My three-year-old is being kicked out of Montessori after only one day

Ellen Fitzpatrick

As the return to school and creche is among us, the transition can be much harder for some than others – but for this mum, it was an absolute nightmare.

She opened up about the incident on Reddit, one mum explained that her three-year-old had started his first day of Montessori but it didn’t end the way she had hoped.

When she and her partner arrived at the preschool to collect their son, they had assumed it would be nothing more than the usual exchange and handover.

Shocked upon speaking to the staff, she was asked to come into the office to speak about her son’s behaviour and was told, via a letter, that he had “yelled at an assistant, threw a toy, ran away from the playground, cried for an hour without stopping”.

She was also told that her son then cursed at an assistant, something she claims he has never done before.

The mum went on to explain that her son is speech delayed and sometimes when he speaks, it can be hard to make out what he is trying to say.

She wrote: “We feel, for the most part, these are typical 3-year-old behavior for a first day at school and for a child who had thus far been with an in-home nanny. It is shocking that we were told to fix the behavior by the next day or that he would be kicked out. Is that acceptable?

“He is 3 and pretty sure he did not understand we were dropping him off at a new school today. This was his first day and probably getting used to the environment. We feel as though they are not even giving him a chance and now we have to find another daycare at such short notice.

The parents also confirmed they have been paying his tuition since the start of the year when he was accepted for the fall.

They are considering removing him from the playschool because of the incident.

After further conversations with the staff, it was made clear they wanted her child out of the school, and many fellow parents quickly came along with some advice on the situation.

One said: “I don’t think that’s normal 3-year-old behavior tbh. To kick him out right off the bat is very extreme though. I would probably request a meeting with the principal to get more info and to see if they’re willing to work with you. If they’re not, your son will probably be better off in another school.”

Another said: “If they can’t handle normal child behavior that comes with adjusting to a new environment why would you even consider sending him back? They are supposed to be professionals who work with children. It’s literally their job to know how to deal with these situations.”