16th April 2015

I did a doodle today because the school application results have come out and people up and down the country are finding out if their little ones have got in to the schools that the parents have chosen. Numbers and intake are high this year it seems, so it stands to reason that there will be a lot of disappointed people, but an awful lot of thrilled parents too.

This is a strange time. Our little ones are still so young, only four, with their whole lives ahead of them. They are changing daily and developing new strengths and skills all the time. Will my child be socially gregarious or the shy-retiring type? Will my child be a drama queen or a techno-wizz? Will my child captain the school sports teams or be the cheerleader with the best moves? We can guess at some of these, but there is still so much we don't know about them yet.

Their personalities are, of course, strong already, but they have so much changing, developing and growing to do still and within totally new environments. Their schooling will shape them massively, along with the family environment. We as parents have less control on what goes on in the classroom and on the playgound, but we are able to make some choices regarding their education. Sadly, we cannot all get what we want, but we should also never have to compromise on what we feel is best for our children.

Nail biting times.