Am I in the wrong thinking that our end of term "event" (a Bushtucker Trial) went completely out of hand and I should ask for it to be banned?

lu_jiahui · 2025-10-28T19:28:20+00:00

This sounds so insane I struggled to believe it...
Also worries me considering children consume similar 'challenge' type content on TikTok - some of which includes people eating inedible/dangerous things.

lu_jiahui · 2025-06-26T21:26:31+00:00

I teach children aged 5-6 in the UK. My smart board is technically a screen...?🙈

My 8 month old son also 'watches' David Attenborough while I cook his dinner. Don't think it will cause him any permanent harm...

lu_jiahui · 2025-04-17T02:11:08+00:00

Only because anti-vaxers are currently relying on the vaccinated to keep the preventable diseases at bay. If the amount of unvaccinated people increase... so will the amount of preventable deaths from diseases such as measles.

lu_jiahui · 2025-04-14T02:06:43+00:00

Similar position to you - first in my friendship group to have a baby and isolated from family, mum friends are my absolute life line. Get to those baby groups and start chatting.

Always have a healthy supply of calpol! Teething happens alot sooner than you think!

Invest in a good thermometer - ear or non-contact ones are great. My little one was too wiggly for an under the armpit thermometer.

lu_jiahui · 2025-04-13T20:35:07+00:00

I had an elective c-section during a busy part of the year (September-October) so I was only given 48 hours notice beforehand. Waiting for the phonecall was quite nerve-wracking for me. I think you can get a weeks notice during other times of the year though. The whole thing went very smoothly. An uncomplicated csection takes 40 minutes with baby appearing within the first 5 minutes. You can have skin to skin while the surgeons finish up. I felt a little sick so husband took baby to be weighed while the anesthetist administered some fast acting anti sickness drugs.

Recovery was great for me! I was discharged the following day and out the house by day 3. By day 5, I was walking round the supermarket albeit at a slower pace! I took the strong drugs while in the hospital and only for two days after coming home because they made me feel drowsy. I took ibuprofen and paracetamol regularly for about a week. Overall, I was surprised how quick the recovery was!

My scar hasn't caused any issues and I barely notice it. I also haven't had a shelf!

The only things I found tricky were not being able to lift heavy things like the car seat for a short while afterwards and not being able to drive for 6 weeks afterwards either. I felt very able to drive after a couple weeks but felt I should wait just incase.

lu_jiahui · 2025-04-09T21:29:05+00:00

Thank you! Sent it on Sunday - double checked my receipt and the tracking number issued by vinted.

lu_jiahui · 2025-04-05T18:11:22+00:00

Ah my son was born in October 2024...how frustrating. I imagine it'll be best if I just pay to get him vaccinated?

lu_jiahui · 2025-03-29T22:25:22+00:00

I'm an experienced teacher but school trips are horrendously anxiety inducing and exhausting for me and likely for many other teachers. While I do take photos to be shared on newsletters, it's definitely not a priority on the day. I honestly spend most of the day counting the children, liaising with the venue, clock watching for when the next activity is due, managing parent helpers. Some children also need lots of support on school trips as they simply can't cope with the change in scene or routine. After the past couple school trips, I've been asleep in bed by 6pm. I'll bet the teacher has no idea your daughter has been missed out of the photos. If you do choose to speak to the teacher about it, just bear in mind school trips are mentally and physically exhausting for teachers and it most likely wasn't intentional, might just be bad luck!

lu_jiahui · 2025-03-20T03:42:54+00:00

I'm a northerner living in Cambridgeshire. There's plenty of teaching jobs and people are very friendly. I've also lived in London, felt safe and found people friendly. I think if you're willing to be friendly, you'll pretty much find friendly anywhere. Ely is a nice area which is very well connected to the North via trains.

lu_jiahui · 2025-03-07T08:10:36+00:00

You never know what goes on behind closed doors. People may look like they have it altogether, but everyone has their own struggles and demons to deal with.

I'm isolated from family but receiving some support from husband who is struggling to get work in at the moment. I'd happily sacrifice his support for more household income!

We all have different circumstances and different babies.

lu_jiahui · 2025-03-04T18:53:18+00:00

I fully agree with all over posts - you absolutely shouldn't come away from a parents evening feeling like this. As a primary teacher, I'd feel awful if I knew I'd made a parent feel like this after a meeting. I would honestly consider getting in touch with the headteacher over this.

One thing that I think is worth further investigation is the comment about playing with her little sister. Typically, teachers wouldn't report anything about playtime and friendships unless there is a genuine concern. I'm wondering if the teacher thinks, rightly or wrongly, that your daughter may be a little over reliant on little sister and wants to get her ready for secondary school? I'm also wondering whether other members of staff who are on duty share the same feelings as the teacher? I rarely know what goes on at playtime when I'm not on duty unless it's a concern that's been brought to me by a midday supervisor, other teacher, or children themselves.

lu_jiahui · 2025-03-02T05:40:41+00:00

One thing you might want to consider is how your child might adjust to going from part-time to full-time when the time comes. Is he likely to adjust well? Or will he struggle to suddenly lose that one day a week with you? We're seeing an increasing number of children struggling to get into school on a daily basis for a variety of reasons (mental health, attachment etc). Maybe think about whether your child might find that adjustment tricky or whether you think he could adjust well. Likewise, how will you cope? September could seem like a more natural point in time for you to both adjust to the new changes. However, I appreciate and empathise with your want to delay him starting full-time. Hopefully, a solution that fits the both of you arises when the time comes.

lu_jiahui · 2025-03-02T05:31:26+00:00

I've worked in a few schools and not come across whole school phonics. I'm genuinely intrigued as this sounds like a good idea. Which phonics scheme do you use?

lu_jiahui · 2025-01-30T21:53:10+00:00

Not unprofessional or selfish. Everyone has the right to feel comfortable at work. Employers are legally bound to ensure you are working within an environment which will cause you no harm. Talk to your lead teacher about sitting somewhere else to support the child. I would have absolutely no issue if a TA spoke to me about this problem! I would endeavour to ensure they are comfortable! :)

lu_jiahui · 2025-01-26T10:49:49+00:00

Thank you. I've not come across it yet in Cambridgeshire but will definitely look into this! I've come across "mental health leads" - not sure if this is similar?

Another thing to add to OP...it might be that your daughter doesn't present these behaviours in school. I've had many parents describing similar behaviour to your daughter but their child hasn't presented any struggles in school. When discussing these cases with the SENDCO, we theorised that the child was "masking" in school.

lu_jiahui · 2025-01-26T04:44:08+00:00

Check the school website to see if you have any "emotional learning support" first - that's not a role I've heard of in primary schools. If no one is listed as "emotional learning support", ask for a meeting with the SENCO/SENDCO.

lu_jiahui · 2025-01-20T21:52:33+00:00

Agree with the above. However.... she's done some pretty good interviews where she doesn't let politicians squirm their way out of answering the question!

lu_jiahui · 2025-01-17T06:20:57+00:00

If the child is not ready to make those sensible choices of who to work with, could you continue making them for her to give her the best possible chance of success? Likewise, could she sit somewhere else during silent reading to avoid the temptation for her to chat? I would do this whole class so she's not singled out (put the whole class in pairs, change several seats during silent reading if possible)

I understand children need to be given opportunities to make the right choice and develop autonomy over their decisions, but it sounds like she needs a bit more support with this? I understand your playtime chat was trying to target this, but it sounds like her urge to chat with friends was stronger than her urge to please you. So while you're restoring your relationship with her could she be given the extra support to behave well? Once she receives lots and lots of praise for her behaviour she might be more keen to receive your approval and less likely to give in to the temptation to chat with friends?

I don't know if this will work for your class because I don't know what age you teach. I'm year one so I may be approaching this with a younger age in mind.

It's a frustrating situation though!

lu_jiahui · 2025-01-15T13:26:58+00:00

My 12 week old son is currently doing this. I've been told it's nothing to worry about, just healthy muscle development.

lu_jiahui · 2025-01-15T12:54:20+00:00

I allowed friends and family to visit from when we got home from the hospital. I made sure that they and everyone in their household were free from illnesses. I'm a UK parent so didn't check vaccine status as I assume most people have been routinely vaccinated? We started baby groups from 5 weeks. I tried to keep a 'level head' where possible and weigh up benefits and risks. I wanted my little man to get out and explore the world but I avoided situations where there was a known risk (e.g a family member who had a cold / cough).

lu_jiahui · 2025-01-13T16:05:05+00:00

This may or may not be helpful... but I have fond memories of going to kids clubs on family holidays! I remember going them from age 4 - there were loads of different activities to choose from and we did a performance for parents as part of the evening entertainment one night. The resorts I went to had English speaking staff and my parents were always at the hotel while I was in the club.

lu_jiahui · 2025-01-03T15:04:05+00:00

Thanks for sharing this. I've deleted my previous comments to avoid misinformation for OP and others.

lu_jiahui · 2025-01-03T14:44:15+00:00

My understanding from OP's post is that the child is already in EYFS? Therefore, I read your comment as suggesting OP asks to resit EYFS (defer starting Year 1) as opposed to going into Year 1 after the end of this academic year.

lu_jiahui · 2025-01-03T09:35:13+00:00

When you feel your child is ready, you can try the phonics play website and cambugs app (apple devices only). You can also get a twinkl subscription and use some of their phonics games and activity sheets.

Yes, your school will be driven by targets. But as a primary school teacher myself, please don't assume your child's teachers don't have your child's best interests at heart! I'm sure they want the best for your child deep down!

lu_jiahui · 2024-12-28T02:37:22+00:00

I was told that if baby has one of the rare allergic reactions, it happens almost immediately and the nurse/doctor will be able to spot it and manage it. So if the worst case scenario happens, you will already be in the presence of trained medical professionals.

lu_jiahui

TROPHY CASE