Getting Rid of Preschool Guilt

Getting Rid of Preschool Guilt

Almost there....yep preschool starts in a few days and I'm excited and sad at the same time.

Let me qualify--I love my children, I would kill for them and hide the body, but there are times when I know being with their friends and mommy having quiet time is a good thing, for both of us.

It's taken me until this year (my daughter's last year in preschool) to allow myself not to feel guilty for sending her. What are they teaching in preschool that I can't teach her? I've got two degrees and love to learn so could we go without it? Yes.

Would I be mental and would she mental?

Yes.

The beauty of accepting them attending preschool is they are learning and then they get to come back and tell you about it. They learn that they are very capable of learning and absorbing more knowledge while you're not there, a big deal for a preschooler.

They get to learn with others and then come back home to tell you all about how they know the difference between a triangle and a square, how they held their pencil correctly, how little Bobby Taylor taught her the diarrhea song (Diarrhea, Cha-Cha-Cha).

Good with the bad, I suppose, but the lesson here is when kids go off to school, any school, it's a good thing and we as moms and dads should breathe easier that someone else is going to teach them for a bit so we can keep our sanity and brains in tact. I mean, how many times can you watch Letter Factory or the Wiggles sing about colors without wanting to start doing tequila shots?

As we all enter into a new school year, embrace your quiet time when the kids are away, without feeling guilty. Read a book, eat some chocolate, eat chocolate while reading a book about eating chocolate. Workout without worrying about having them in the kids camp. Take a nap, go see a movie, have coffee with friends, sit in the quiet, but embrace it all without the guilt.