July 29, 2011That's What Mommies Are For
Dear Dr. Laura,
I am writing in response to your blog on preschool and the letter written in response.
My daughter has a profound speech delay and is now four years old. She attends preschool two hours a day, four days a week, during the school year. It's a special education program run by a certified teacher. Dr. Laura, they have truly helped her speech delay, but I am still the one who has taught her colors, shapes, letters, numbers, counting, how to write her name, and is teaching her to read.
Preschool is not the answer to socialization or education for young children. That's what mommies are for. If my daughter did not have a delay, she would never leave my presence. She loves school and her friends, but she misses me and is excited to get home. She wants to home school like my oldest son does and I tell her, maybe in first grade. We are hoping she will be done with speech therapy by then.
My oldest son is extremely social and outgoing. I still home school him. He is not suited to the classroom. He is very intelligent, but lazy, and because a teacher cannot stand over him and insist on him getting is work done, he receives failing grades and tests years ahead of grade level. So I home school and he is performing ahead of grade level. Amazing, isn't it?
The thing is, I could not do any of this, if I weren't home with my kids. How does one home school while working full time? You can't. I don't know how some kids survive daycare. Two of my kids wouldn't go near anyone but my husband, me and a few very close friends, for longer than their first year of life. I likely would never have caught on to how developmentally delayed they are, and my youngest has medical problems that would likely have gotten me fired f or absences, anyway. How do you accommodate who they are without profoundly altering them, if you are not there to see that they are allowed to become who they are supposed to be? (If that makes any sense.)
Mine would truly suffer if I were not home with them, and I would not be here if it weren't for you. It would never have even occurred to me to be here with my kids, if my mother had not started us both listening to you, 15 years ago. So thank you Dr. Laura, because my amazing kids would not be so amazing if it weren't for you.
K.
Posted by Staff at 12:00 AM