Thursday, September 10, 2009

The Kindergarten Myth


Now that summer is sadly over, about half the kids in my daughter's preschool have gone off to the great "Kindergarten."

I put it in quotes because from what my daughter has been telling me, it really has changed a lot from the days when I was a kid.

An actual conversation--

Daughter: Reece's last day was today...he's going to KINDERGARTEN in Antarctica!
Me: Really? Antarctica
Daughter: YES! And his mommy and daddy buyed him a new car when he turned 5 and got married to Melena. She's going to KINDERGARTEN too!
Me: Wow, Kindergarten, married, and a new car. At least they can get the married rate on their car insurance.

(blank stare)

Daughter: I don't know what that means.

Daughter (continued): When I go to KINDERGARTEN, can I go to THE MOON!?
Me: Sure, but only if you promise not to get married right out of preschool or move-in with a boyfriend, or ask for money, and call your mother at least once a week.

(blank stare)

Daughter: I don't know what that means.

13 comments:

feefifoto said...

Oh, I love your approach! I've found that using such a cryptic tone with my kids forces them to learn big words and become more sophisticated, out of self defense.

SciFi Dad said...

2 things:

1. Seeing that guy from the Mentalist in ads for Shell (your BlogHer ad has an image of him holding a points card or something in a manner that reminds me of Tom Selleck in Mr. Baseball when he was shooting that commercial) never fails to make me laugh. Wonder how much he regrets taking that job now?

2. When my kid went to kindergarten, she got to go to KFC because there's one around the corner from her school.

ericdbolton said...

I've learned that being cryptic to my daughter has made her sarcastic to me.. :\

That's when Mom usually looks at me and say "that's YOUR daughter"

Creative-Type Dad said...

Eric the Bolton -- I hear those words often too...

SciFi Dad -- That's my kind of kindergarten!

Dad Stuff said...

Boy, our kids sure had boring Kindergartens. Not one marriage.

painted maypole said...

WE bought a new car (mini-van) when our daughter turned one, and told her that was the last car we'd be giving her, so that's how we got out of the start kindergarten/get a new car pressure.

mama speak said...

Painted Maypole--same w/us on the minivan. Only it was a "birth gift" And kid #2 got a hand-me-down (still same minivan) as usual.

We are in the 1st grade scenario now. No short days & no parties. For the kids either. Actually, I LOVE this, I'm kid free till 2, 2x a week (b/c 3YO goes to all day pre-school 2x per week.) No marriages in K for us either, but there were some "friends w/benefits" or so I heard.

WILLIAM said...

If kids are getting married and what not because they are going into Kindergarten...when is the binge drinking college days?...thats right...Pre-k.

I would check your daughters room for hidden bongs.

Beck said...

We bought our minivan TWO DAYS before we had our third baby. That was good timing on our part because otherwise, one of those kids would have had to stay behind.

Did he marry his cousin? If so, I suspect he attends a school in my area.

Meg said...

I wish I would have gone to school in Antarctica.

Barb said...

Times surely have changed since my kids attended Kindergarten.

Imagine how many divorces they've would have had before middle school?

DGB said...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who loves to talk over my kids' heads.

poker unlimited bonus said...

LOL! nice approach! I don't know where do these kids get their ideas from? getting married and stuffs -- from teachers? or really it's just what they see nowadays.. with teenage problems or tv shows The secret life of the American Teenager..