1. Save the socializing
We all want to connect with our child’s teacher, but guess what? She doesn’t need a new BFF. Don’t take it personally—you are indeed warm and fabulous—but she has a job to do and that job is to teach your kid. Even just a friendly, “How was your weekend?” first thing Monday morning can throw off the entire day’s schedule.
“When parents socialize with me during drop-off, it’s transition time and one of the most difficult periods of the day—often I’ll have 15 kids waiting for my attention,” says Jennifer Sullivan,* a teacher at a Toronto school. “There are some moms I really love, but I don’t have time to schmooze. Remember: Everything with us is ruled by bells and minutes.”