Artemis's blog: "am I the crazy one?"

Well I just got back from dropping my oldest off at preschool,

and before I left the main teacher/preschool director stopped me and had something to say.

This may be the fourth or fifth time in just the 8 days school's been in session, with reports ranging from "She crossed her arms and tapped her foot at me" to "She took off all her clothes during dress up time."

Well, this lady makes me feel like doing the former right about now.

She tells me that she notices my daughter sometimes sits with her legs in a "W", as in back along her sides with her bottom on the ground.  She then says she shouldn't sit like this, as it promotes bad posture, please stop her from doing this at home as well.

Maybe my initial skepticism snuck through the blank stare I gave her for a few seconds, because although I half-heartedly admit this may not lead to the straightest of spinal configurations, she rushes on to add that "they are told to watch for this" and that it may be a sign of  - and here is where she sort of lowers her voice and makes one of those pseudo-sympathetic faces that people sometimes do when they utter the word she is about to - "Syndrome."

I bite my tongue. But in my head I am laughing in her face and crying WTF?! She sits with her legs in a "W" so she may have a syndrome? Some ominously undefined syndrome. Uh huh.

Just about then some woman I don't know whether she's a parent or a teacher - but I guess whatever she was gave her permission to not only listen in but add her two cents -pipes up and says her sister sat like that once and her legs got stuck in the position. My tongue will be sore now from the punishment I rendered it at that point.

In an attempt to consider that this is the teacher's job to look for warning signs - as retarded as I may think they are, ahem, let me rephrase... as something obviously new to child development since I was a youngster in school - anyhow, in an attempt to remain fair and civil I admit to sitting just like that throughout much of my own childhood (implying I didn't seem to have a "syndrome" or scoliosis) but I would most definitely bring it up with my pediatrican.

This seemed to take her a bit aback. Like I was just going to take her word for it, when she mentions my daughter could be ruining her spinal alignment or possibly showing signs of a syndrome? I'm supposed to just say "Oh yes ma'am, I'll never let her sit like that again!" Take a preschool director's word - which may I add wasn't that reassuring when she couldn't supply specific facts - over that of a medical professional's.

And I will check with my daughter's pediatrician - but honestly - has that much changed since I was in school that they now link sitting positions to not just posture, but Syndromes?? Is everyone so eager to label differences in children's behavior as one condition/syndrome or another?  Am I too skeptical maybe?

This just struck me as one of those "you gotta be fucking kiddin me" moments and I had to vent.

/vent