Parents don’t want drooling preschooler left behind or out

Gather 'round. A tale of spittle is about to unfold, a tale where passions run deep and accusations pour through the air like, well, like spit.

Benjamin Tatman is 23 months old and a drooler. His parents keep a bib on him to catch the drool.

Last week, Ben was either kicked out of Klassy Kids Academy (the Tatmans' version) or his parents were informed there was a problem with excessive drooling and they chose to remove him (the school's version).

Either way, Ben and his sister Abigail, 3, (not a big time drooler herself) departed Klassy Kids Academy in northwest Las Vegas last Tuesday.

When his parents, Stephanie and Dustin Tatman, sought publicity on the situation, an editor thought it might be an "oh really" story for me. Still wondering why, since I only drool at night and not all the time.

Anyway, I investigated to see if excessive drooling meant that the boy's chin resembled Niagara Falls. Not so.

But even his parents concede Ben became a big-time drooler starting last November when he began teething. Ben's pediatrician said he would grow out of it, and Ben didn't have a medical problem.

The first the Tatmans knew that it was a problem at his preschool was when Dawn Hayden, director of Klassy Kids Academy, sent Stephanie Tatman a note inviting her to discuss "the excessive fluids that are saturating his clothing each day."

Stephanie Tatman said she asked Hayden if she should take Ben out of school until he quits teething, and it became obvious the director would welcome Ben's departure.

Hayden told me Friday she'd never seen anything like Ben's drool. "We would put two T-shirts on him. We were at a loss about how to keep him dry."

His drooling was creating puddles of saliva on tables and the floor, as well as covering his shirt and pants and getting on communal playthings.

"I didn't kick him out," Hayden said. "But it became a situation where I had other parents voicing their concerns."

The Tatmans were not given a deadline to take him out of Klassy Kids, Hayden said.

The school has an excellent reputation, and a parent hearing of this column wrote a glowing email of praise.

Doubtlessly, other parents will weigh in.

The Tatmans said they are offended, insulted and hurt by the experience.

"It hurts me that they view him as a bother," said Stephanie, a sixth-grade teacher at Von Tobel Middle School.

Dustin Tatman, a wellness coach for city of Las Vegas employees, wrote a scathing review of the school on a website, describing it as a "business that is only looking to make a buck off your child as long as they don't make too much of a mess."

Both sides have gone to state child care licensing officials, who are treating it as a complaint.

Why did they go public?

"We weren't seeking an apology or anything, but they need to know they can't treat people's children like this," Dustin Tatman said.

Drooling is not my area of expertise, but Parenting Magazine has a piece on excessive drooling by toddlers. (It failed to address any drooling that might occur in Las Vegas strip clubs.)

Dr. William Sears wrote that excessive drooling in young children is a "very common quirk" and can be healthy. "Saliva bathes the teeth and gums, washing away accumulated food and bacteria."

He said the drooling could be expected to last about six months until a child's teeth are all in.

Who among us hasn't wiped spit (or spit up) off their shoulder with varying degrees of distaste?

But has anyone heard of excessive drooling resulting in a toddler being encouraged to leave preschool?

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Email her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call her at (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/Morrison.