This is my last preschool prep “tackle” and it’s about keeping my kid safe. Here’s the thing… I know that Michael’s preschool is only 2 1/2 hours a day but this is the first time that we will be leaving him in the care of someone who is not a family member or a screened children’s ministry worker from our church. (My husband and I oversee the children’s ministry, so we’re very familiar with the volunteers.)
As such, I had some questions about “the safety talk”. I just wanted to make sure that Michael was clear about personal boundaries in an age-appropriate way. Honestly, my biggest concern was the bathroom at school. Being the “research” person that I am, I did some web research to see what the “experts” had to say AND I asked the real experts – my mom friends with children with kids who were going to preschool or who were already in preschool.
On the “expert” side, these were the sites that I found helpful:
-The Parents Site by the National Crime Prevention Council
–The KIDPOWER Teaching Kids to Be Safe Without Fear site
And
-The information that I personally found to be the most helpful was Scholastic’s article regarding talking about stranger safety.
From the moms, the input that helped me the most was:
-To remember that the state screens teachers. (“Even though we hear horror stories, the majority of teachers are really there to pass on the gift of education.”)
-The recommendation of a book “How and When to Tell Your Kids About Sex“, a book for the parents and then a series of 4 books for the kids that goes by age.
-To find out what the school bathroom policy is in order to ease my fears.
After visiting the preschool with my husband, my fears were put to rest. I immediately “fell in love with” the staff and I totally feel comfortable leaving Michael in their care. (Also the bathroom is in an open area – no closed doors – yay!) At the end of the day, I just had to: PRAY, put all of the advice into practice, PRAY and go with my “gut”. Isn’t that the most that we moms can do anyway?!
(To see what other moms around the web are “tackling” today visit Tackle it Tuesday).