Braxton is now 18-months old, which means he can officially go into nursery at church. Well, I never was that excited about it - and apparently neither is he! John has been taking him for a while, trying to get him to get used to it. It hasn't worked. Braxton starts crying the instant he sees the nursery door!
Today, the primary secretary taught my class so I could go into nursery and help out (they only had one leader and 12 kids). So, I did. Can I just say that no wonder he doesn't really like it? I didn't like it either!
It was very chaotic with that many kids! And, a few of the kids are quite naughty - constantly hitting and kicking the other kids, and taking away toys from other kids.... Before today, I was telling myself that nursery may be optional, but it could be good for him. Now I'm thinking - I'm glad nursery is optional, because there is no way this can be good for him! And since I have such a hard time keeping my opinions to myself, I decided to talk to the Primary President about it. So, I asked her if she knew what was going on in Nursery (she also has a daughter in there). When she told me she didn't really know, but was starting to wonder since her daughter didn't like it anymore, I went ahead and filled her in on what I thought.
Maybe I have a crazy idea of what nursery is supposed to be - a safe, comfortable environment where the kids learn and play together, where they are taught basic principles and doctrines of the church. However, the nursery I went to today was more like a poorly run day-care. The kids played for an hour, if not more, with the toys - I'm not even sure I should say "played" since 1/2 of the time the kids were fighting and arguing and stealing toys. I try to have a reasonable expectation about how they should act and behave based on their ages, but they were absolutely out of control!
So, after that they had snacks. Now, I realize that I am borderline Nazi about what Braxton eats, so this may need to be taken with a grain of salt and a big sigh - but this is really what they feed them? Sugared cereal, cheese Nips, and maybe 5 raisins. Mind you, this all comes in their own little baggie - which is way too much for many of the kids. I thought it was "snack" time, not "meal" time. I just know there are so many better things to have the kids eat... is no one else worried about childhood obesity? This is the time to teach kids how yummy fruits and vegetables are, and how good they are for you. But instead, they are getting filled up with crap food. I am not opposed to treats (I love them myself!), but when they become the main dish I have an issue.
When I talked to my friend Megan, (who also has a daughter in there) she said "It's only once a week, so I don't care that much." Perhaps I need to spend some more time with her, so she can help me get over to the "sane" side of things! Megan is an amazing mom, and I often ask her advice on things. She is a great resource for me, and always puts things into perspective. She is also my nicest, politest friend ever - and so if I ever need some advice on how to say something and NOT be rude, she is the one I go to!
Anyway, back to the issue at hand:
Now, I'm not accusing the leader that was in there of being a bad leader. She was the doing the best she could with what she was given. But really - when she has her own two children in there that are on the needier side (I can say that because Braxton is extremely needy!), she can't really focus on the rest of the children, especially when there is that many!
Anyway, she did teach a lesson (which I missed due to Braxton's meltdown) and had a singing time. The kids loved it - they sang, they danced, they laughed and they were even nice to each other! This made me think that perhaps the kids need more activities to do like this, and less play time with the toys. The kids were having fun and they were learning.
Am I being unreasonable? I want the honest truth - I can take it!
Posts
