(no subject)

[frenchguy87]

Today I volunteered at the nursery from 7:30 to 12:30 and thought that I would lose my mind. It was alright getting to play with the kids and stuff, but, of course there were some ignorant ones as usual. The babies were great; the only problem is that some babies are a little too attached. There was this one 8-month-old that would not let me put him down. The main source of aggravation was this one volunteer who is 15 years old. Apparently she had a child when she was 13, so she thinks that makes her know everything there is to know about caring for children. Her own kid, oddly enough, was at a daycare center, which I found surprising for such an active parent.(I suspect she doesn't spend much time with her child because of some of the ways she handles situations). Anyway, I was wiping this one baby's face because he had just eaten a cupcake, and she thought I wiped it wrong. She thought I wiped it wrong because I took the baby out of the highchair and held him while I wiped his face. Of course, such a thing always is traumatic. Anyway, he was squirming because no child likes having his face wiped, and she kept criticizing me and told me I missed a spot when I wasn't even finished. I told her that, believe it or not, children don't like having their faces wiped and that she must be patient. I also told her I didn't appreciate her telling me how to do everything because I have had plenty of experience with many different types of children, even ones who are mentally ill. Pretty soon, I was called into the director's office. Apparently she heard me arguing with the girl, and, to my surprise, congratulated me! She said that everyone was tired of the way she acted like a know-it-all; she was even telling women who were grandmothers ten times over, how to feed a baby and to hold one. This gave me satisfaction. Then a really difficult baby refused to sleep for her and fell right asleep when I held her. This was very satisfying. She was forced to admit that she didn't know everything.

Does anyone know anything about when school is starting? I heard that it is possible we might not even start on the 8th as planned. Are the teachers supposed to go on strike?

-Robert