My male toddler was sent back home to me in another girl's clothing.

Photo byChayene RafaelaonUnsplash

As a parent, it can be challenging to find the right nursery for your child, especially if they are not used to being in a childcare setting. In my case, my toddler (m) recently started at a new nursery, and he has been struggling to settle in. This is particularly frustrating since we had him in different settings before where he was very easygoing and chilled out. However, this new nursery seems to be giving us a hard time.

During our initial consultation, the nursery advised us to pack one change of clothes for our child. However, to be on the safe side, we packed two changes of clothes and three pairs of undies. On day 3, I went to pick up my child and was shocked to see that he was wearing clown pants. When I asked the teacher about it, she informed me that his clothes had gotten wet and they ran out of fresh clothes, so they left him in the clown pants.

What infuriated me the most was the fact that they didn’t even bother to call me or my partner to let us know that our child was wearing someone else’s clothes. Furthermore, not all of my child’s pants were wet, so it was entirely unnecessary for him to wear the clown pants. It’s not like my child has any significant issues with wetting himself; he has been potty trained for a year and will every now and then get a drop of wee on his pants while using the toilet, nothing more.

Fast forward to today, and we packed him three fresh pairs of pants, only to find him in a girl’s dress and someone else’s rain boots. This situation is unacceptable and has left me feeling frustrated and disrespected. I have never experienced anything like this with any other nursery before.

Tomorrow, I plan to speak with the teacher about this issue and make it clear that I would prefer for them to call me or my partner if they run out of fresh clothes for our child. As a parent, I don’t think I’m overreacting in this situation. It’s upsetting to see my child in someone else’s clothes, especially when no one informed us beforehand. Furthermore, it’s concerning that my child is the only black kid in this nursery, which throws in a sprinkle of paranoia about whether they are treating him fairly or not.

I hope that by speaking to the teacher, we can come to an understanding and prevent situations like this from happening again in the future. As a parent, I want to trust the nursery staff to take care of my child and ensure his safety and well-being.