose every emotion is directly connected to her tearduct. Anyway, as this child, whom was in the care of the teacher whose sole concern and joy in life is supposed to be enlightening our children, starts to tear up in frustration, does the teacher take a moment to assure her? Does she take a moment to say, "hey, you'll get this? We'll look over it later?" Does she even show any kindness or compassion for a child at all by, at the very least, politely ignoring the embarrasing tears? No, this wonderful, child-loving specialist says, "Really, now you are going to cry over it? Get a grip." And, here is the best part. "Grow up." Grow up?!? Um...she's 7. She's trying to grow up, ass-munch. Nice moment there, teach. Needless to say, this particular teacher had a one on one with mommy, who likes kids but isn't so keen on adults.

Anonymous said...

I hear you! Where do they find these people?

Anonymous said...

I choose to believe my parents also have sex only once a year. My sister and I have different birthdays. I am okay with the theory because I choose to believe that it IS, in fact, only once a year. However, it isn't always the same time every year. :D There...that explains your brother. Tee hee.

Anonymous said...

I had one of those during my childhood. She was my 3rd grade teacher, who was extremely nasty to everyone, but especially her students. She stepped out of our classroom about 15 times a day to go smoke a cigarette in the small bathroom behind her classroom - that bathroom was for the kindergarten in the next room!

Sarah said...

I used to want to be a teacher. Then I realized I did not enjoy children in groups of more than 2... and sometimes that's to many.

Spirit of Hope and Kindness Awards said...

After a string of these types of events I use one line. "I'm sorry you hate kids..." They are usually humiliated by this and either walk away or start to say something about safety or some other excuse as to why they acted that way. Sigh.

Who Woulda Thought? said...

I am very involved with the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts where I live. There are three types of Leaders you can find....

1. The Leader who is trained and works very well with the boys.
2. The Leader who is a Leader because he is trained but sucks with the boys.
3. The Leader who has no clue how the program works but is fantastic with the boys.

I amazes me the number of (volunteer mind you) Leaders who can't stand dealing with boys between the ages of 6-11. Why volunteer for the position if you can't stand kids?

Anonymous said...

When we lived in PA, my son had to color over his new letters with 5 different colors. His teacher, who actually did love kids, spoke to me one time because my son would REFUSE to color. I was shocked. I asked my son why? He said, and this is a direct quote, "Mom, really? Coloring our letters is stupid. I think I can write a letter without coloring it, like, a billion times." No joke...his direct quote. I laughed so hard I wrote it in his baby book. So, I passed this onto the teacher. She, because she was a good teacher who actually did like kids, said, "Well, he does understand his letters. And, it is busy work for those who catch on quick. May I give him extra work to do to keep him from getting bored and becoming disruptive?" She is an example of someone who works with kids AND actually likes kids. On a side note, I bet your son isn't being lazy...he is probably bored of coloring. I'd talk to the teacher and principal about this. Kids who excel shouldn't be held back due to laziness...and coloring sloppy is NOT of sign of cognitive ability. Some kids just don't like to slow down to color. Should they need to? If he likes the math but not the coloring...maybe she could just give him another math sheet? Wouldn't the extra math be more beneficial?

Nancy said...

Sounds like a couple of teachers my son has encountered. It got so bad for my son with teachers bullying him and another kid bullying him that we changed schools mid year this year. The school kept denying any bully issues. Turns out a bully threw another kid out of a plate glass window a week after we pulled our son out. No bulling problem my a$$!

Becky said...

My sister had two kids, born exactly two years apart on the same day. It happens.
My sisters and myself were all born the exact same week. Which turns out is exactly 9 months after my mother's birthday.

People who hate kids all seem to become teachers. My kid had one last year. WTF?

fishie said...

I bet I know who your kids' dentist is - I think it's the same as mine. Is there also a female, and their practice is their last names - J & L? I haven't had horrible experiences there with my kids, but I will say the xray experience has been less than ideal. My kids LOVE the ice cream at the end - of course!

My 23 year old sister in law just graduated with an early childhood degree and got a job at a preschool/daycare, which she HATES! All she can do is talk about how awful the kids are, she hates changing dirty diapers, wiping runny noses, etc. Uh, she used to watch my kids (6 & 2) occassionally - what the hell did she think it would be like?!

Anonymous said...

My daughter's kindergarten year of school was ruined by a teacher who obviously did not like her. What was even worse was that she obviously did like some of the students with the "correct" last name and the rest were apparently just there to fill chairs so she could get paid. She yelled at my daughter, threatened her that she would call her mom (she never did), alluded to the possibility that she had ADHD, and generally made life miserable. My daughter has a hearing impairment but hears fine if the teacher wears the microphone but apparently it was too hard to remember to put on and too hard to change the batteries so it worked every day. This was even after I heard her admit to another teacher that all the children responded better when she "remembered to wear the microphone." She also accused my daughter of ignoring and intentionally not listening to her even though she knew Erin couldn't hear her if she was not seated in an area where she was close to the teacher. Ugh. I could go on and on. It took until 2nd grade before she went to school without complaining each day how much she hated it. With no option to switch teachers she was stuck. On the upside, I think she really does appreciate the good teachers now.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I was just talking about this the other day.. we live in a small town, so it's a very small school, the same one I attended and graduated from... my kids have had some of the same teachers I had. AND there is (this one in particular) that teaches phy. ed. that I have hated all my life, she is still there, and still making kids miserable! we have been to school many times to complain, and now she really hates me. I am not the only one, but we just can't seem to get anything done, so we all deal with it and HOPE and PRAY every year that she will RETIRE!! Really, she should have been a drill sergeant instead of a teacher!! She's a bully! Where is "zero tolerance" on bullying for teachers?? There are so many people out there that would love to have that job who actually do like kids!!

We've also had the "meaners" at dentist and doctor... I left one eye dr.'s because the ladies there were such bitches and the doc said my son's migraine's came from the sun! (he was getting them during school!) Found a better one, and one of the ladies just happened to be my neighbor, and has kids same age.. AWESOME.... BUT she recently told me she no longer works there and now I will have to deal with other bitches instead! I was in tears!!

We have a great reg. dr. and nurse at the clinic, but the one's @ the hospital always leave me saying WTF??!! WHY would you choose this profession!!?? Go be a bill collector or something! I swear, don't leave your kids alone with these people... "the look" from mom can really get results(sometimes) ;) since I can't actually punch them in the throat!! Thanks for the vent session... I is always nice to hear I'm not the only one with a low tolerance for these people!!

DianaMilbourn said...

Then there's the other problem...where teachers try to be the kids' friend and not their teacher. After 6 weeks of asking to see a lesson plan, since our daughter obviously wasn't learning anything or staying busy at school, we pulled her out of that school. One week into the new school and you wouldn't believe the attitude change in our 4th grader! Made sure the teacher felt like crap after I laid out her lack of giving an education for her too!

MSK said...

I say my parents only had sex four times. That explains how my two older brothers and I got here...and that tragic day when I came home from a friend's house too early.

Unknown said...

I've had a few similiar experiences like this. Once was at a dentist, also. My oldest was terrified of the dentist and the assistant was yelling at him to sit still. She had him so upset, by the time the dentist came in the room, my son was screaming and crying. The dentist started saying shit like, "what happened to this kid? who did this to him to make him act this way?"... our twins had an appt afterwards, needless to say we got our oldest out of there fast. Then the bitch had the nerve to call me and say that we owed them for the appointments that we missed!!... We also had to report a preschool teacher once. The preschool had full length windows and you could put on headphones and listen to what was going on in the room. This woman didn't know that we were listening as she was yelling at and berating some little kid. We reported her immediately. ... I don't have the patience for kids.. my own drive me crazy, I would never want to work with children on a regular basis. I'd go nuts.

MommyOntheEdge said...

OMG I could go on and on. I have four kids, there have been MANY people in my four children's lives throughout their school years who I'd LOVE to punch.

I can understand not liking children, I don't, but I also don't volunteer to work w/ them. I don't work in a job that requires I work w/ children. I don't volunteer for the kid program at church though I've been asked MANY times.

I'm honest if people ask, I tell them I don't like kids, and they think I'm joking. "everyone likes kids" they say...uh..NO. they don't.

I limit chaperoning school field trips to one per year, per kid. That's ALL I can handle. The noise, the smell, the downright disrespectful little nasties, not doing it. Not saying all kids are that way, but more than I can stand.

I love my kids, I like most their friends, I can handle sleepovers or play dates, but I'm in control of that. I don't ever want to have to spend ALL day EVERY day working w/ kids, that's the ultimate hell for me.

Loubugmom23 said...

My brother and I share the same birthday….. two years apart…….no lie……. ;-)

NorthernGirl said...

Two of my three older brothers were born on the same day, 4 years apart. My other brother was born in the middle of them. I shuddered when I finally figured out that the two with the same birthday were exactly 9 months out from my parents anniversary.

Oh, and I've done my time at the pedi dentist. My son needed fillings. He flipped out at his regular dentist during a filling so they decided to send us to a pedi dentist two hours away so they could administer laughing gas during his fillings. What a racket that was. 4 trips because they would only work on one quadrant of his mouth at a time. Then they made me into evil mom because I refused to let them fill his mouth with a spacer that went from one side of his mouth to the other, pretty much filling his mouth with metal (the kid was six.) "Well, we've NEVER had a parent refuse this before!" Pfft, ya, I bet. I felt bad for the little guy whenever he came out of there looking all doped up. Made for a quiet ride home though lol.

Unknown said...

How do you get the 50% chance of two of them having the same birthday? There's only a 6.3% chance of a person having a birthday fall on any given day (23/365), so the likelihood of two sharing the day in a population of 23 is less likely than 50%.

Anonymous said...

Whew, do I know some of these people! I work at an employment office (OK, it's really the UNemployment office but my state wants to put a positive spin on things). It amazes me that some of my coworkers hate unemployed people. Go figure.

In our family one of my sisters was born on November 8th, the following year my next sister was born on November 6th, 10 years later I was born on November 11th. There are more of us in the family but they all know the "November Girls" always have the best birthdays!

Anonymous said...

The unfortunate part is that she is "always right." She was the same way when my cousin's children went there 20 years ago. When someone told her the reading program is too easy for some children (my son calls the books "baby books") she replied that the children weren't comprehending the bigger books, they just read them without comprehension. I can tell you, I used to be a teacher, so I ask my son questions about what he reads--and he understands it. I have to monitor him because he is very capable of reading "young adult" books and novels, but I have to read them first to check for content. He is currently reading "The Belgariad"--which I read when I was an adult. He understands what is going on, because we discuss it. I think she can be great with some kids--my daughter, who is a great student, always wanting to work harder and harder, had an excellent experience in her classroom. The problem comes in when there are children that need to be challenged to stay focused, she either doesn't know how or she just doesn't want to. (And again, I'll say, my son definitely CAN be lazy, because if he doens't see a reason for learning something right this second, he really has no interest in learning it...but many boys that age are exactly the same,and in my experience if you challenge them or interest them the right way they can rise to the occasion.)

Anonymous said...

I used to be a preschool teacher before I had my son. Needless to say, even as a single mom I refused to put my child in daycare after what I had seen. I moved back in with my mother and stayed home until my baby was elementary school age. There was no way in hell I was putting him in the care of a daycare worker. Now, I work again as a preschool teacher. I still see horrible things, but at least I can say I am good at what I do, love my kids and am making a difference. I am one less a-hole in the business.

Anonymous said...

Haha, I have to say, I was recently unemployed, and ALMOST every person I spoke to at the unemployment office was helpful, polite, and very sympathetic...but one lady, after I waited on hold for 56 minutes--no exaggeration--she asked me my social security number,and I began to sound it off, not particularly fast, and she snapped, "Slow down! You people need to be more patient!!" uhhh...I just waited on hold for an hour AND I was speaking in one, one thousand, two one thousand...I'm not in a rush, lady, I have no job to go to!

Anonymous said...

You couldn't pay me enough to work in a middle school, but the woman at my kids school is pure evil. She's stupid enough to work there and volunteer for lunch duty. She yells, SCREAMS and belittles the kids. She makes nasty comments. She uses a whistle and a microphone simultaneously. That's LOUD! I thought there was some exaggeration, but no I witnessed the ugliness myself one day. I HATE her and I don't ever have to deal with her. Try giving respect to get respect. My poor kids, three years of hell!

Nepsi said...

My brother was born on my first birthday. It totally happens. I've met other people who share birthdays with their siblings. It can't be that rare (though at one year apart I am not sure how my Mom survived).

BTW when people asked how we could have the same birthday and be in different grades I would tell the other kids we were twins but that my brother was held back. I know a little evil.

Beth said...

LOVED The Belgariad! Haven't thought about it in years!

Anonymous said...

For the dentist I have two words Jenkins and LeBlanc. My daugther loves this place after having creepy pediatric dentist. BTW love the blog you keep me laughing all day long!

Beth said...

I didn't have this problem with my kiddo ( thank God), but when I was in high school my family practice doctor told my mom I needed psychiatric help because there was nothing wrong with me after I had been sick for weeks. Since he couldn't figure out what was wrong with me, he said it was a mental problem. She took me to a specialist, and it turned out I had a rare form of Epstein-Barre (sp?) Syndrome. Jerk.

Anonymous said...

I am an early childhood educator who went back to work after 20 years of raising my children. I took a job as a preschool teacher for Head Start in a "super site", meaning many preschool classrooms all in one building. You can't believe how many coworkers were there just to collect a paycheck. The poor teaching and indifference I witnessed in some of my coworkers as well as poor management hired to run the place was unbelievable! I left after one year because I could not tolerate the unprofessionalism. Sad, because these kids need quality education more than anyone.

Andrea said...

My son (who is autistic) had a teacher in 4th grade who I truly believe hated children. One day he was unsure what to do on a math worksheet, and he was scared to ask her for help (she was aware of this - I'd spoken to her multiple times). When she saw that he wasn't working, she put his chair in the corner and made a sign that said "THE BABY CHAIR". He had to sit there for the rest of the day. When he came home hysterical, I went to the school and sure enough, the sign and chair were still in the corner. I called the principal at his home - that's how enraged I was. She did get moved to another school but my son is now in 8th grade and still has nightmares about her. I think it should be legal to rip out the hair of people who traumatize children.

Anonymous said...

I'm a teacher and I work across the hall from a woman who hates kids, except her own Precious Cargo. Some of the things she says to (much less ABOUT) kids make me cringe and I cannot understand how or why she still teaches. I've called her out on some of her remarks that were particularly acidic and she just complains that the kids are all "shitheads". Really? Ten year olds? Wow.

Lillian said...

My two Aunts were born on the same day ten years apart and my uncle was born the day before them. Talk about a busy two days for my poor Grandma.

And I taught preschool prior to having my own children and one of my co-preschool teachers was so mean to the kids. If she liked you then you were safe, but if she didn't like you Watch out! She'd be o.k. nice to all the kids in front of the parents, but behind the scenes was another story. Why my boss never fired her I'll never know.

Unknown said...

I always take our kid to a non-child specialist and have had lots of luck with that. frankly, the folks are so thrilled to see a kid (and presumably, not another adult), that they have been fantastic 9talking haircuts, dentist, obviously not the pediatrician).

Xayton said...

I think I had previously ranted to you in another post about my pediatric dental issue and even though you have 80, 000+ comments and probably wouldn't remember I'll keep it shorter than last time bottom-line. The douche pediatric dentist had the assistant inform me that he wanted to have Dayton ( 2 1/2 and 31 lbs!!!!!). Under Valium before he would see him due to his notes on his previous visit. Yeah at the 2 year old app. ( which I thought he was too young for but they told me to start bringing him at one with my 4 year old) he cried, but the dentist was liter rally in the room for under 60 seconds just to count his teeth. There is not a chance in he'll that I'd have my child doped up for him to count his teeth. I flat out laughed at the woman and said she misunderstood and that my older one was there for a check up not a cavity and when she said she in fact meant my little guy I refused. Also my mother was in the waiting room and heard him berating his staff for scheduling 2 criers in one day. While we were waiting there was a sad looking 8 year girl whose mom was reassuring her about getting a cavity filled. Yeah I'm searching for a new place now. Also the hair thing, you are a hundred percent right, BC ( before chidden). I was a hairstylist and most places will start you out with kids cuts before you can do adults, makes no sense. Kids are 10000 harder. I got a job at a kid place bc I thought I did good with them when I did them on occasion in school ...... I had the good sense to tell them I was sorry for wasting their time but there was NO way I could cut kids hair for 8 hours a day before the end of my first shift esp after I spent 30 minutes following a 3 year old boy around trying to cut his hair as he played at the choo choo table ;). And no judgement on your naivety I think on my first child I'd have bought that whole shebang if I had gone somewhere too

Melda said...

OMG
WTF
and whatever else teenagers are using this days to express outrage.... You must really have the self control of a saint -
because although all of your stories make my blood fire hot,
I would probably still be trying to get Miss Diane fired.

I have two kids with IEP's and I have gone head to head (many times) with "educators" that didn't give a flying frick about my kids education.

At one point I got called into the principal's office to talk to me about my behavior at an IEP meeting.
The principal said that I hurt "so and so's" feelings and thought I should apologize.
My reply - "We aren't going to be friends and go out to coffee - I just want YOU to make HER do her damn job!"

Just thinking about it makes me want to punch something....ugh

Anonymous said...

wow,really?

Anonymous said...

What is with third grade teachers? My son had an absolute witch in 3rd grade. He would miss the bus because he said he couldn't hear it being called. She literally called him a liar. I went to class to ask that he just be moved closer to the intercom and she told me "Your son is lazy. He doesn't care and that's not my fault. I see now why hes like this. You're an awful mother and hold his hand through everything. He knows he can get away with it because you'll pretend he never does anything wrong.". If it can get worse she said this in front of all my sons. I involved the principal and she then humiliated my son by telling another student to "make sure (he) gets on the bus. He cant do it on his own yet." She followed this up by forcing my son to have another child rip papers out of his notebook or sharpen his pencil because he couldn't do things on his own yet. My son had NEVER had one complaint from a teacher before this. Needless to say it was awful a
and the principal probably got sick of hearing from me.

the communal Pantry said...

You go to the ER for 5 Stitches and they want to strap your 3 year old down because she won't lie still ? WT#

nikki said...

get her a dentist kit to practice on her toys.. let her take it to the dentist and give the tech's or dentist a check up.. do this when she doesnt have to any work done...this is also good for the you have trouble with a ped.. my son took his doctors kit to his appointments for a good year and gave the doctor a shot every time..
my son (7) cant have x-ray's due to gagging,, and I asked for a couple of film covers to take home so he could practice , and get used to them, in a setting that was comfortable for him..
that worked in that we got one side x-rayed before the gagging started... so to my mind it worked.. next visit we will do the other side... lol
and I just laugh at them now when they insist on doing the films.. go ahead . let me get you a bucket for when he vomits on you shall I??

sasnron said...

We had our 3-yr-old daughter at a montessori school that was run like a military school; actually, recruits are probably treated better at bootcamp. This school got glowing reviews, the head-mistress was lauded by the city, yada yada. We had just moved to SoCal so had to go on research vs. recommendations from people we knew. After a couple of weeks, the one parent who would even speak to me (let's just say that most of the families are from another country) mentioned that I should REALLY go observe the classroom and oh by the way today is my daughter's last day. RED ALERT! Hubs and I went to observe the next day...there are two teachers in the classroom, one pacing back and forth, the other sitting at a desk. The first thing we see is our daughter in tears at a desk. The pacing teacher walks by her SIX times and does nothing. Finally the other teacher screams from across the room "C-----, you are FINE, so STOP CRYING!!!" I almost had to pull hubs off of her he was so pissed. Needless to say that was our daughter's last day at that horrible place. I should've had a clue at parent orientation when the teacher is bragging about how they "let" the 3-yr-olds color/paint 1 picture a day and that they sing maybe 1 or 2 songs a day. (Yes, she was my first child and I was completely clueless about preschool at the time.) Scary thing is that this school is still around, has expanded even, and is still praised for being this "wonderful" school...yeah, if you want to send your lil one to bootcamp! UFB.

Anonymous said...

ditto!

mandiessugarbowl said...

I had an art teacher that scolded me for drawing one of the holes that the owl's hang in on the tree. She came up to my desk and said loudly, "Trees do NOT have holes in them. Are you stupid or something?" then took my crayon and scribbled out the hole. Needless to say I had one dark brown tree and a homeless owl. My dad ripped her a new one for yelling at me and calling me stupid. She was transferred soon after because of complaints!

Rose said...

We are going through hell right now with our son's teacher. In just this school year alone, he went from a confident, bubbly kid who loved school to a struggling, overanxious to the point of concern, who's self esteem plummeted, my little boy transformed was transforming in front of my eyes, and the worst part was I didn't realize it was the school until we were mid way through the semester. He was so afraid that it was "his fault" as the teacher repeatedly told him that he was worried we would be upset with him!!! I immediately contacted the school & set up a meeting just to be told it was either "all in his head" or if there was an issue it was at home, not school. Hmmm so first it's imaginary & then it's our fault? We have had a dozen meetings since then to no relief whatsoever so now I've contacted a lawyer. Especially after several bullying incidents that at first were denied & then blamed on my son (who's about 1/2 the size of the child who has REPEATED incidents of throwing rocks at the cars of parents while they are picking up their child from the school as well as torturing other children. The mother's response to the rock incident? "he was playing around, he didn't MEAN to hit anyone's cars!" Seriously?

Shelly said...

Rose, My daughter has also had a rather drastic personality change. She has lost a lot of confidence and has become much more defiant at home...which seems like a contradiction but I think it is because she feels so powerless at school - nothing she does there is ever good enough. We are looking into online public school for next year.

Anonymous said...

Remove your hand from the child's mouth before saying "bite down". Really? Don't that teach that in dental school?? Sorry. She totally had it coming! I'm sorry it scarred you, but it wasn't your fault!!!

Lmigs said...

MSK too funny!!!

Kristy said...

Not that I condone any form of bullying, but may I ask what does his being diabetic have to do with it at all? You make a point to mention it twice, but I don't see how that piece of information relates to your story. If you have never lived through the hell of juvenile diabetes you can't possibly understand that woman's life. Again, I don't condone bullying or abuse of power for any reason, but I also don't condone using someone's disability in a disparaging way.

Anonymous said...

Sherrie... After school teacher from HELL, lol. If you've ever watched "Dance Moms" - Sherrie was Abbey through-and-through! She always screamed at us. She was scary! She finally got fired because she taped a girl's mouth shut with duct tape.

In Sherrie's defense, all of us secretly cheered her that day. Amber deserved it, lol! I never understood why someone who hated kids would take that job...

Christine said...

This year my daughter got this one teacher and then 2nd wk of school the teacher was transfered to another school, and all her kids we're split up..my DD went into this one room hadn't heard anything negitive about this teacher..2 months into school my DD is crying in class, saying she wants to be homeschools and that the teacher is mean Hubby and I meet with the teacher and says she has no idea.. around Dec. I'm talking to a friend about my DD's issues cause my daughter isn't anything like this, she's loving and easy going.. my friend asked how she liked her teacher and I said that teacher moved to another school.. she goes whom does she have and I tell her.. she's like OMG! You need to transfer your DD out of that class ASAP, she's wacked!! We don't move her.. thought we could get past it..every day the teacher would mention something negitive to her..etc

Then comes this past Feb. her teacher kept blaming her for not turning in paper work which she did.. 2wks after Valentine's Day she finds the paper behind another student's paper work that got displayed.. do you think she appologised, HELL NO! So, I called her out on it, said you should appologise to my daughter, she post "I'm sorry you had to send this, and it saddens me and I reply, I'm sorry your sorry but the way you talk to me and my daughter, it saddens me too. I then posted my complaint on FB( I don't use her name, or the school or the district) , and I got called into school the following week.. get this "Because the TEACHER got a copy of my post and she's UPSET" I'm like SUCK IT UP, you don't seem to give a rats ass that my Daughter is upset..so the principal says we should move your DD. I said awesome, I want so and so teacher ( the best one down there in 1st grade ) we got switched to her class, and they'll be lucky if I don't go to District over any of it!! DD's kindergarten teacher was on my friends list and she decided to copy my post.. I can't wait till she tries to talk to me at school!!
Next week is Spring break..

Melissam said...

My kids go to Catholic school. I pay for their schooling because (1)our public schools suck and (2) we are Catholic and want our children raised in our faith. Right. Until kindergarten hits and the lower grade religion teacher hates kids, boys especially. My son told me one day, he loved school except for religion, he hated religion. WTF? I am paying you how much a year and my son hates religion? Someone also mentioned coloring as an issue for teachers, this I don't get. This woman will send home homework and it is to color a picture of Jesus and then you will get points taken off if you leave any white spaces. Does this sound like a woman who loves Jesus and / or children?

Also at the ped dentist a young boy was visibly upset about everything but the hygienist kept on going. My daughter was there for her first check up and cleaning ever, I could see her face. I finally turned to the dentist and said something to her. She in turn told the hygienist it was time for the child to have a break. Now ped dentist is not the sweetest kindest woman in the world, she obviously does understand where her bread is buttered and how the butter got there.
Then there was the time I took my son for a haircut (the kid was born with amazingly beautiful copious amounts of hair). He always cried for a haircut, always. I took him to a haircut place asked the guy, "do you cut little bitty kids hair" he said yes. I plopped my son in his chair, my son started screaming. The guy just stood there and said "I can't cut his hair until he stops crying". I said " he's not going to stop, just cut it". The man refused to cut his hair!

Anonymous said...

The kiddie haircut place butchered my daughter's first haircut. The lady clearly had no clue how to cut kids hair. She just started hacking at it with a razor. At the end she said "it's a pixie cut, isn't it cute?" My baby looked like friggin' Pat Benatar. Needless to say, we didn't go back.

Alicia said...

me too!!

Anonymous said...

My coworker at the daycare I work at drives me crazy! Why get a job that specifically works with kids and then not want to be around them? Everyday I get there she immediately gets on the computer and says she has work to do (we're both directors). I end up being the only one that actually plays and interacts with the kids.

Anonymous said...

My now 7 year old 1st grader had a Kindergarten teacher who was a total bitch and hated boys. So when she had a classroom of 15 kids of which 12 were boys she was foaming at the mouth daily. She was so mean to my son that his best friend in his class cried to his mother that it upset him so much that the teacher always yelled at my son. We had written proof of her behavior and witnesses but the principal and counselor both retired last school year and when we returned this year much to our surprise she did as well and when I inquired the new counselor and principal both said they found nothing in the files left for them. Since 10 days into the school year a family had already pulled their child from her classroom I am hopeful the new principal will kick her ass to the curb this year. My husband told the principal last year that "this woman should not be teaching children and she should especially not be teaching kindergartener!" She won't even look at me when I see her at school but makes a huge point to make over my son when she sees him in my presence. Sadly my son and his friends first experience with school was this witch and one of them actually told his Mom "I hope my 1st grade teacher does not yell all the time. Don't all teachers yell Mom?" So sad. God blessed us with an amazing teacher this year and just last week my son said " I love my teacher Mom she is so nice and good not like Miss XXXX she was MEAN!" There are so many good teachers out there that love being teacher and love children so I pray every day for the families that draw this teacher and hope that she gets her due justice soon.

Submommy said...

A slightly different perspective: I worked with kids for seven years. I loved them. Their parents were the ones I wanted to punch in the throat. Like the one who called his kid a "pussy" because he didn't want to play a certain jumping game. Like the mom whose son shit all over my classroom and simply took off shit pants, put a spare pair of shorts on him without any underwear on, and let him play the rest of the class, while my co-workers and I donned hazmat suits to try to clean it up....

So, yeah, I get the occasional people who work with kids who actually can't stand them, but in my experience, Parent. Ugh.

*Melissa* said...

I teach 7th grade and I must say that it takes a special person to do so. You must be patient, caring and have a sense of humor! I go to work every day because of my kids. For some of them, I am the only stable or positive person they may encounter. Unfortunately, there are teachers at my school that I truly believe ruin the kids' self confidence. It is so upsetting.

Anonymous said...

@Beth, ME TOO:)

SC said...

As a child (well early teen), my orthodontist office was on the top floor of a Victorian building. It was all just one room, so the waiting kids could see (and hear) the two kids in the treatment chairs having `work' done. That was bad enough. But when the orthodontist was ready for the next kid he would bellow `NEXT VICTIM!' What an ogre. After I bit him (kind of accidentally) my mother said I didn't have to have braces any more...

Anonymous said...

I have been a first grade teacher for 12 years. I would never accuse a child of lying about something like a birthday. I spend most days enjoying my job with 6 and 7 year olds. It's their parents that make me crazy! Also, I would kill to have the kind of patience I have during the school day when dealing with my own three children! A few bad apples spoil the bunch...blah blah blah.

Anonymous said...

I personally love working with kids and always have, but along the way have encountered some real wackjobs. My favorite story happened when a coworker screamed expletives at a 6 year old in front of me and 17 other kids, then told the same child not to tell her boss. She then asked me to deny the whole thing for her....yes...because I'm really going to side with your crazy ass over a first grader who is now crying her eyes out..... I find this especially annoying because I DO love kids so much and let me tell you, in my field you actually make LESS working with kids....so why the HELL are you here if you are that crazy?!

CtotheT said...

I also have four kids and I concur with all that you have written.

Shannon said...

ME FIVE!

jennie daniels said...

Uh, yeah. Some toddlers are kickers and pullers and actually get hurt during that procedure as well as hurting others. My nearly 4 year - old had to get wrapped up to get 10 stitches in her forehead because she wouldn't let anyone near her to look at her wound.

Anonymous said...

I love your kids! Each and every one of them...never in over 20 years have I met a student whose life, education and well-being was not the most important thing in the world to me. Principals used to give me the rowdy boys, the Special Needs kids, the "lost souls" ~ and I took it as a compliment. Please know that there are teachers out there who will love and guide your children as if they were our very own!
* Signed, Your Surrogate Mama Bear

ErraticElle said...

I've been a dentist for over 10 years...I have never heard this trick! Brilliant! I'm going to have my girls give it a try at the office starting next week. We're always looking for a way to make it easier for gaggers.

Jessica Leonard said...

My son is in first grade. His music teacher called all the kids in class "beasts" and made them all sit silent for a half an hour. Dude! If you don't like kids, don't teach!

Stressin' Mommy said...

A-freakin' men. I have ALWAYS bitched about this to people. Neither of mine is in school yet, but the oldest just turned four so it is coming rapidly. I remember from my own school days though. My second grade teacher looked like she was snarling and evil and seemed to loathe children. Or maybe she just hated me LOL. Since I was the quietest pipsqueak at the time not sure what would have set her off. Although I know my messy desk highly pissed her off. PS. My sister and I have the same birthday and we are five years apart. It is unusual yes, but not freakish. I have run into a lot of people over the years who share a birthday with a sibling or parent.

ErraticElle said...

I am so sorry you had a crummy visit at the dentist. Kids really need a good base to start with or dental trauma can become a serious issue in adulthood. (Oh...I'm a dentist by the way.) I see kids all the time (about 75% of my patients). In your case, Gomer just needs some time. If he doesn't have any obvious decay or previous issues, no harm no foul on waiting out the gagging issue. I don't know what method they were using, but if it's an issue at the next dentist, ask them if they could try using a snap-a-ray and do PAs instead (if they're gung-ho on getting xrays that day). Give them a heads up about his bad experience before you take him in. They'll need to be extra gentle and patient with him. Let me know if you have any other questions I can help you with. I hate to see kids have a tough time at the dentist.

Unknown said...

Well I can't say too much. I have never done the "special" people for my daughter. She goes to a regular doctor, regular dentist, regular hair stylist so...when the people have no idea how to handle kids I don't think too much of it. Oh sure, I do say a few choice words under my breath and make a point of complaining to my hubby about it later but I basically knew what I was getting myself into.

On a side note though, our regular ol' doctor is AWESOME! Just goes to show ya that we don't need all of the "special" people!

Anonymous said...

Hahaha! Good one and so true! I am a nanny, I've worked in schools and I so know what you are talking about. I've reported them all and talked to the kids about talking to their parents about the teacher's bullying. I've reported a perv and eventually he wasn't working there anymore. I'm one of the only people I've met who actually stand up for children, short of Dr. Phil. If others do, I haven't heard about it, at least not in my life. Also, I've nannied for people and interviewed with others who hate children or treat them like they do and I wonder why they had them in the first place. White picket fucking fence! Those kids got extra hugs from me and some lessons about taking care of their hearts and listening to themselves. I was too young at the time to have the balls to say anything to the parents. I still regret that!

TNMom said...

I take mine to my "regular" big people dentist. Have you read the horror stories about pedi dentists? Most don't let the parents come back with the child and there are terrible stories about them not listening when the child says it hurts or pulling all the front teeth out, etc. I litterally bawled watching some of these stories...after child theft-someone hurting my child and I am not there to help/monitor the situation is my biggest fear. With my worst case scenerio brian - those terrible things are going to happen to my child, so there is no way I can sit in a waiting room shifting in my chair wondering what is going on back there.
Great blog Jen, I agree completely!
Devan

tricia said...

What's worse and I think anyone who grew up with learning disabilitys( like I did) or has a child with learning disabilitys can understand are the adults that seem to loath children that just can " seem to get it right". Im dyslexic and sensory intergration almost everyone of my teachers at the elamenty school I went to was just right out crule I was called slow stupid and even had one teacher tell me that she didn't want me there because the other children that didn't have " issues" could learn better if I was removed. Luckly my family moved to a new state when I was in 6th grade.

Karen said...

Mathematically, Paula G is correct because it is a question of probabilities and pairings. There are something like 250 pairings that can happen in a class of 23 children, so the probability of at least 2 children having the same birthday is 50%.

Anonymous said...

To the response about the gym teacher - I think what really anonoys me is that gym class is gym class (don't have the kids wiritng essays! Kids need to run around and get their energy out so they can go bakc to the classroom feeling refreshed!). The same is true when kidsare punished by NOt being allowed to go out for recess -thoseare the kids that NEED recess!!! Geez!

Anonymous said...

Exactly...my nephew actually was 11 when diagnosed. Kids have ants in their pants - my son did - and his [reschool teacher, I can honestly say, did not like him. In kindergarten, I was the paranoid parent, waiting for the emails pointing out all of my child's faults (I had grown accustomed to it in preschool). Nothing. No issues whatsoever! I hate to say it but I think some teachers only want the kids that sit at their desks/chairs and do not move, evwen my girl is not like that (thankfully!).

Anonymous said...

I do this, too. My kids go to my dentist...they love her as umch as I love her!

Confessions of a PTO Mom said...

The teacher I dislike the most at my children's preschool is also named Miss Diane. Interesting...

Whitney Jones said...

Really preschool teacher lady? Its farfetched for them to have the same birthday? My mom and uncle are 6 years and 1 day apart so birthdays that close arent farfetched... she apparently just doesnt get out much. U have tons more self control than I do... If someone called my kid a liar, I think I'd for real punch them.
Oh and I have twins and guess what? They were born on the EXACT same day! Not even a minute apart! U should tell her that one. I'd bet a shinny new penny that she would think it was unbelievable.

S Shenk said...

I can't do it...watch this kind of thing. I fully think that people who love working with children are gifted that way...my husband and I were standing in the hallway waiting for our daughter's preschool parent/teacher conference while I watched an entire episode where a teacher berated a child in the hallway for "causing mischief" by turning the lights off in the bathroom during potty break. After a couple days, I just couldn't get it out of my head. I went and talked to the director about it. Even though it wasn't my child, I couldn't help thinking that I was the only "mom" advocate that child had at that moment and how mortified I would have been had that been my daughter.

Kelly and Sne said...

I concur! My angelic son (really!) didn't listen to his pre-school teacher on ONE day so she pulled me aside (in front of my son) and told me about his bad behavior that day: "Oh, I thought you should know as it is so out of character for him." Uh, ya, so it was a couple of incidents on ONE day - not a trend toward becoming a psychopath. Surely you could have let this slide without pointing out how "naughty" he was (and these were pretty minor infractions - like she had to tell him more than once to put the toys away). I've tried to shield my sweet but wild daughter from these types of people as she needs an extra dose of patience anyway. p.s. We use Hemberger for a pediatric dentist (Antioch and College) and so far he and their staff have been great.

Anonymous said...

My father's wife is a preschool teacher but anytime she has been aroun my children (3 & 1) she seems scared of them and has a hard time connecting at all with them. I am amazed that she is still employed!!

Kerrye said...

NEVER trust the Overachieving Dentists and Hairstylists!!! (You really should have known, with all the hoopla...) Anything more than a balloon and a trip to the "treasure box", turn around and leave. Seriously, when you want to do something new (and a little scary) with your child, how do you approach it? I act totally normal and calm, like it's nothing big... Kids know when they are trying to be distracted with hoopla, and get their guard up...

Anonymous said...

Yes, dentists are the worst although there are worse people out there! Jen, I thought of your posting this morning when I read this article...
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/headlines/20120315-cps-worker-charged-in-sex-with-minors-accessed-one-girls-file-cedar-hill-police-say.ece?action=reregister

Amanda said...

I do not have children, but I have been a child at the "pediatric" dentist. Don't take those people lightly, my friend. I had a tooth extracted as a child and this asshat told me to "shut up" when I cried out. Oh, I'm sorry, IT HURT jackass.

On my file TO THIS DAY (I am now 35) I had to tell my current dentist that I have been traumatized by this dentist.

Poor Gomer. I feel for him.

Meghan Workman said...

I had a bad experience when I was a kid, too. I had to be catheterized when I was five to test for kidney reflux. My doctor never showed up, so they had a lab tech attempting it. After trying about 5 or 6 times unsuccessfully to put the catheter in, I'm screaming my head off because it hurts like FIRE. He looks around at the couple of nurses in the room - NO ONE has said a word to me at this point - and says, "Would somebody please shut her up?" Asshole!

I love my own children dearly and would die for each of them, and like their friends just fine, but I'll be the first to admit I'm not a fan of children in general and I don't have much patience with them. At least I know this about myself and can admit it. It's why I don't volunteer in my kids' classrooms anymore (after five minutes I felt like screaming). And it's why I would NEVER opt for a job that had me working around kids all day. They deserve someone who actually enjoys being around them, not someone who can't wait to go home and get away from them. Thankfully, there are still a lot of people out there who love working with children and are also GOOD at it.

Krysti said...

I have seen my share of teachers who just blatantly yell at their classes to be quiet all. Day. Long. I know it's not as extreme as your examples, but there are other ways to get kids quiet that you LEARN ABOUT IN TEACHING CLASSES. And these people still have jobs when clearly they HATE teaching.

On a side note, my best friend and her brother were born on the same day exactly three years apart. I don't know why that lady was so surprised, there are only 365 days in a year and some people are bound to overlap...

Krysti said...

Also, reading more of the above comments made me remember a specific teacher who detested anyone under the age of eighteen.

My seventh grade history teacher would tell us, "Anyone who wants to learn can come up front. Everyone else, I don't care what you do." So people would be sitting in the back doing God knows what and wandering the halls, while six or seven of us were actually doing the million worksheets she gave us. When we got frustrated because we weren't actually DOING anything, we went to the assistant principal for our grade (each grade had their own, don't ask me why) to report her. The assistant principal came in, and the teacher started complaining about how we didn't listen and disrespected her and whatnot. WE WERE SCOLDED FOR IT.

It took three more trips to the principal and assistant principal before it finally worked and she ended up being fired (I think; she was never back as a full-time teacher after that). She definitely held a grudge, though...I had her as a substitute in eighth grade and she completely took out her frustrations on me by trying to embarrass me in front of my class (death for a middle schooler!). Luckily I didn't have her as a sub in high school, and I can't imagine what she would have done then.

Beth said...

My mom used to tell me I said I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up so I could yell at the kids...I guess I wasn't the only one!! But I didn't become a teacher.

Michael said...

Two words...Sleep Dentistry. I understand the whole "I don't want to drug my children" thing, but I would much rather drug my children than traumatize them. A quick google search brought this up... http://cyberdentist.blogspot.com/2006/08/sedation-in-pediatric-dentistry.html

Unknown said...

Amen to this!!

Rachel S said...

Great information! I find myself reading your blog quite often! Keep up the good work.

Veronica said...

Yes please!!

Lucy Goosy said...

Great post - I suspect that many of these a$$holes go into such professions because they have an ax to grind with the world but are too cowardly to grind it on adults. So they work with children, whom they can bully and terrorize with less liklihood of getting caught/challenged.

I took my kids to this one dentist in our former city of residence, based on my neighbour's recommendation that he was "really great" with kids. To be fair to him, he wasn't terrible with kids, but he was one of those types who can't take five minutes to actually walk a kid through what to expect and who has the "just trust me I'm the expert" approach to "informing" parents of what is going on. But it was his half-witted ditz hygenists/dental assistants that got my blood boiling. They had my then-7 year old son in the chair, didn't speak to him or engage with him beyond telling him to open his mouth, crammed a spacer in to keep his mouth open and then both crammed their fingers in his mouth while they gossiped to each other and discussed their weekend plans. He may as well have been a block of wood for all the care they gave to his comfort - they barely even acknowledged that they were actually jabbing their fingers and tools repeatedly into the mouth of a living, breathing child! Thankfully my son is pretty stoic and though I could tell he was uncomfortable he rode it out. Then when Tweedle-Ditz and Tweedle-Dolt were done, they sat the chair back up and started gathering up their stuff with nary a word to my child, AND they left the stupid spacer in his mouth! I had to help him get it out!

Neeldess to say, when it came time for my chat with the dentist, I was livid and told him exactly what had gone down and how unacceptable that was, and suggested that he train his staff how to actually interact with patients, especially children. He listened patronizingly but you could tell he just didn't really believe that what I described was possible, or that he didn't give a shit.

After that I found a different dentist, who was great with my husband but got kind of flutered and impatient with my son - same kid - who again was really brave and stoic but who squeaked a little bit every now and then because he was uncomfortable! He and his assistant seemed to expect that a kid should be able to just lie there and "take it like a man," which my son pretty much did but apparently one should not convey any indication of discomfort that may distract the dental team, even when you're 8 years old trying to hold your mouth open as big as you can, with two people probing your gob with pointy, pinchy tools.

Now we live in a different city and I'm searching for a good dentist who actually knows how to work with kids, who ideally isn't a condescending ass to parents. Hopefully such a dentist exists.

Shan said...

My daughter has a gymnastics Coach who used to great until she finished college and now works the coaching as a second job. She is such a bitch to the kids now. Always complaining about having to go to the meets on the weekends. My daughter got hurt and was bleeding and asked for a band aid and she says to her " your fine" get back to practice. Mind you my daughter is 7. I want to punch that woman in the throat. If you lost your passion for the job MOVE ON. Don't take it out on these kids.

Anonymous said...

We had a kindergarten teacher who was evil. My daughter is a "pleaser". Nothing she did was right or good enough. Her teacher decided it was best to fail my dau, even though she had accomplished all her required tasks. Her teachers biggest complaint -- my dau wouldn't take a nap. After several heated meetings and a threat of a call to the head of the board, we were allowed to move to first grade (where she got straight As). The next year my dau and I ran into her at a school event. My dau went up to her and said "Hi, Mrs. C". What does Mrs.C do? She looks at my dau and turns around and walks off without saying a word. I almost lost it.
PS She has the highest repeats in the school.

Anonymous said...

They exist, I promise. My daughter sees a dentist, that doesn't even specialize in children, that talks to her with such compassion and all of his staff takes the time to explain everything that's going on and cares about her comfort and fears. She actually enjoys going to the dentist because of their office. I, on the other hand, am deathly afraid of those people!

Anonymous said...

Ugh.... these asses are everywhere. The worst is when it's a teacher that bullies - - usually no parents are present when it happens. I think it's a power trip for them. We have a teacher this year that I have tried to keep on her 'good list' otherwise I know my kid will get targeted by her. I even make her photocopies! I'm just trying to get through the school year, so far so get with that class.

My other child's class has been terrible - - he's been bullied all year. I've gone in and complained and was told 'it's hard to control kids at this age' Seriously? It's you f*ing job to make sure my kid is safe and not being hazed.

Too many of our children are going through this....

Katy @ Experienced Bad Mom said...

We, too, spent time with a fancy pediatric dentist...until my son's first filling. I'll never forget the pediatric dentist, not that much older than me, going totally old-school and barking at my then 6-y-o "Quit crying. You're making this 10 times harder!" Dude. Back off! Oh, and good-bye!

Cy said...

Jen! You have obviously struck a nerve here! And you are living my life 10 years ago. First ped dentist (great guy,lots of fun, not big on doing x-rays) got caught videotaping his assistant in the bathroom, he SAID because he thought she was doing coke. Ok, bye then! Next was a fancy office like you describe and they could NOT deal with my 3 year old's discomfort at being probed. AT ALL. Plus it was more expensive and a long drive. Moved on to a better situation--a regular dentist, but she was so annoying, conceited and self involved that *I* felt we must move on. Finally we have a professional, lovely dentist who treats the whole family.They're out there, but ya gotta search high and low sometimes. Been much luckier with teachers though and stayed home so as not to have to deal with the unknown drones working in daycare.

Kristen said...

I think we have the same dental plan! I took my daughter to a "kids dentist" and I will not go back to her! She was a HUGE bitch the last time we went and I was almost in tears. I need to take my daughter for a check-up, but I am just as traumatized as she is!

I cut her hair myself and I loved her preschool teachers, so I can't join you on that one! But we have some aides at the school I work at who I don't think like kids very well! Um, you are in the wrong field, dumb ass!

Unknown said...

My brother was due on my 1st birthday but came 2 weeks late. My second brother was born bang on my birthday, 7 years later. Weirder things have happened, and I can't believe that teacher didn't even check his story before accusing him of lying. What a hag.

Tracy said...

I have to say, I've grown distasteful of pediatric 'specialists' since they always seem to suck. I switch my son over to the same doctor and dentists that my husband and I use (both have a "family" practice) and all has been great! My doctor is excellent with my son, and so is my dentist. They treat ME with respect, and there's a REASON I keep going back, so it was logical for me to take my son to them too (he's 9, a lot of family practitioners won't see kids until they're over a certain age, but most of them seem to have that minimum age set around the time they start school!). My son has ADHD, and our current doctor has managed it SO much better, and with MUCH less medication, than our pediatrician ever did.

Jenny said...

We recently took our kids to a pediatric dentist and were sorry we did. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that the guy charged so much and wanted to overtreat our daughter's little cavities (we went for a second opinion and our hunch was confirmed). He probably had $70,000 overhead just in indoor play equipment, toys and crap to pay off. Oh and he didn't have an aquarium, but an indoor fish POND.

Unknown said...

My first grade art teacher was a monster!! If we drew stick people, she screamed at us and ripped our papers up in front of the entire class. If she caught us sitting on our feet, she would stick us in the butt with a STRAIGHT PIN! I don't know what's worse - the actual sticking, or the fact she used the same pin on all of us. That child-hater and disease-spreader was quickly fired once her actions became public knowledge.

Me said...

I am a 17 year-old girl who has dealt with a pediatric dentist who was not fond of kids. I went to him until I was 14 because my mother wanted to have my younger brother's and my appointments on the same day since we had to go out of town for them because the pediatric dentist in town was even worse than the one we went to. I have a small mouth that makes it difficult for me to open my mouth wide enough for them and be comfortable at the same time. The one we went to along with the hygienists were always telling me to open wider because they couldn't clean my teeth. After every appointment, they would complain to my mother that she isn't doing what is asked and that she's not going to to have healthy teeth if I won't open my mouth wider. My mother got so mad and I would cry after most appointments because I would get scolded for things I could not help and for getting a filling every other time for the last two years. When my brother turned ten she had had enough and switched us to her dentist. I'm not afraid of going to the dentist anymore because I get the same hygienist every time I go and he is wonderful. He has said that the other dentist had over treated my teeth because he would see the "cavity" and would treat it then rather than waiting to see what would happen by the next appointment. He understands children because he has two daughters while the other wasn't even married. Since I have been going there, I have not had a cavity.

Unknown said...

I know you asked for examples of people who work with children but don't like them but, damn. I teach high school and I love my students - parents, not so much (not all parents, just the helicopter ones. Those parents, btw, have evolved into full-blown, Blackhawk choppers by the time their kid enters 9th grade). I can tell you that children are not the darlings their moms and dads think they are. High schoolers freely talk about things their mothers would die if they heard - or deny it, or make excuses, or find a way to make it so the teacher reporting it was mistaken.
'No, Mrs. Jones, I heard him very clearly discussing his drunken debauchery, he wasn't whispering. He said beer, not reindeer or steer. No, the word was vomit, not comet. No, he wasn't talking about Santa's sleigh, he was talking about his girlfriend, Sandra and getting laid.' Teenagers don't feel like they need to, at least, pretend in front of their teacher. I'm not bragging about that, I absolutely hate it and find it disrespectful, but I know more about most people's kids than they do.
And, believe it or not, teenagers lie, sometimes a lot. As a mother, that one was particularly hard to learn. Surely my boy's teacher must have had it out for my son, after the conversations she and I had and the stories she told me about him. My son would never have done those things! I was convinced she just didn't understand him and misconstrued things. He could always explain away the things she would call about so I would think, 'What an awful woman - why is she even teaching?!' Years later, I have now learned (from my other children, confirmed by said rotten child) that my son was an ass and deserved her dislike. Lesson learned. If there are times *you* don't like your kid, don't judge people who probably spend more time with him every day than you do and may, on occasion, not be very enthralled with him either. Teachers, like parents, are human.

Anita Knapp said...

My son's kindergarten teacher sent me notes almost every single day, telling me of what horrible crime he had committed this time. The one I still remember was after about 99 other stupid notes. It said nothing except, "B****** was chasing M***** with a plastic fish." Ummmmm, is that bad? With no information about the situation, I simply repied, "He's a boy, and he's five." I still wonder about that evil woman's own children.

Anonymous said...

My 3rd grade daughter has a gym teacher that must hate kids. They can never perform to her standards. She needs to move on and train an aspiring Olympic athlete or something. It is elementary gym and she is way to hardcore. She is rude to the kids. Makes the kids write out a worksheet if they do not participate to her liking and so on... 3rd grade gym class should be a BLAST!! All she is accomplishing is making an entire generation of kids hate gym class for the rest of their lives.

Unknown said...

When our daughter was 4, she got a naughty note sent home by her I-refuse-to-smile-ever-teacher because she started to scribble on page 7 of her 10 page work sheet. What moron gives a 4 yr old 10 pages of work to do at one sitting and then is surprised when the kid gets bored on page 7? It's pre-school lady. Love your blog.

Anonymous said...

I hate children.... I can barely tolerate my own 5 year old... she drives me nuts. The idea of a play date rates right up there with a root canal with no anesthesia... kids are gross and annoying and don't appreciate my sarcasm. I would rather have bamboo shoots shoved under my fingernails before I would take a job requiring me to interact with children. these fucking people need to get a clue, you know when you don't like kids, don't whore yourself out for the money, you can make minimum wage at Target and not have to deal with a rug rat.

B.Me said...

Awe, I'm so glad my pediatric dentist wasn't like that when I was a kid! They didn't have a fancy carnival set up in the waiting room but he and his staff were all very sweet and great with kids.

I really started to notice and appreciate all the different ways they went "above and beyond" with the little ones as I got older. It wasn't just a sugar free sucker at the end or getting to pick your favorite fluoride flavor.

You see, they were a bit unusual in that the main exam room had about eight chairs and about six or so hygienists, plus one more chair for the dentist to do his final check. So everyone, no matter what age, got their "work" done all in one big room together. Kids were only pulled in to a separate room for really major things, like oral surgery, or for x rays.

Parents could come back at any time, especially if the child had a phobia of the dentist, but most didn't after the first couple visits. I did notice a few parents' eyes go wide at the controlled "chaos" the first time they visited the main exam room. But generally after a moment of shock they would smile as they realized the brilliance of it (aka: their kid begging them to go away and stop "embarrassing" them). I even saw them clean one really little kid's teeth while the kid laid on a parent's lap instead of in the "scary" chair.

By the time I was a teen, I was known as an especially calm patient, so it was common for a second hygienist to walk a nervous younger kid over to me to watch my hygienist at work in my mouth before the kid's own check up--and once when I was getting a small cavity filling even.

On Wednesdays there tended to be more teens because that's when they brought in the orthodontist who partnered with them, but the orthodontists still used the same hygienists. As a teen with braces, Wednesdays eventually became my normal day. They were pretty good about remembering kids from visit to visit too. Mine always noticed what new book I was devouring at the time and would tease about how fast I finished the last one. (400 pages in a weekend? No problem!) They also sympathized well, and offered to increase the intensity of my braces once when they realized that a little more intensity now would mean my braces could be off in time for senior yearbook photos. I literally got them off the day before photos. :P

The dentist's daughter was my age and very nice too. They even let her and a few others of us teens get away with a water pick fight in the main room once, (when there weren't a lot of younger kids present, so it was probably a Wednesday). Those things are so much better than a water gun---no refilling required and wow do they have some range! He also did a lot of charity dental work for the community and would take his team to one of those 3rd world countries to help out at least once a year. Often if we had the last official time slot of the day, he and an assistant or two would still be working late after we left to take care of a family who needed some care after hours (because the single parent/whatever couldn't afford to take time off work earlier). When his wife passed away due to cancer, you would have been amazed at the outpouring of love and affection for this this man and his family. It was like the entire community was grieving right along with him.... He still has a very active and wonderful children's practice. And they still use the one big open room for most everything.

So, there are some really good pediatric dentists out there. I'm sad to hear that more aren't as great as his.

deanna said...

I know it's an older post, but it's new to me. So here's mine: My son was about 2 and a half, had awful allergies, and we were trying to get him going on allergy shots. The first two times, we did well, and they used a freeze-y spray that numbed him and he was happy as a clam. Then came shot appt #3. With the biggest bitch ever. He was trying to ask her for the freeze spray, and I was trying to get her to listen, when she growled something about not knowing where it was, grabbed his arm HARD, and tried to inject him. I say tried because I jumped, he flinched, and she stabbed his tiny arm THREE times. I looked her in the eye and told her to get her f'ing hands off of my child. I then got the needle out of him, stood up, and walked to the desk. I told them I was never coming back, and I had BETTER not receive bills for anything from them, or I'd sue. I told them exactly what she'd done, and took my poor little guy the hell out of there. He's 9 and a half now, and deathly terrified of needles, which especially sucks since he still has those allergies, has asthma, etc, and needs flu shots every year. Poor guy loses his shit EVERY time. :(

Paige said...

Our first child went to a Catholic grade school. The principal told me that my son who was 6 was going to go to the penitentiary. We quit that day. My son who is now 23 went to school on a full scholarship is in the military and the coolest kid. I am sending her a note this year thanking her for her insight with a photo of our kid. She still works at the school.

Lucky Mama (Little Rock Mamas) said...

My oldest sister clashed with one teacher when she was in high school. Apparently, their relationship was so bad, that my other sisters suffered for it when they ended up in that woman's class. The old, oh, you're one of so-and-so's sisters, business.
Fast forward 20 years or so and my nephew was going to have the dreaded teacher. My sister being a pretty smart lady sent her husband to all of the parent-teacher conferences so the teacher would never figure out that Will was her son. He ended up acing the class. To this day, I don't think the teacher knows who his mom is.

Moira Incendia said...

I'm guessing that the diabetes came into play when her son attempted to fight back against the bullying child. There were several children when I was growing up who would pick on other kids, then play the "poor, pitiful me" card when the other kids tried to fight back. I also know several adults who have diabetes and other health conditions, and try to use those medical issues as an excuse for everything from a bad mood to refusing to clean up after themselves. Oh, I have migraines, I can't clean up the coffee grounds I spilled all over the counter.Oh, I'm diabetic, my blood sugar must be low, that's why I just pitched a screaming fit over a piece of paperwork. Just my two cents. I didn't read the original comment as being disparaging toward diabetes, but I definitely sympathize with her struggles with the teacher and her son.

Micheal41980 said...

Me too!! Please post!

Micheal41980 said...

Me too!! Please post!

Patty said...

My kindergarten aged son got an "F" on an art paper. The assignment was "color the squares" He thought they looked like kites, so he put kite tails on them and then colored. Since he "didn't follow directions", he got an "F".

Unknown said...

On the dentist thing, Im still scarred from an old horribe dentist once had. And I'm 27. I still hate the dentist to this day, and also have ridiculous problems regarding x rays. It doesn't get easier!

lisamac said...

Good for you S Shenk. I have done the same thing. I saw a kindergarden teacher scream at her kindergarden student in the hallway. I walked right into the principals office and let them know what happened. That poor child. I would want someone to do the same if they saw a teacher mistreating my child. For the teachers who witness their colleague behaving in a way they believe to be mean or inappropriate and do not say something to the principal or someone of authority, this angers me. Bad behavior will not change if no one is told. I also believe if your a parent and you see a teacher treating a child in a way you feel is hateful or mean you absolutely should say something.

lisamac said...

They do exist I am a dental assistant and I worked with a great dentists who was wonderful with children including my own. He was a general dentist, not a pedo he took time to speak to my children, explain the procedures, joke with them, the assistants were great with xrays andvery nice the Dr. alway said great to see you and shook my boys hands when we were leaving. They loved going to see Dr. Cheung. My whole family saw him.

lisamac said...

Ps. I ALWAYS ask when making an appointment for the first time the policy on parents going back into the operatory the with their children . If the answer is no, I go somewhere else. Unless its during oral surgery you can not be in the room during surgery.

Unknown said...

My daughter, (who is now 19 ) had to have hefty antibiotics before each dental visit. No one bothered to tell me what that does to a kid's stomach. All they had to do is to tell me to give her a couple of crackers with the antibiotics. During one particular visit to our "family" dentist when she was very young, she ended up vomiting ALL.OVER. the place. Guess who had to clean it up? Guess who had to take her child out of the office, dripping in vomit? Guess which dentist never bothered to make an appearance after she vomited? Guess which practice never offered to even help me get her out of the stupid chair and get her cleaned up or make a return appt. or call later to see if she was o.k.? Guess who never returned and told everyone she could in a very small town what happened?

Anonymous said...

I love kids and I always thought they were really cool. When I was about 13, I was talking to my cousin's wife who was a child psychologist. I was "picking her brain" because at that time I wanted to be a pediatrician. I remember saying how cool it was that she got to work with kids all day. Her response? "I hate kids and I'm sick and tired of helping them. I want to make fudge."
Thank God she's dead now.

Leann said...

Let's see, the dentist I take my son to is a Family dentist practice that I've been going to for almost as long as I've had teeth (I live an hour away and still drive there). At this point the staff knows both the boy and me by name and he thinks he owns the place. Everyone there is good, whether you are 2, petrified, or just haven't been in ages.
As for hairdressers, I used to hate bringing the boy because he never sat still and/or I wound up hating the haircut. Finally took him to the guy that does my husbands hair - slightly more expensive but every time my son will sit through the haircut, it looks great, and grows in really well.
Now that I have a girl, I'm dreading haircuts since the guys' stylist only does male hair cuts. And I don't go anywhere consistently - sort of a whenever I find free time and some place has an opening. She already has a full head of hair, so this will be a sooner rather than later search.

Personally, if I ever have to deal with kids I prefer the pre-teen/teen crowd. Love my little ones but there is a reason I will never run a home daycare.

ecodrew said...

^This!^ I love my son, and friend's, relatives, and all children in small groups of a few, when I'm not in charge. A large group of kiddos with me in charge? Nope! My wife is a teacher, I am not. It is not my calling. If you hate your job, change it - this includes working with kids.

My son's Pediatrician is a wonderful, caring, patient doc who is great with my son. But, even she said she couldn't handle a large group of kiddos when she volunteered at her daughter's school, haha.

Linda Kish said...

Our first experience with a pediatric dentist, halfway thru the cleaning, my son bit the dentist. The dentist then threw us out of the office, refusing to finish the cleaning. He didn't even break the skin. At least he had done the exam first and there weren't any cavities. He never had a problem with any other dentist.

Unknown said...

My daughter's teacher before we moved was a special kind of person. All I heard at one of our first conferences is how my daughter had behavior problems that I needed to fix. She said that my daughters disability was physical and not mental and that there is no reason she shouldn't understand the math when every single other kid does. My daughter has Cerebral Palsy and has extensive scaring all over the right side of her brain. It's totally feasible that it could be affecting her ability to process information. She then started writing little notes on her classwork like "if you used your brain you would figure out the answer". She was a 1st grade teacher, and very no nonsence. My Husband and I assumed that she was probably a teacher accustomed to teaching older grades until she called me in for another conference, I called her on her BS and she had told me she had been teaching 1st grade longer than I had been alive..

Veya said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Veya said...

When I was six, my teacher made me stand in front of the entire class, and told them to laugh at me. Because I was crying about how older boys had stolen my marbles. My mum and dad never knew until I was twelve and started having nightmares about the whole thing.

Anonymous said...

The first dentist I took my daughter too, had me hold her down while they put on fluoride. It took four visits with a new dentist who actually cared before she recovered from the first one. None of what you wrote surprised and that's sad.

Unknown said...

It was me who had the horrible Pediatric dental surgeon. My mother still fumes about it to this day, 35 years later...And as a Peds Nurse, I was appalled at how many surgeons were terrible to my patients, until I realized that they were adult surgeons from the hospital next door, and they had to do a Pediatric rotation.

L.M. Lawrence said...

As a parent, I don't have any horror stories but I do recall this one horrifying pediatric dentistry experience that forever tainted my trust of dentists for years to come. I was in that dreaded chair with the paper bib (the one with the chain around it) and I was going to get a fluoride treatment. Well, they put the pink gook in mold and shoved it in my mouth and left the room and closed the door behind them to attend to other patients. Well, a large piece of that damn gook somehow wormed its way our of the mold (probably because they overfilled it) and it got stuck in my throat. So there I was gagging, choking to death and the door is closed. It took awhile before they realized something was wrong and then they came rushing in the room and the dentist had to reach his hand down my throat and yank up a glob of gook so I wouldn't die.

LA Botchar said...

or.... the friend who keeps telling you that she is more than willing to come babysit your 3 kids so you can a have a date night with your hubby -- and so you ask, despite the fact that you have heard from her own lips that she only loves her precious princess only daughter and can't stand other people's kids.
and of course she cancels last minute on you due to some personal drama.
twice.
yeah that.

Kelli said...

Church Daycare Worker actually screamed "I hate you!" at a two year old, and stomped into the office screaming that she hated him and demanded to be moved to another room. Can you believe they actually did what she asked? They should have fired the bitch right then and there!

Shannon said...

Dude, wtf is up with art teachers?? I had one in 6th grade that told me my art project was a "piece of crap" and threw it away in front of the class. Now I get anxiety attacks when I try and do crafts with my 5 year old.

Michelle Nalley said...

Me too!!! Did we have the same tech??? I swear that was the beginning of my dentist phobia!! She literally stormed through the halls yelling that this brat just bit her! Traumatic to say the least!!!

Andrea T. said...

Before children, I worked in a residential program for children & teens with mental health issues. There were more people than I care to recall who could not stand kids who worked there. If you are only there for the paycheck, then go to McDonald's...they probably pay almost as much...

Unknown said...

My horrible 3rd grade teacher finally got fired after pulling a students ear mind you this was 10+ years after I had her!

Unknown said...

When we toured daycares for our 2 year old daughter, the first one we went to had surly, angry teachers that barely greeted us and were just herding the kids from one place to another. I know childcare workers don't make tons of money, but if you hate kids go work at Walmart instead of childcare! The daycare we ended up choosing must pay their employees more - ALL the teachers and staff there are amazing and clearly love their jobs.

Anonymous said...

When my 15 year old was 3, I took her to a very large "pediatric" dentist. When she was 2, she had fallen on the sidewalk and broken her two front teeth. Over time, they started to wear away and she only had two little numbs left. Anyway, the waiting room was huge with lots of toys and video games. There were a lot of people waiting to be seen so I figured they must be good. My daughter was called into the office and they had multiple dentist chairs in one large room. The hygienist came over to do her thing and my daughter has a REALLY bad gag reflex. This woman kept getting irritated with my girl and I thought it was odd that she working at childrens dentist office. Anyway, when the Dentist came in to look at my daughter's teeth, I understood the attitude. He was practically scolding me and my daughter. Telling me that I need to be the one to brush her teeth. I told him that I did. He said that she would need to have her two front teeth removed, that they were abscessed and if I didn't have it done then her adult teeth would be damaged. He was dick. But one of things I noticed, was that while I was getting my daughter's things ready to leave the exam room, there were a couple of teenage girls in the chairs waiting to get their teeth cleaned and this creepy dentist was so pleasant to them. Making them laugh and smiling at them. It creeped me out. I was new to the whole dentist thing for my kids, so I made the next appointment before leaving. On my way home, I thought, why am I trusting this loser's opinion? I got a second opinion with a MUCH nicer dentist and he told me that my daughter's teeth were not abscessed yet, but they would be if I didn't remove those teeth. I had the procedure done and ever since then her dentist LOVES her teeth. He wants to use her xrays to show other people what their teeth should look like and she has never had a cavity. I think that the creepy dude is no longer with that practice, but it was in Worcester, MA.

Anonymous said...

I know this isn't the point, but my girls are 2 years apart to the day, too! People are always amazed! Can't say I've met another with the same situation!

Shannadl said...

We live in the same area...you need to take your kids to Dr. Huyett, she's wonderful and does like kids and they have other dentists for the rest of the family too! ;) They were also not big to rush us into braces etc (meaning we didn't have to do the Johnson County 3 rounds of braces!) Good luck!

newfymom said...

When she was younger, my daughter was incredibly afraid of anything having to do with needles, fillings and having teeth pulled. So, when her orthodontist referred us to an oral surgeon to have several teeth pulled, I fully expected the doctor he chose to be used to dealing with fearful children, after all, he himself deals with 99% child patients, right? Well, we went to the oral surgeon's office, and it was a cold, sterile looking office, not child-friendly looking at all. I still had hope though until my daughter was in the chair (a feat in itself), and barely comfortable, when the doctor pulls over the tray of surgical implements right in my daughter's line of sight! The dental assistant had just turned on the gas at this point, but my daughter wasn't "out" enough to not notice the "tools" right next to her. Her eyes turned into saucers, and she began to cry. The doctor told her to "suck it up," with no bedside manner at all, and when she continued to cry, he stood up in a huff, told the assistant to turn off the gas, thanked us, and told us he couldn't work with my daughter. Thank you, and goodbye. I was completely speechless! I have never been asked to leave a doctor's office before when a kid was simply behaving like a kid. She wasn't misbehaving, she was just scared. You can bet I called the orthodontist's office and let them know he shouldn't refer children to that oral surgeon. I will never forget that horrid man. I think even the dental assistant was embarrassed/surprised or at least uncomfortable with how the doctor treated us that day. Unbelievable!

Annunciata said...

I love kids, and work in the children's department of a public library. I've had the occasional, "You must hate kids."thrown my way. Usually it's as a result of trying to keep kids from injuring themselves or others, or suggesting that a child who keeps screaming might need to be somewhere else for a while.

I want to answer, "No, but I hate crappy parenting" You can't really answer back to a parent when their child is there. It's only going to humiliate the child. And I think a lot of parents know that when they make such remarks.

People who use their children that way make me sick.

Full Spectrum Mama said...

My most-favorites recent example is probably the "helper" at my autistic son's high school who has repeatedly told me that "It's time to let G learn his lesson" when I try to get her to follow his IEP.

ARGH.

Thanks and love,
Full Spectrum Mama

Full Spectrum Mama said...

Oh, and now we have an actual pediatric dentist who's a chump. Good times.

Lisa said...

Dental assistant to my orthodontist when I was a kid would regularly yell at me about my brushing and then want an answer. I brushed, didn't do well with yelling, so I would stay silent, which would make her yell more. She left the practice to work with adults (go figure). Hope you have good luck with a new dentist.

My gag reflex as an adult is not great and a dental assistant taught me a good trick which helps. Alternate pointing each toe on each foot and then pull it back (so Left foot point and right foot back, then Right foot, etc.) It works pretty well.

Anonymous said...

Worked with a Kindergarten teacher who told me "Why do I need to praise them? They listen when I tell at them." Why teach 5 and 6 years old when you can't be positive and reinforcing?

Anonymous said...

My daughter's current teacher.
Now, this kid has just had a bad hand dealt school wise her whole life. Prior to 3rd grade, every teacher she had thought the sun shined out of this kid 's ass.

3rd grade wasn't Too bad, just the not so attentive one.

4th grade she had the screamer (new school district, new home, everything)

This year, in 5th grade, she has the bully.

I'll be the first one to tell you that my kid is a pain in the ass. I call parent teacher conferences the state sponsored "lie hour" (no way that's my kid you're praising).

But I've never had an ounce of school disciplinary action for either of my kids, ever.

This teacher has some sort of vendetta against my kid. She's threatened to expel her, write her up, or suspend her at least once every two weeks. I could understand.. OF she was doing something to deserve it. But no, not once have we been contacted by the teacher for my reason.

The kicker is, she does it to her in front of the WHOLE CLASS. Then, on top of that, only calls out my kid. If another child is participating in the conversation, or whatever, she says nothing to them.

Personally, I think that if she wanted to become a trained bully, so she could pick on someone littler, she should have picked a different profession.

But it's my kids word against hers, so who is the school going to believe?

Anonymous said...

What's worse than people who are "bad with kids" are people who think children are angelic and socialized from birth. Lady, you sound like the whackjob, not these people. Your non-compliant child went to the dentist to take xrays and couldn't have them taken because he didn't follow instructions.

If cutting your baby's hair is SO EASY, why didn't you do it yourself? So quick to throw stones.

Finally, if you've spent ANY amount of time in a child-care setting, you'd understand that insane claims children make-up routinely. Vouching for your child's truth telling abilities and being personally affronted when some statistically unusual occurrence (a shared birthday with a non-twin sib) speaks of your mental fragility, not the pre-school teacher's. In case you cannot perform basic finite mathemati8cs, there is a 1 in 133,225 chance two sibs share a birthday. You need a life and some perspective.

PS: GOMER?

Anonymous said...

But if ur parents only had sex once a year then that would make a child born in 9 months not 12 months

Overachieving Elf on the Shelf Mommies

By now we have all heard of the adorable little Elf on the Shelf . Almost everyone I know has one.  Some people even have two!  (Now I'...

Popular Posts