Preschool issues regarding hand washing/sunscreen/snacks - (sorry,long)

csweet311 · August 2012

My DD just began preschool last week. A month or so prior I was concerned with the teachers being able/willing to apply sunscreen,so I emailed the director. She informed me that if I wanted my child to use sunscreen,they would be glad to assist. Great. So during open house I mentioned to this to the teacher. She looked at me as if I had 2 heads and said " I've never applied sunscreen to my students. But we will if you'd like". Then she added for me to send the sunscreen along with a note - and so I did. The first day the teacher tells me that they forgot and remembered half way through playtime then applied,to whick of course I thanked her.

Each class assigns a snack helper each day that is responsible for bringing the snack. The handbook asks for parents to stick to healthy snack options such as fresh fruits/veges, cheese & fruit juice,etc. It also specifically states to refrain from bringing high sugar foods likes cookies and cupcakes unless it's a birthday. Everyday I ask DD what the snack of the day was. For the last 3 days,she's had chocolate pudding,oreos,and chocolate animal cracker (maybe teddy graham type?) along with juice.

Then I happened to ask DD about how/when they wash hands... assuming it probably takes some work with 12 kids and thats why they ask for baby wipes. She tells me she does wash after using the potty and thats it. For snack & outdoor play they only get wipes. What?!?! Ok,I can see before snack as they eat prior to playing outside. I suppose it's also ok (and better then nothing) that they at least get to wipe of the dirt with wipes and I feel they should follow up with hand sani.

I'm guessing I'm the odd-mom that is concerned with sun safety and germs. After all these are the basics we've been teaching our children before entering school: be nice,wash your hands,eat your veges,pick up toys.... Yes,I'm aware that some germs are necesarry and kids will get sick,it's inevitable. Isn't this WHY they are getting sick?!

ridesbuttons · August 2012

First of all, I wouldn't necessarily rely on your 3 year old for accurate reporting of daily preschool activities.

The push back regarding sunscreen boggles my mind. Every place my kids have gone have required sunscreen to be provided and a permission slip signed for it to be applied. I thought that sunscreen application was de rigueur in daycare/preschool.

I think the hand washing is appropriate. After potty wash. Wipe before snack.

The snack thing doesn't seem too outrageous. Pudding and chocolate animal crackers are not fundamentally different from cheese and crackers. It'd be nice to see fresh fruit, veggies and milk at every snack but a treat sometimes isn't the end of the world. I would ask to ditch the juice not just for the calories but for the teeth rot primarily.

Worcbride · August 2012

DD was in Pre School during the school year. I loved the place and do even more after reading your post. We had to sign a permission slip at the beginning of the year for them to put sun screen on the kids (and they did it religiously) Also they have the kids wash their hands before meals, after projects and when they come in--her class had about 20 kids and 2 teachers--one teacher supervised and the other lined the kids up. Sorry that your daycare isnt as diligent.

NJLH · August 2012

I also expressed concern over the handwashing. My girls come home with paint and glue all over their hands and tell me about the snacks they had. Its hard to get a clear answer from my girls if the hands were washed, or even wiped. And our school is similar with snack helper of the week. They do get water, not juice, but the supposedly healthy snacks often become oreos or something like that. I let it slide and just count it as a treat.

KathrynMD · August 2012

why don't you call the school and ask them about your concerns?

Temp6313048411121614 · August 2012

DS1 has gone to 2 preschools (both are just for mornings) and I've never heard of either one applying sunscreen. If sunscreen is an issue, why not just apply it before you take her to school (is she there all day where it would need to be reapplied - it's active for several hours). As far as the handwashing, when are they using the bathroom (they might use the potty right before snack time to kill 2 birds with 1 stone). As far as the snacks, I'm pretty laid back, I don't want them eating cookies for dinner or anything, but I don't see anything wrong with what was posted personally, you can only control what you purchase for snack.

ridesbuttons · August 2012

fredalina:
I disagree that Oreos are anywhere near as healthy as real cheese and crackers .

I agree the Oreos are over the top (ok for a treat now and then) but a serving of chocolate pudding is not significantly different from a serving of cheese and a chocolate animal cracker is NO different than a wheat thin or vegetable thin at all.

What I will add is that giving the kids sweet desserty type snacks all the time will set their expectations in a poor place and they should be getting used to different tastes and textures even if the nutrition value is not really any different.

jlw2505 · August 2012

At our daycare preschool, we had to sign a permission slip and pay a small fee for the center to provide and put on sunscreen 2x daily - (they go out morning and afternoon). Snacks and all food was provided by the center and they are huge on healthy food - no cupcakes or food snacks can even be brought in for b-days just like our elementary school. They had some treats every so often (just had ice cream one day last week) and some cookies but most of the time, the food is pretty healthy and everything is made onsite. Hand washing is done so often my kids hands sometimes get too dry and they never use hand santizer or wipes to replace hand washing before eating or when coming in from outside. They use wet clothes after snack (wet paper towel not wipes) to get the crumbs off. The kids all come in lined up and sit in a certain area and are called up a few kids at a time to wash up. They do the same sort of thing at group potty time and then its potty and then the sink. I would call the director and ask her your questions - your 3 year old is not a great source for all information.

KathrynMD · August 2012

honestly, if you feel like you need to monitor everythng your kid eats and can't be OK w/ what the other parents bring for snack then either keep your kid home with you or bring your own snack or find a school that provides them. I think having each family/kid do snacks is supposed to make things easier for the families, but if it bothers you, then opt out.

If you don't like that they don't use soap and water to wash hands and monitor each kid closely to make sure they do it properly each time, then find a school that charges more and has more staff to monitor this.

neverblushed · August 2012

Hi there --

Lurker from school aged kids board here!

I always put my kids' sunscreen on before school because it takes about 15 minutes for sunscreen to be effective. Putting it on just before walking out the door for a 20 minute recess period is not an effective use of sunscreen. A good quality sunscreen will last long enough to still protect even a sweaty child on the playground several hours after it has been applied. I never left this up to the school. A lot of my mom friends have had trouble getting preschool teachers to apply sunscreen to kids. It just seems to be something that preschools don't want to handle.

I was also surprised that my kids' school served mostly cookies/crackers and juice for snack. I thought the snacks would be healthier choices. The director explained that, unfortunately, healthy snacks really don't get eaten by many kids anyway. She got tired of seeing 9 out of 10 carrot sticks wind up in the trash and just switched to smaller portions of cookies.

I am a little surprised that hand-washing isn't a daily group activity, but I would not make a huge deal out of this, since they are at least having kids use a wipe to scrub down. If I was otherwise happy with the preschool, I would sunscreen my own kid and let the other stuff slide.

Court0026 · August 2012

Yeah, I wouldn't be happy. The sunscreen thing...we have to apply prior to. They will give us a permission form for it I think if the kids stay for extended day, but for the 3 hour "session" they expect parents to apply before drop-off.

Our school has a healthy snack policy and I get mad even when parents try to sneak stuff in for birthdays. I would check with them to be sure though. My DS used to tell me stuff all of the time that he ate and it was only 50-50 if it was true.

The hand washing...I think that is okay, but it is so different from place to place. When I taught pre-k, we were under daycare regs and had to hand wash before meals, after playing outside, etc. It was intense, but just part of the routine after awhile.

Angela814 · August 2012

My only preschool experience so far has been through a daycare center, so it might be quite a bit different than a stand alone preschool.

We signed a medication slip for them to apply sunscreen, but only during the summer months. Neither DD has come home with a sunburn during the fall or spring. I don't think they go outside for more than 15 minutes at a time anyway.

I've found that with snacks you kind of have to let go. I figure if they get one junky snack a day, it won't hurt them.

We often got to daycare right before snack time with DD2. All the kids took turns going up to the sink to wash their hands. (There were 8 kids in the class.) It didn't take long at all.

jw87 · August 2012

The snack thing would really bother me, but I'm diabetic and people are so clueless and laid-back over food it's ridiculous. We are super strict when it comes to eating healthy.

The hand-washing only after potty and not before snack sounds pretty lazy too. I would also call though to make sure your LO is reporting everything right.

I don't think you're over-reacting at all.

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Preschool issues regarding hand washing/sunscreen/snacks - (sorry,long)

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