I?m fairly certain that my daughter?s kindergarten teacher thinks I?m a pushy, overachieving helicopter parent. The school term has barely started and I know my four-year-old has adjusted to kindergarten well. She knows her letters, shapes and colours, she can count to 20, and she is even starting to read. But here I am, standing at the schoolyard gate, insisting on a meeting with her teacher.
It?s part of the routine I first established with my son, who is now seven. Get him settled in school. Take time off work to be present at the school for drop-offs or pick-ups so that the teacher knows that I?m involved and that I care. (And I make my husband do this, too, so that they know there is a father.) And then, three or four weeks in, I request a meeting. So here I am, asking for an interview with my daughter?s kindergarten teacher, a lovely woman and seasoned teacher who stares at me perplexed. ?OK,? she says hesitantly, ?what do you want to talk about" You were at the open house a few weeks ago, right"? Then she mentions that parent-teacher meetings are coming up.

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20 secrets of kindergarten teachers

?I know,? I say, fully aware of how awkward this conversation is becoming, ?but I really like to be pro-active.?
?But she is...