My Child Was Denied School Admission Because I Am A ‘Stay-At-Home Mom’

School admissions can be quite an ordeal for parents. Not just the child but the parents are also scrutinized which often make them doubt themselves.

Unlike most of the parents of preschoolers, me and my husband were absolutely ‘cool’ about our daughter’s admission. Given our credentials, we were kind of sure that no school could refuse her admission. So when the time came, I applied to just one school of which my husband is an alumni too. We were very confident that we had enough ‘points’ to secure her a seat. And that’s when the reality hit hard in our faces. She didn’t make it to the admission list.

We were shocked!

We had no clue about where we had lost in the infamous point system of the school. Now leaving aside my findings for later, (because I don’t want to offer the makers of Hindi Medium movie a ready story for sequel) I restrict this post to one issue worth deliberation.

I felt guilty for being a ‘stay-at-home’

Like all those dismayed and shocked parents, the next day I found myself standing before the school’s reception to drop in my application seeking reason for rejection. The ever so busy receptionist obliged me with her knowledge on the selection system saying there are points for everything including distance from school, your education, your work profile etc etc.
I was quite sure that everything else would have worked in my girl’s favour, though the subject of ‘work profile’ intrigued me enough.

Being a stay at home mom, it was the only section that I had left blank. After several days of jarring thoughts, I let that guilt of being a non-working mom creep into me and I shed enough tears to wash it off me.

But, a working mom was judged too…

A few days later I shared my experience with one of my friends, who is a ‘working mom’, so as to say. She helped me overcome my guilt and guess how.

She stated when she had applied to a different school for her son’s admission who is the same age as my daughter, she was asked in the interview, ‘Who takes care of your child while you are working outside?’
The question obviously stunned her as much as it stunned me.

Luckily her joint family status convinced the interviewers enough to grant her boy admission. But, she wondered what might have been their reaction had she mentioned ‘creche’ or ‘day care’ instead.

So, all the mothers who brood over their choices in life, and especially because the people make them believe so, here’s the blatant reality- They won’t let you live anyway.

Although now I am not guilty anymore, I am still definitely in the league of those parents who fret about their child’s school admission.

Image Source: Movie Promo Stills/Hindi Medium

Riddhi Bhatti

I am a stay-at-home mom, an avid reader and sometimes an impulsive writer.

Learn More