06/12/2026
Copied from a friend. This is very accurate! - It's long, but good. Please take time to read.
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I just sat through a PRE-K meeting where teachers had to explain to parents how to tell their children “no.”
No. Seriously.
Not algebra.
Not college prep.
Not school safety.
We are now at:
✨ “How to parent your child enough so they can function in public.” ✨
The teachers were discussing:
• meltdowns over being redirected
• inability to sit still for more than 30 seconds
• screaming when told to wait
• emotional breakdowns over basic structure
• kids functioning like tiny dopamine addicts
And before everybody gets defensive and starts gripping their Stanley cups with acrylic nails trembling…
YES, parents are exhausted.
YES, COVID changed things.
YES, life is expensive and chaotic.
But some of y’all have handed an iPad to your child every time they experience a human emotion since 2020.
Bored? Tablet.
Mad? Tablet.
Need to grocery shop? Tablet.
Blue cup dirty? Tablet.
The wind blew wrong? TABLET.
Now teachers are trying to teach ABCs to children whose nervous systems are running on:
Cocomelon, YouTube Shorts, sugar, chaos, and unlimited screen access.
Listen carefully:
Children NEED:
✔ books read TO them — not just TVs playing AT them
✔ boredom
✔ boundaries
✔ eye contact
✔ conversation
✔ independent play
✔ structure that feels safe and predictable
✔ hearing “no” and understanding WHY the answer is no
Teach them how to:
• wipe themselves properly
• pack a lunch they’ll actually eat
• sit at a table
• wait their turn
• clean up messes
• exist without being entertained every waking second
Let them get dirty.
Let them climb things.
Let them cut paper with scissors… even if part of your bangs become collateral damage.
That uncomfortable whining when they’re bored?
THAT is where creativity, emotional regulation, imagination, problem-solving, and resilience are supposed to develop.
Screen time should be a short tool to wind down — not a full-time emotional support system.
20 minutes a day of calm-down screen time? Fine.
7 hours a day of digital sedation? Absolutely not.
We are raising tiny humans — not emotionally unstable house cats with Wi-Fi access.
And teachers?
They are TIRED.
At this point educators are basically:
teacher
therapist
behavior specialist
hostage negotiator
and part-time prehistoric parent rehabilitation coaches.
The kicker?
Kids are adaptable FAST.
Talk to them more.
Read to them more.
Hold boundaries more.
Let them be uncomfortable sometimes.
Stop outsourcing parenting to glowing rectangles.
Because if a PRE-K teacher has to explain to grown adults that children need structure, limits, conversation, and human interaction to function…
we might need a national factory reset.
