The Big Decision: Is Your Baby Ready for a Mother-Toddler Class?

chillibreeze writer — Bhavna Jain

When my daughter was eight months old, I started wondering about mother toddler classes, convinced she was pretty smart for her age. In retrospect, I think that’s probably what all parents think of their children. The suggestions for schools for mother toddler classes started pouring in. Eventually, I was very excited about the idea and decided to go ahead, to tap all the potential she had, to start her young. After all, they absorb the most till they are 5 years old. And so started the hunt for the best school for my baby.

School A was beautifully designed, just the perfect location for my baby to spend her morning hours playing around. It was a small bungalow with a beach front and a lovely play area, designed specifically for children. The school’s education was based on Dr. X’s principles where there are four corners, each with a special significance. The child gets to spend fifteen minutes in each corner. A little complicated, I thought, but the teachers didn’t have much to say; they were sure it was a good method, although I did not understand what it meant for my baby. ‘No no’, I thought, my baby deserved better.

School B was amazing; they had an interesting format of teaching, what with the flash cards, cards with dots, music, crafts, and projects for parents and so on. School B looked good except that it lacked in the play area. Maybe, they didn’t think the child needed to play too much. Oh well, I decided to continue with the search.

School C’s teachers seemed like snobs, not very parent-friendly and I pictured them screaming at any misbehaving child, who could very well be mine. School D appeared very commercial, apparently we would be holding stalls (compulsorily, not voluntary) at all the various fairs that would eventually fund the school.

Finally, we heard of School E. I saw the gates of heaven opening. Our concerned parent friends suggested we take classes for the interview because once our baby gets into School E, she would be set for life. She would have the perfect start. This is definitely what our baby deserved; after all, she is smarter than the rest. We decided to sign up for the orientation classes, oh yes, there were orientation classes!

Everything they said at the classes confirmed we were doing absolutely the right thing for our baby. It was like going to a hotel where we would just have to show up and they would take care of us, well at least of our baby. The only hitch was that the school was very far, but what the heck, a lot of parents send their kids to schools with a two-hour commute, even if they prefer to stay close to their work. So what if the child comes back exhausted, at least she’s getting the best possible education. After some thought (and after getting to know about the exorbitant fee), we changed our mind about School E as well.

School B was then finalized. On my way to School B, I happened to pass by another school. Just out of curiosity, I decided to step in and inquire. It turned out that it was a school for much older children, an after-school activity center. But this I found out only after speaking to the principal. The principal asked me where I was off to and I told her very enthusiastically (still in double minds) about admitting my baby for mother toddler in School B. I thought she would be very impressed about what a dedicated mother I was.

Instead, she turned around and told me (and I quote) “I have been teaching children for the last 10 years. It does not make any difference, please take my advice and do not put your child in mother toddler. She deserves to be at home and get spoilt, she will be in school for at least the next fifteen years of her life, she won’t get this time at home again.”

That did it for me. I turned around and left. Now, my baby is two and she is going to play school. I wish to add that this is not meant to be a deterrent for any mother enrolling her child for mother toddler classes; I still believe each to his own. Besides, people have a whole lot of valid reasons like working hours or annoying in-laws and so on. My opinion is just that it shouldn’t be something that seems pushed or stresses either the child or the parent out.

Now that play school has started, it feels like back to school for me! The getting up early in the morning, the dropping off, the picking up, the uniform, the decisions for vacations being made on the basis of whether to allow her to miss school, seem to have taken over our lives. Not that we are complaining, and my daughter sure isn’t as she completely enjoys school. I have to beg her to come back home!

And I am glad we waited. That one week that I had to accompany my daughter to play school every day to get her accustomed to the environment, reminded me that I had made the right decision. I don’t think I could have attended baby school for a year!

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Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in August, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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—About our writer:

Bhavna Jain Bhuta believes that for every output, there has to be an input. She started her career in software, was in it for ten years, dabbled with fashion, starting her own line of cotton wear, quit to embrace motherhood and is currently penning a book.

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