Wednesday 20 January 2010

Work Laughs

Well, I'll be the Mother of a Nu-Nu
We've got a whole lot of new children in our room, one of whom is Emily, aka Nu-Nu. (Nu-Nu is her Chinese name). She loves me more than anyone else at work - so much so that her family won't hand her over to anyone else but me, but will search for me until they find me (or wait until I get to the room if they are earlier than normal) in order to give her to me and not the others.

So, I was walking with Nu-Nu down the hallway, where they have photos of all the staff along with details of their qualifications, etc. I often point to them and ask the children who they are, (or if they've been at work longer, I'll say something silly, like me being Anthony, or something).

"Who's this?" "Maryam!"
"Who's this?" "Mira!"
"Who's this?" "Mama!"
"Not quite honey. My name's Sam."


No, Really, We Have Parents Hide Behind Bins All the Time:
Ryan is another new boy. His parents were very worried about how he was going to settle in. So much so, that they hid for his ENTIRE FIRST DAY in the staff carpark skulking behind the bins. We knew they were there within 10 minutes, and went down every half hour to give them reports.

Ryan did not have a good first day.

On about the eighth time of giving them an update, they said, "You must think we're the most obsessive parents in the world."

"No," I said. "All the parents worry." Yes, all parents worry. They were the first parents to hide behind the bins though.

I told my CG, and Jasmine just said, "They were Chinese, weren't they?"

"Yep," I confirmed.

"You'd never catch white parents acting that way."

That's because we know that we can PHONE and not spend a thirty degree day hiding behind bins with soiled nappies in them.



And the weirdest couple is:
Campbell is also new. His mum went upstairs for his thrid orientation, and he was fine. A bit upset, but got over it in less than 2 minutes. Because he decided that he had a new best friend.

Ryan's dad.

Seriously, little blonde Campbell spent his entire orientation following Ryan's dad about, playing with him (Ryan is a mummy's boy), and when Ryan's dad left TO TAKE HIS OWN SON HOME Campbell was distraught. Shrieking, crying, the works.

Mum came back and was able to calm him down.

Since starting, every time he sees Ryan's dad, he's instantly bestest buddies with him.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Sam,

Actually, I know one mother (who was Caucasian, in an all Caucasian family) who hid in the bushes outside the classroom for at least the first day when her daughter started prep.

I can't remember the details, but I think she may have stayed the whole first day and some of the each day for the first week. As I said, I don't remember the exact details, but it was seriously extreme.

So there obviously are a number of parents who act in a similar way. But I think it is a very small number. You have worked in childcare for a while now, and if that is the first time any of you have seen that behaviour, then it must be unusual.

Sorry we didn't get to dancing last Sunday. We had dinner with some of T's family. We probably won't get there this Sunday either. A bit sad, but aside from maybe being otherwise busy, I still don't have much energy in the evenings. So going to a park in the evening for dancing and a picnic still isn't really the greatest option. But maybe in a few months time going out to that type of event will be doable? It certainly sounds like a lot of fun (and I realise if we do end up there at the last minute I can stop and rest whenever I feel like it). Then again, if we decide we can manage at the last moment, I will give you a buzz and let you know.

Take Care,
Steph

Anonymous said...

Oh - and the other two stories are very sweet :-).

-Steph

Sam-Is-Mad said...

I'd like to point out here, Jas (who made the "They were Chinese" statement) is Chinese.

Sam-Is-Mad said...

And Nu-Nu still calls me Mama. And she shrieks when I go places.

Incidentally, Ryan's Chinese name is Qi-Qi (pronounced Chi-Chi)