Winter agony for KG kids

shameem
By shameem

Please find below a letter to Gulf Times Editor written br Mr. Abdul Nasar A. K. and published in today's GT

For your comments.
_________________________________________________________

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Winter agony for KG kids

Dear Sir,

It is heart-rending for parents to awake their KG-going children early in the morning, around 5 o’clock, for school every day in winter. Every morning I feel extremely guilty when I force my four-year-old daughter to get up at that time so that she can go to school.

If our children are genuinely conscious of their rights they would file a lawsuit against their parents to protect them from this type of “abuse”! It is a type of torture and cruelty even though our actions are inspired by good intentions and the future well-being of our kids itself. But good intentions cannot always justify actions.

Nevertheless, my suggestion to expatriate school managements is to consider changing timing for KG pupils from January to March at least.

Classes for the above category now start at the same time as for senior grades and end by 11am. Special buses then take the kids back home. It will not be an additional burden for school managements if they deploy these buses to collect KG students from their houses by 9am and start their classes by 10am. KG classes could end by 1pm as with senior pupils and they can all return home in one bus.

I would like to request all parents to come forward with their suggestions. School authorities also can make a survey to know how parents think about this suggestion, if they see it worth considering.

Abdul Nasar A K

[email protected]

By somwerNdmiddle• 19 Jan 2011 13:03
somwerNdmiddle

oooopssss

By somwerNdmiddle• 19 Jan 2011 13:02
somwerNdmiddle

everybody went through a "trauma" whatever that was when we were kids going to school, we did complain yes, but in the long run, it somewhat helped in shaping what we are right now, so quit whining about winter. in some countries kids walk barefoot going to school or most don't have a chance to go to school at all :(

By anonymous• 19 Jan 2011 12:57
anonymous

Lol s_isale ;)

By mrmusicman• 19 Jan 2011 12:55
mrmusicman

School is a privilege, not a requirement. If the standards set forth by the school your child is attending does not meet your needs to sleep in, then by all means find another school. Just because something is not to your liking, does not mean that everyone else will agree. What's next?...Are you going to tell me they are going to move the World Cup to the winter months to accomodate for hot summer temperatures...

By anonymous• 19 Jan 2011 12:52
Rating: 4/5
anonymous

sleep early that good then child can walk up early it no matter one time morning walk up good for health most Arabic country they fallowing this

By s_isale• 19 Jan 2011 12:51
s_isale

Didnt you used to stay in even if you could see the college building, WK?

By anonymous• 19 Jan 2011 12:45
anonymous

Lol Snessy sadly in school we couldn't do it but during college if we couldn't see the college building from hostel in the morning, we used to stay in :-P

By s_isale• 19 Jan 2011 12:45
s_isale

Let the kids enjoy the early weather....

By s_isale• 19 Jan 2011 12:44
s_isale

some never learn....

By chocolate• 19 Jan 2011 12:42
chocolate

My sons being going to school for three years now, and i must say that more than him it was trouble for me, since i'm used to waking up late. I'ts we adults who have to train them by putting them to bed early. Whenever i do manage to make my son sleep early, he's fresh in the morning and even gets up without me calling out to him. Having been here for 6 yrs, i actually like the concept of starting the day early, since everyones at home earlier.

By Ice Maiden• 19 Jan 2011 12:41
Rating: 4/5
Ice Maiden

Children should get used to a routine....get them to bed early, so they can get up early.

"Early to bed, early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy, and wise".

Both my children who are below 6 years get up by 6:00am. We have a routine that we stick to. Makes my life easier and it's comforting to the kids because they know the pattern they have to follow.

Let kids get a taste of the real world, not a pampered, gold fish bowl existence.

By anonymous• 19 Jan 2011 12:39
anonymous

Its cold and its rainy here in Doha... so what?

Looks like the Editor is a lazy bone...and trying to influence people to put pressure on the school... for such a silly matter.... very inappropriate.

By Mandilulur• 19 Jan 2011 12:38
Mandilulur

A couple suggestions - change schools. Home school. Surely better than having your child sue you!

Mandi

By snessy• 19 Jan 2011 12:35
snessy

WK: surely if you can't see the school, you don't have to go? ;-)

By britexpat• 19 Jan 2011 12:34
Rating: 2/5
britexpat

Kids today ...

We had it tough. We used to have to get up at four in the morning - half an hour before we went to bed - Eat half a handful of freezing cold gravel, walk ten miles to school and when we got home, our Dad would would beat us with a leather belt...

Good times...

By soniya• 19 Jan 2011 12:32
soniya

snessy, yes i know about it..one of my distant cousin being a UK CITIZEN now had told me about this long back and the TRAUMA that they go through while winter comes...:))

By yesboss• 19 Jan 2011 12:31
yesboss

how about

sleep late..... (attend parties, go for shopping, watch TV etc. wake up late..... as usual then hurry, skip breakfast etc. Go late......leave early!

any contradiction?

By anonymous• 19 Jan 2011 12:30
anonymous

Snessy back home it gets so foggy during December/January that you can't even see the school building from 40-50 Meters distance during early morning :(

By snessy• 19 Jan 2011 12:29
Rating: 4/5
snessy

Wrapping children up in cotton wool isn't going to do them any favours for the future.

Soniya: you never get used to that cold weather, the heating never works on trains and buses in London - it's blooming freezing :-(

By britexpat• 19 Jan 2011 12:27
britexpat

It's the parents that need to grow up and ensure that the children are in a fit and ready state to attend school.

By s_isale• 19 Jan 2011 12:25
s_isale

what abuse are you talking about anyway?

By s_isale• 19 Jan 2011 12:24
s_isale

ishan - you are wrong on that. If Muslim prayer time were the marker of duty starting - then in the summer you would be going to office at 3 in the morning.

Wake up....

By dr.xray• 19 Jan 2011 12:24
dr.xray

In my opinion, kids will definitely get used to the routine no matter how harsh it is ..but the question is ..if u really want ur child to get used to something that he/she doesn't like or is uncomfortable with ....we are really abusing children n in this part of the world i think human rights (esp.childrens')are really not taken into consideration at all.

Kids adapt soon ..but in a way we are kinda abusing their "good" quality of quick adapting to the schedules and environment.

By soniya• 19 Jan 2011 12:23
Rating: 2/5
soniya

snessy, but people of your country are used to of such spine chilling cold..so it's nothing new for them...

By snessy• 19 Jan 2011 12:14
snessy

I remember having to go to school in the early hours by bus in the UK during winter when it was snowing - that was something to moan about, not the weather here.

By anonymous• 19 Jan 2011 12:11
Rating: 4/5
anonymous

one of the reason in the gulf they have more Muslim they should pray early morning 5 . am in the mosque. they walk up early that why gulf government fixed the people that after pray school and work other actives they going to staring actually it not barbaric I simply despise that when the start morning they finish 4 .pm the between 8 hours it same other country another country they starting 9.am but they finish late over I thing 5 .am its not big harm to the children summer time the morning sun rise coming early 5. pm so the two weather condition the time have to change school schedule or work schedule it not possible

By soniya• 19 Jan 2011 12:07
soniya

This is the reason why i have changed my plans to drop my baby at kindergarten now..I will do it after April..After all she is still small..:)

By somwerNdmiddle• 19 Jan 2011 12:02
Rating: 4/5
somwerNdmiddle

my son gets up at 5am then i drive him to school before 6:30am, he got used to it. he complained at first, but we patiently explained to him the need to get up early and he understood through time and even in the weekends he wakes up earlier than us, kidding aside, it's a simple problem and you can find ways to solve it, if you will.

By snessy• 19 Jan 2011 11:59
snessy

Children should go to sleep earlier, once they're in a routine it won't make a difference to them. My son is my alarm clock in the mornings...

By AngelinaBallerina• 19 Jan 2011 11:59
AngelinaBallerina

Or better still.... in bed by 8 o'clock!!

By AngelinaBallerina• 19 Jan 2011 11:58
AngelinaBallerina

Simple......drive them yourself instead of using the school bus!! My daughter gets up at 6.30 and I take her to school!!

By britexpat• 19 Jan 2011 11:56
Rating: 2/5
britexpat

Kids are very adaptable.. It's the parents that need work..

By s_isale• 19 Jan 2011 11:42
s_isale

teach the kids to sleep early and wake up early.

Dont transfer your bad habits to the kids.

There is a saying about going to sleep early and waking up early isnt it?

By anonymous• 19 Jan 2011 11:40
Rating: 2/5
anonymous

Comeon.. Kids today are already too pampered and it's not cold here in winters. The weather is really nice early in the morning.

By drr u• 19 Jan 2011 11:38
drr u

I totally agree with the suggestion of late morning classes for Kg kids,its horrible for them as well as for parents to wake them up so earlly when we being so old feel it too hard to get out of the bed.Education ministry should take this step.

By gtim• 19 Jan 2011 11:12
Rating: 5/5
gtim

my kid's schoold has two shift schedule classes. That is morning and afternoon. When i enrolled him I consider the afternoon class as i imagine the misery of waking him up in the morning.

Honestly, I prefer to have winter session of classes than on summer.

By rdsouza• 19 Jan 2011 11:11
Rating: 2/5
rdsouza

I fully agree. Collective effort can put an end to the torture so that life is less chaotic. Schools are the best place to start.

By RatanDS• 19 Jan 2011 11:00
RatanDS

If schools and offices start at 5 in the morning, there will still be people who will justify it and tell you not to complain. This is self inflicted fear.

By Intelligent• 19 Jan 2011 10:47
Intelligent

Ratan we are busy thinking other things from 30 years or so. So we cant start thinking on this now. lol

By somwerNdmiddle• 19 Jan 2011 10:47
somwerNdmiddle

get your child to sleep earlier so you'll have less guilt waking her up the following day. this is one way of teaching kids proper bed time and for them to make this a good habit, in the long run while they're growing up you won't have a hard time getting them ready for school in the morning.

By RatanDS• 19 Jan 2011 10:41
Rating: 5/5
RatanDS

Offices and schools in Gulf countries start 2 hours earlier than everywhere else in the world. I dont know for what reason. While waking up a child at 5 in the morning is actually BARBARIC, its impact on adults is no less. Waking up early in the morning and rushing to toilet, rushing for breakfast and rushing to office is really un-healthy. It puts undue strain on your body and mind and makes you age faster. Another un-pleasant outcome of starting work early is, people finishing their toilet duties at the work place. It's high time gulf countries re-think their work and school timings bearing in mind the health impact.

By s_isale• 19 Jan 2011 10:25
s_isale

this has been there for almost 30 years now.

So what has changed now?

By Vegas• 19 Jan 2011 10:24
Vegas

At least they miss all the traffic...

Maybe that's the reason...

Log in or register to post comments

More from Qatar Living

Qatar’s top beaches for water sports thrills

Qatar’s top beaches for water sports thrills

Let's dive into the best beaches in Qatar, where you can have a blast with water activities, sports and all around fun times.
Most Useful Apps In Qatar - Part Two

Most Useful Apps In Qatar - Part Two

This guide brings you the top apps that will simplify the use of government services in Qatar.
Most Useful Apps In Qatar - Part One

Most Useful Apps In Qatar - Part One

this guide presents the top must-have Qatar-based apps to help you navigate, dine, explore, access government services, and more in the country.
Winter is coming – Qatar’s seasonal adventures await!

Winter is coming – Qatar’s seasonal adventures await!

Qatar's winter months are brimming with unmissable experiences, from the AFC Asian Cup 2023 to the World Aquatics Championships Doha 2024 and a variety of outdoor adventures and cultural delights.
7 Days of Fun: One-Week Activity Plan for Kids

7 Days of Fun: One-Week Activity Plan for Kids

Stuck with a week-long holiday and bored kids? We've got a one week activity plan for fun, learning, and lasting memories.
Wallet-friendly Mango Sticky Rice restaurants that are delightful on a budget

Wallet-friendly Mango Sticky Rice restaurants that are delightful on a budget

Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for a sweet escape into the world of budget-friendly Mango Sticky Rice that's sure to satisfy both your cravings and your budget!
Places to enjoy Mango Sticky Rice in  high-end elegance

Places to enjoy Mango Sticky Rice in high-end elegance

Delve into a world of culinary luxury as we explore the upmarket hotels and fine dining restaurants serving exquisite Mango Sticky Rice.
Where to celebrate World Vegan Day in Qatar

Where to celebrate World Vegan Day in Qatar

Celebrate World Vegan Day with our list of vegan food outlets offering an array of delectable options, spanning from colorful salads to savory shawarma and indulgent desserts.