Am I Being Too Protective Of My 3 Year Old Son At Nursery?

[Smurf]

Dropped him off this morning at Nursery in his Pre-School class.

He's 3 and a half years old in a class of kids from just under 3 up to 5..

I noticed a wee work type bench with a vice on it but also a hammer.

"Is that a real hammer?" i asked the nursery teacher. "Yeah!" she casually replied. "Really?!" "Yeah they get to hammer bits of wood etc but we don't have any just now...

A few weeks ago another child got all her hair cut off by another child. It was apparently done with paper scissors...

Now if there is lack of supervision that allows that with scissors what about a feckin hammer?

I never got to use a hammer at school until first year. A Child with a proper hammer to use at 3 years old? Seems totally unneccessary to me.

Thoughts? And also can anyone in the know tell me if having use of a hammer is part of the pre school curriculum?

Thanks...
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[Johnny Vegas]

i think it's worrying a kid got hold of a pair of scissors-i suppose hair getting cut off was one of the milder things that could have happened

as for the hammer,my 2 year old ne
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is into hitting just now and he'll pick up anything and try to hit you with it,if your caught off guard and depending what he's hit you with,it can hurt a bit,so it's scary thinking what could happen.

[Colr]

Mine's only 2 so I'm not in 3 year old world yet but I'm not sure I would be happy about a real hammer. Kids tend to be experimenting at that age and could lamp another kid quite easily. Why not a plastic hammer?

I would expect paper scissors to be the wee round ended plastic ones too.

[tortohibee]

my son is 4 and he is at nursery and i wouldnt be happy if there was a real hammer at his nursery. i would seriously take it up with the owner/boss. we pay £30 a day for these folk to look after our kids and even if they arnt there ie days off/ holiday we still have to pay. i find it hard to believe there hasnt been an insident already with this hammer. i mind my son got hold of one in the house and stopped him from doing untold damage.

[Colr]

That's a good price. Is that the Council providing the nursery?

[Brainwrong]

Wan't there a story in the papers about a mother in a similar quandry about her kid in nursery recently?

Cannae mind the out come.

I don't let my kids use grown-ups tools in the hoose so I don't expect them to use grown-ups tools at nursery either. They're not ready for it at that age (1.5 & 3.5 yrs).

[Smurf]

I did a 'Use of hammers in Scottish nurseries' google search and got a link to a Edinburgh based nursery with this image..

The Hammer i witnessed this morning is the hammer in the image not being used by the Kid. A pretty lethal weapon..


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Forwarded it on to Mrs Smurf and as she said "..yes but as you said earlier on today the hammer was lying on the work bench when kids were not specifically using it..".

In otherwords i suppose it's there to be picked up randomly..
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[Smurf]

Originally Posted by Colr
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That's a good price. Is that the Council providing the nursery?

I pay £35 a day. Private Nursery with breakfast, lunch & dinner provided.

Hammers anaw though..
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[Colr]

Originally Posted by Smurf
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I pay £35 a day. Private Nursery with breakfast, lunch & dinner provided.

Hammers anaw though..
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Is that the going rate up there? What's the supply like? Is it hard to find a place?

[tortohibee]

Originally Posted by Colr
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That's a good price. Is that the Council providing the nursery?

no its private. it was dearer when he was younger. my sister is in the process of opening a nursery in west barns east lothian and im sure she will be charging a bit more due to the lack of them over there.

ill find out if hammers and such are allowed without supervision as she is bound to know. i would also contact the care commision who regulate nurserys if i was you smurf

[Colr]

Originally Posted by tortohibee
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no its private. it was dearer when he was younger. my sister is in the process of opening a nursery in west barns east lothian and im sure she will be charging a bit more due to the lack of them over there.

ill find out if hammers and such are allowed without supervision as she is bound to know. i would also contact the care commision who regulate nurserys if i was you smurf

Do private places accept the government vouchers? (1 day session per kid, I think, knocks 20% off).

I guess its more expensive when there younger as the staff ratios are higher. Ours is a constant rate but they are very keen to move them up through the classes as soon as they can.

[Smurf]

Originally Posted by Colr
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Do private places accept the government vouchers? (1 day session per kid, I think, knocks 20% off).

I guess its more expensive when there younger as the staff ratios are higher. Ours is a constant rate but they are very keen to move them up through the classes as soon as they can.

No Government voucher scheme as such up here..

I think we get an entitlement to 2.5 hrs per day from the Government..

[Smurf]

Originally Posted by tortohibee
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no its private. it was dearer when he was younger. my sister is in the process of opening a nursery in west barns east lothian and im sure she will be charging a bit more due to the lack of them over there.

ill find out if hammers and such are allowed without supervision as she is bound to know. i would also contact the care commision who regulate nurserys if i was you smurf

Cheers dude.
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[Dub]

Originally Posted by Smurf
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Cheers dude.
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I dont have Kids Smurf so i'm perhaps not qualified to answer but my answer is "No you arent being too protective of your son". Not in any way shape or form, there shouldnt be a hammer lying around where theres young kids - fekk I know adults that you wouldnt leave a hammer around. Get intae thum Smurf it aint right.

[beefy]

Originally Posted by Smurf
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I did a 'Use of hammers in Scottish nurseries' google search and got a link to a Edinburgh based nursery with this image..

The Hammer i witnessed this morning is the hammer in the image not being used by the Kid. A pretty lethal weapon..


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Some nursery that Smurf!The wee mans tanned a bottle o Millers and is let loose with the hammer
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[SKII]

Originally Posted by Smurf
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"Is that a real hammer?" i asked the nursery teacher. "Yeah!" she casually replied. "Really?!" "Yeah they get to hammer bits of wood etc but we don't have any just now...

Is it a purpose built kids one K?

A few weeks ago another child got all her hair cut off by another child. It was apparently done with paper scissors...

Now if there is lack of supervision that allows that with scissors what about a feckin hammer?

All her hair?
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Have you personally seen the victim of this 4 year old Sweeney Todd?
Cannot imagine paper scissors being able to give a kid an all over number 1 cut ...but I do know that even when I was at school (and that was a long time ago
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) the odd incident with the odd lock coming off with these things was a fairly common occurence - kids love to pretend to play at being hairdressers. Paper scissors struggle to cut anything other than paper - which is why they are the only ones allowed to be used by kids in the first place.

I never got to use a hammer at school until first year. A Child with a proper hammer to use at 3 years old? Seems totally unneccessary to me.

Thoughts? And also can anyone in the know tell me if having use of a hammer is part of the pre school curriculum?

Thanks...
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I think you already know the answer to the last bit. Most kids dont get near many tools even in high school now die to H&S regs and risk assessments for young people being even more rigourous than for adults. My suspicion is that what your nursery has is a Black and Decker kids play workshop which can be bought in most big toy shops. It looks real but it isnt "real".

I would be surprised, nay shocked, if anyone were allowed near it without staff supervision though - however that is an issue for the running of this specific nursery.

Not specific to this but the wider concept...trouble is with so many things, we have to let our kids grow up and if we worry about every potential hazard/risk to them we would not let them get out of bed in the morning.
They cant be protected from everything, the actions of other children etc all of the time. What needs to happen is that as far as is reasonably possible, adequate protective measures and policies are rigorously implemented.

eg ratio in nursery 1 member of staff to no more than 5 kids in the age group 3-5
1 member of staff to no more than 3 kids below the age of 3
Using safety approved toys and equipment in a supervised environment but allowing a degree of independence at the same time - kids learn by trial and error, after all.

Kenny, if you have concerns about your nursery raise them with the proprieter or the senior member of staff (if it is state run). You may find all your concerns are adequately answered and you can relax. Remember, accidents will always happen...no matter the best laid plans of mice and men. You sound as if what you are seeking is reassurance about the culture in the nursery. The boss may be able to immediately put you at ease - or make you think you need alternative provision. Either way, the one thing not to do is allow your mind to be played with by the rumour mill...

The one thing I will say about nurseries v school - and especially private nurseries v school - is that the age/experience/qualifications of the staff vary. Many private nurseries have a tradition of employing the cheapest labour on the lowest pay rates. Before the minimum wage came in it was SCANDALOUS what nursery staff in the private sector were paid. They would often have split shifts, minimum holiday entitlement and allowance, and be working, in many cases from 7am in the morning through to 6pm at night. For maybe £3 an hour before the min wage came in. Yet parents were paying hundreds of pounds a week to the owners... That culture led to a lot of unqualified/poorly qualified/ young staff being employed. Some employers were total cowboys, exploiting things to the max. The upshot was that many good nursery staff jumped ship to the local authority nurseries at the earliest opportunity. Pay and conditions have always been better there (although, again, they were still relatively poorly paid).

Without wishing to cause any offence to the many excellent nursery workers out there, this situation resulted in the normal scenario if you pay peanuts you... and if you treat folk like rubbish...well...

Hope you have peace of mind soon so you can feel happy enough to put away the cotton wool

[Colr]

Originally Posted by Smurf
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No Government voucher scheme as such up here..

I think we get an entitlement to 2.5 hrs per day from the Government..

That's better, then 33% of the cost rather than 20%.

I understand that some private nurseries won't take the vouchers as they are worth less than the fees!!!

[SKII]

Ooops, just seen the photo. That isn't any Black and Decker Kids bench...
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If that weapon has been left lying around then that is a housekeeping/safety issue and needs to be addressed with the proprietor asap Kenny.

Be sure you get an adequate response as to why a tool of that nature could be left for any toddler to pick up, when in high school the same implement would be kept locked away in a cupboard until supervised use by a COMPETENT PERSON ie a techy teacher!

[HibeeEmma]

Did anyone see the programme on last night about this?

There was a woman trying to defend giving children knifes at the age of 3 to cut food and teaching them to learn from their own mistakes.

I think it's complete rubbish. They could quite easily hurt other children along with themselves. Also, some children do not responde to this kind of education. What about the ones who don't respond - they will continually hurt themselves and others
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No wonder the rate of knife crime in Britian is shooting up dramatically!!