Should kids get R&R days?

[basil]

Date: 5/13/2009 8:15:53 PM
Author: KimberlyH

Date: 5/13/2009 7:54:28 PM

Author: basil

Would people feel as strongly if someone pulled their kid out of school for another reason?


- to go to a historic event (inauguration, famous speaker, etc.)

- to experience a work environment (''take your daughter to work'' day, to shadow a professional that the child wanted to be)

- to get one-on-one time with a family member which would otherwise be difficult/impossible during scheduled vacations or weekends

- to go to a place/vacation one otherwise couldn''t go on


I''m not a parent, but I feel like I wouldn''t want to teach my kid that skipping stuff because you feel like it is ok. But I would want to balance that with the best possible life experience for my kid. And I can''t say that I believe that is always in school, every day. My first reaction when I read the OP was ''heck no'' but the more I think about it, the more I think that I could''ve missed a few more days of school and been just fine...

Basil,


I take no issue with the first two as they are educational.


The others are not valid reasons to take days off, in my opinion, especially not a young child. There is no one I can think of that a child couldn''t spend one-on-one time with during the time they are not in school and vacation is not a valid reason to skip school when vacations are already scheduled throughout the year. There is enough time off throughout the year that families can use to schedule vacations and such.

Well, I put in those two situations because those were my situations as a child. My parents could not have afforded to send me to Florida during school vacation weeks...the plane flights go way up. Plus, all my other cousins would have been there. It was a much different experience. And honestly, in hindsight, I feel like I knew my grandparents way better from that one week than from all the other times I spent with them. Much more valuable IMO than what I would have learned in 4th grade.

Going on vacation with my dad to his conference was also something we couldn''t afford to do otherwise (his flight and hotel were paid for). And thinking back, how many times in my life did I spend a week alone with my dad? Just that once.

I also missed school in HS for a 2 week exchange program to Bordeaux. I lived with a French family and then went to Paris with my friends. Never gotten the chance to go back to France. Don''t think I''d trade it for 2 more weeks of band practice and calculus.

I''m speaking from the perspective of someone whose parents are educators, and whose family always valued education as first priority. I am this year completing my 11th year of post-secondary education. But I''ve come to the point of realizing that not all education is taught in a classroom and spending a lifetime in school doesn''t make you a better person.

All that goes out the window if a student is struggling to keep up in school, of course.

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 5/13/2009 8:33:31 PM
Author: purrfectpear

Date: 5/13/2009 7:39:04 PM
Author: KimberlyH
Those occasional days off are already built into their schedule, they would be teacher inservice days, winter break, spring break, the week many students get off in February, and summer. Employees typically get 2-3 weeks paid vacation a year plus some sick time (as a teacher I am far more than lucky for the number of days I have off, and I teach summer school), it is the time built into their schedules to do what they want/need to.

TGal, here is a list of no student days in my district this year (school started August 19th and ends June 11th):

Sept. 1 (Labor Day)
Sept. 29 (Pro Growth)
Oct. 30 - 31 (Conferences)
Nov. 11 (Veterans Day)
Nov. 24 - 28 (Thanksgiving Break)
Dec. 22 - Jan. 2 (Winter Break)
Jan. 20 - 21 (Semester Break)
Feb. 16 - 20 (President''s Day/District Break)
Mar. 31 (Cesar Chavez Day)
Apr. 6 -10 (Spring Holiday)
May 25 (Memorial Day)

So during the 10 month school year our students have 34 days off and then a 10 week summer break. Schools must be in session 180 days a year according to CA state law.

Yep, that''s the way I remember it. It felt like every single month I was putting my son back in day care because school was ''out'' for something or another and I worked.

PP, I was in elementary school in the 80s, we attended from September - June, and if memory serves we had as many total school days as they do now, we just had a lot less days off throughout the school year.

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 5/13/2009 8:35:22 PM
Author: basil

Date: 5/13/2009 8:15:53 PM
Author: KimberlyH

Date: 5/13/2009 7:54:28 PM

Author: basil

Would people feel as strongly if someone pulled their kid out of school for another reason?


- to go to a historic event (inauguration, famous speaker, etc.)

- to experience a work environment (''take your daughter to work'' day, to shadow a professional that the child wanted to be)

- to get one-on-one time with a family member which would otherwise be difficult/impossible during scheduled vacations or weekends

- to go to a place/vacation one otherwise couldn''t go on


I''m not a parent, but I feel like I wouldn''t want to teach my kid that skipping stuff because you feel like it is ok. But I would want to balance that with the best possible life experience for my kid. And I can''t say that I believe that is always in school, every day. My first reaction when I read the OP was ''heck no'' but the more I think about it, the more I think that I could''ve missed a few more days of school and been just fine...

Basil,


I take no issue with the first two as they are educational.


The others are not valid reasons to take days off, in my opinion, especially not a young child. There is no one I can think of that a child couldn''t spend one-on-one time with during the time they are not in school and vacation is not a valid reason to skip school when vacations are already scheduled throughout the year. There is enough time off throughout the year that families can use to schedule vacations and such.

Well, I put in those two situations because those were my situations as a child. My parents could not have afforded to send me to Florida during school vacation weeks...the plane flights go way up. Plus, all my other cousins would have been there. It was a much different experience. And honestly, in hindsight, I feel like I knew my grandparents way better from that one week than from all the other times I spent with them. Much more valuable IMO than what I would have learned in 4th grade.

Going on vacation with my dad to his conference was also something we couldn''t afford to do otherwise (his flight and hotel were paid for). And thinking back, how many times in my life did I spend a week alone with my dad? Just that once.

I also missed school in HS for a 2 week exchange program to Bordeaux. I lived with a French family and then went to Paris with my friends. Never gotten the chance to go back to France. Don''t think I''d trade it for 2 more weeks of band practice and calculus.

I''m speaking from the perspective of someone whose parents are educators, and whose family always valued education as first priority. I am this year completing my 11th year of post-secondary education. But I''ve come to the point of realizing that not all education is taught in a classroom and spending a lifetime in school doesn''t make you a better person.

All that goes out the window if a student is struggling to keep up in school, of course.

Basil, I understand where you are coming from, and your perspective is that of a person who values education, which was instilled in you by your own parents. I work with many kids whose parents simply don''t care. Yours are very specific circumstances, and I see the value in your getting to do those things, I still believe kids need to be in school on school days (especially considering the days off strewn throughout the year, a long weekend in March when teachers have inservice would be a perfect time to take a family trip, and it would cost less than busier times of the year).

I worked in "Corporate America" for several years before becoming an educator and it taught me a lot about how to be a good teacher, and that includes knowing education comes in many forms from many places. I believe it''s important for kids to be in school because it teaches responsibility and accountability. My job as a teacher is to get students ready to be productive members of society, I can''t do that if their parents teach them that it''s okay not to show up because they''re feeling a bit lazy and want to take a break. This doesn''t negate the value of education outside the classroom, but it does

 

[Clio]

I wouldn''t pull my kids out just for an R&R day, but I have had them miss a day here and there when they weren''t sick so we could attend events (such as my college roommate''s wedding) out of town. It''s pretty rare (I think twice in six years), but I don''t have a problem doing it on occasion.

 

[swingirl]

I would never take a kid out of school for something that could be done on a non-school day. It sends the wrong message. But every so often I did on the weekends have a "Mommy and Me" day. Initially it sounds silly and only for little ones. But we started the tradition and my kids loved it. It gave me time to take one of them out for the day and focus on them and their interests. We did a lot of activities with both kids but there was a specialness to the individual attention. We'd do a field trip (zoo, museum, park) and go to lunch.

I never realized how much my kids enjoyed it until my 18 year old son asked ME if I wanted to go to Alcatraz for a "Mommy and Me" day and he'd drive and pay!! We both laughed but he said he really wanted to go. So we went and over lunch talked about colleges, girls, careers and Alcatraz.

I recently took my daughter on a "Mommy and Me" date to the Faberge exhibit.

Kids do need one-on-one time with their parents and often behave differently without their siblings around. It's also easier to enjoy your child when they aren't bickering. But do it on the weekend.

 

[LostSapphire]

Now I understand why all of the young admin assists I hire seem to have difficulty showing up for work on a regular basis.

LS

 

[icekid]

Date: 5/13/2009 9:05:38 PM
Author: LostSapphire
Now I understand why all of the young admin assists I hire seem to have difficulty showing up for work on a regular basis.


LS

C''mon LS, you can''t expect them to work EVERYday!

 

[LostSapphire]

Date: 5/13/2009 9:39:27 PM
Author: icekid

Date: 5/13/2009 9:05:38 PM
Author: LostSapphire
Now I understand why all of the young admin assists I hire seem to have difficulty showing up for work on a regular basis.


LS

C''mon LS, you can''t expect them to work EVERYday!

For a brand new baby legal secretary fresh out of school, I give 2 weeks vac''n, 10 personal/sick days, they get 9 statutory holidays and 2 extra days at XMAS = 31 DAYS paid time off.

Yet I already have two who have used up 20+ days and it''s only mid-May.

Oh, and did you want them to show up for work on time?

Go up one or 2 generations and I have no attendance issues. Whatsoever. But the last few years the majority of my co-op placements or new grads have a sense of entitlement to "free time off" that is beyond belief. Oh, and that would be PAID free time off.

I actually had a parent call me once because I sent her baby home (unpaid) one day for showing up late on a regular basis. She said I wasn''t providing a "supportive empathetic environment" for baby girl. I''m running a LAW FIRM! empathetic + law firm is an oxymoron.

Makes me nuts. But then every once in a while I find one who is a GEM. THOSE I keep. And promote. And give raises to...etc etc....But it seems I have to go through 5 or 6 of them to find the keepers.

LS

 

[icekid]

Date: 5/13/2009 9:50:06 PM
Author: LostSapphire

Date: 5/13/2009 9:39:27 PM

Author: icekid

Date: 5/13/2009 9:05:38 PM

Author: LostSapphire

Now I understand why all of the young admin assists I hire seem to have difficulty showing up for work on a regular basis.



LS

C''mon LS, you can''t expect them to work EVERYday!

I actually had a parent call me once because I sent her baby home (unpaid) one day for showing up late on a regular basis. She said I wasn''t providing a ''supportive empathetic environment'' for baby girl. I''m running a LAW FIRM! empathetic + law firm is an oxymoron.

LS

Ha, that''s more vacay time than this young doctor gets!

and seriously?!?! If I was sent home from work for showing up late consistently, I would be way to embarrassed to tell anyone- including my parents! But for them to actually call a law firm and whine??? That is really out there!

 

[Haven]

Date: 5/13/2009 8:35:22 PM
Author: basil
[ . . . ]
I'm speaking from the perspective of someone whose parents are educators, and whose family always valued education as first priority. I am this year completing my 11th year of post-secondary education. But I've come to the point of realizing that not all education is taught in a classroom and spending a lifetime in school doesn't make you a better person.

All that goes out the window if a student is struggling to keep up in school, of course.

I could not agree with you more, basil. And I also come from a family of educators, and I am an educator, myself.

I would absolutely pull a kid out of school to experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like an historic event, a trip out of the country, or a few days with a loved one he won't otherwise get to see.

On this note . . . I'll come back and share some info after my students take my final exam next week. In addition to the ridiculous multiple-choice exam they must endure to appease the number-crunching automatons that control public education, my students write a response to the following question for the last term of my English class:
Ten years from now, which experiences/lessons/people/moments from your high school experience (up until now) will remain with you? What impact will they have had? Why will these be the things that remain?

I ask a lot of great questions at the end of my classes, but this one always yields the best responses. And then I use them to create more authentic experiences for my subsequent classes. (And trust me, English lectures and math worksheets have yet to be mentioned. Trips, relationships, and family always make the list, though.)

 

[KimberlyH]

.

 

[packrat]

Dang LS, I''d come work for you! If I could morph myself into a legal secretary of course..

I went to school in the 80''s too..we started in August and were out mid-May. We still had the 180 days, even with snow days, tho sometimes the year went later, like the last week of May. We were the only school around here to get out so early..but we didn''t get all the extra days off during the year that the others did..like a week for Spring Break in April.

When I was in 5th grade, one of my cousins and I went to Texas for a couple weeks during Christmas vacation w/my Grampa and Gramma. I missed maybe 2 days of school..that''s all I can think of.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

It's interesting how this has spiralled out of control from my initial post. All I said was two days per school year. . .not like I was saying once a month or just any old time one of my kids or I didn't feel like getting out of bed.

Education is highly valued in my household. I spend hours a week volunteering at my kids' school, so they see first hand how much I respect their school, education, teachers, AND what they are learning. If one of my kids did "skip" a day of school, say once a year, I highly doubt they'll turn into a sloth!

It's gotta be the overall picture. If a parent is NEVER involved and shows little interest in the child's education and THEN gives the child too frequent R&R, the child is learning bad behavior! LOL (Okay, this is just hilarious! What am I debating here??? I'm just being silly, now. . .time for bed!

)

 

[asscherisme]

Date: 5/13/2009 1:41:22 PM
Author: iluvcarats
No. I think it is quite indulgent and teaches a child to be lazy. School is their job and responsibility. JMHO

ETA Not only does it teach your child to be lazy, but when you call and let the school know why your child is absent, you either tell the truth and say s/he is having an R&R day

, or you lie, which teaches them it is ok to lie.

I agree 100%. When I call my kids in absent, I am required to give a reason. If I were to call in a "mental health day" for my children, its lying.

So No, I don''t think its OK.

 

[asscherisme]

Date: 5/13/2009 2:06:59 PM
Author: Burk

Date: 5/13/2009 1:41:22 PM
Author: iluvcarats
No. I think it is quite indulgent and teaches a child to be lazy. School is their job and responsibility. JMHO


ETA Not only does it teach your child to be lazy, but when you call and let the school know why your child is absent, you either tell the truth and say s/he is having an R&R day

, or you lie, which teaches them it is ok to lie.

This reminds me. The other day our attendance secretary called home to check on a student who was absent and the parent said ''yea, she''s sick'' and our secretary said ''what are her symptoms'' and the parent replied ''she''s sick of school''

Needless to say that child was counted truant for that day since ''sick of school'' is not an excused absence.

Way to teach your child to be responsible

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 5/13/2009 11:18:25 PM
Author: MC
It''s interesting how this has spiralled out of control from my initial post. All I said was two days per school year. . .not like I was saying once a month or just any old time one of my kids or I didn''t feel like getting out of bed.

Education is highly valued in my household. I spend hours a week volunteering at my kids'' school, so they see first hand how much I respect their school, education, teachers, AND what they are learning. If one of my kids did ''skip'' a day of school, say once a year, I highly doubt they''ll turn into a sloth!

It''s gotta be the overall picture. If a parent is NEVER involved and shows little interest in the child''s education and THEN gives the child too frequent R&R, the child is learning bad behavior! LOL (Okay, this is just hilarious! What am I debating here??? I''m just being silly, now. . .time for bed!

)

I don''t think your kids would turn into a sloth. I think why people would shake their heads is the parent''s (in this case, your) mentality that young children need a R&R day to get some alone time away from his sibling.

And parents who are never involved and who show little interest in a child''s education would probably not be so over coddling to think their kid needs a R&R day. It''s those that are overinvolved in their kid''s lives who "project" (per Deco''s definition). Just like refusal of vaccinations is happening in affluent communities, it''s the overparent who is thinking a little too hard about these things.

However, you kids, your life. If people put it out there on an Internet forum, I''ll make my judgment calls/opinions. But in the end, it''s none of my business.

 

[princesss]

Date: 5/13/2009 9:50:06 PM
Author: LostSapphire

Date: 5/13/2009 9:39:27 PM

Author: icekid

Date: 5/13/2009 9:05:38 PM

Author: LostSapphire

Now I understand why all of the young admin assists I hire seem to have difficulty showing up for work on a regular basis.



LS

C''mon LS, you can''t expect them to work EVERYday!

For a brand new baby legal secretary fresh out of school, I give 2 weeks vac''n, 10 personal/sick days, they get 9 statutory holidays and 2 extra days at XMAS = 31 DAYS paid time off.


Yet I already have two who have used up 20+ days and it''s only mid-May.


Oh, and did you want them to show up for work on time?


Go up one or 2 generations and I have no attendance issues. Whatsoever. But the last few years the majority of my co-op placements or new grads have a sense of entitlement to ''free time off'' that is beyond belief. Oh, and that would be PAID free time off.


I actually had a parent call me once because I sent her baby home (unpaid) one day for showing up late on a regular basis. She said I wasn''t providing a ''supportive empathetic environment'' for baby girl. I''m running a LAW FIRM! empathetic + law firm is an oxymoron.


Makes me nuts. But then every once in a while I find one who is a GEM. THOSE I keep. And promote. And give raises to...etc etc....But it seems I have to go through 5 or 6 of them to find the keepers.


LS

Holy cow that''s a generous amount of leave! I get 3 weeks of vacation/sick time and 11 holidays (7 taken on schedule with the rest of the company, 4 "floating" to cover on days that most offices have off but we work). So I get 26, and I thought *that* was a ton for somebody right out of college. Ummm...need a secretary?

I''m punctual and a very hard worker.

 

[ladypirate]

I used to think I got a ton of time off at my job (3 weeks of vacation the first year, 4 weeks a year after that). Combine that with 35 hour work weeks and it seemed like a great deal! Then I realized that I actually work at least 45 hours a week and often more than that, work weekends at least once a month (3 out of 4 weekends this month) and that with everything going on at work, the chances of me being able to take all that vacation time are slim to none. I've taken...5 days off since January? And one of those was a sick day when I got the flu. I have actually worked more weekend hours than I've taken off at this point.

Darn salaried positions! I'm convinced it's just a ruse to get you to work free overtime. At least I love what I do.

 

[iluvcarats]

Date: 5/13/2009 11:53:47 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 5/13/2009 11:18:25 PM

Author: MC

It''s interesting how this has spiralled out of control from my initial post. All I said was two days per school year. . .not like I was saying once a month or just any old time one of my kids or I didn''t feel like getting out of bed.


Education is highly valued in my household. I spend hours a week volunteering at my kids'' school, so they see first hand how much I respect their school, education, teachers, AND what they are learning. If one of my kids did ''skip'' a day of school, say once a year, I highly doubt they''ll turn into a sloth!

It''s gotta be the overall picture. If a parent is NEVER involved and shows little interest in the child''s education and THEN gives the child too frequent R&R, the child is learning bad behavior! LOL (Okay, this is just hilarious! What am I debating here??? I''m just being silly, now. . .time for bed!

)

I don''t think your kids would turn into a sloth. I think why people would shake their heads is the parent''s (in this case, your) mentality that young children need a R&R day to get some alone time away from his sibling.


And parents who are never involved and who show little interest in a child''s education would probably not be so over coddling to think their kid needs a R&R day. It''s those that are overinvolved in their kid''s lives who ''project'' (per Deco''s definition). Just like refusal of vaccinations is happening in affluent communities, it''s the overparent who is thinking a little too hard about these things.


However, you kids, your life. If people put it out there on an Internet forum, I''ll make my judgment calls/opinions. But in the end, it''s none of my business.

I agree completely with Tgal. You asked, and people took thought and time to answer you.

Maybe we should change that old saying to "When the going gets tough, the tough take an R&R day"

 

[LostSapphire]

Date: 5/13/2009 11:18:25 PM
Author: MC
It''s interesting how this has spiralled out of control from my initial post. All I said was two days per school year. . .not like I was saying once a month or just any old time one of my kids or I didn''t feel like getting out of bed.

I apologize, MC for the threadjack. So sorry! One of my newbie staffers really got under my skin yesterday and my vent landed in your thread!

I''ll self-adminster some lashes with an al dente noodle.

LS

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 5/14/2009 8:17:03 AM
Author: iluvcarats

Date: 5/13/2009 11:53:47 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 5/13/2009 11:18:25 PM

Author: MC

It''s interesting how this has spiralled out of control from my initial post. All I said was two days per school year. . .not like I was saying once a month or just any old time one of my kids or I didn''t feel like getting out of bed.


Education is highly valued in my household. I spend hours a week volunteering at my kids'' school, so they see first hand how much I respect their school, education, teachers, AND what they are learning. If one of my kids did ''skip'' a day of school, say once a year, I highly doubt they''ll turn into a sloth!

It''s gotta be the overall picture. If a parent is NEVER involved and shows little interest in the child''s education and THEN gives the child too frequent R&R, the child is learning bad behavior! LOL (Okay, this is just hilarious! What am I debating here??? I''m just being silly, now. . .time for bed!

)

I don''t think your kids would turn into a sloth. I think why people would shake their heads is the parent''s (in this case, your) mentality that young children need a R&R day to get some alone time away from his sibling.


And parents who are never involved and who show little interest in a child''s education would probably not be so over coddling to think their kid needs a R&R day. It''s those that are overinvolved in their kid''s lives who ''project'' (per Deco''s definition). Just like refusal of vaccinations is happening in affluent communities, it''s the overparent who is thinking a little too hard about these things.


However, you kids, your life. If people put it out there on an Internet forum, I''ll make my judgment calls/opinions. But in the end, it''s none of my business.

I agree completely with Tgal. You asked, and people took thought and time to answer you.

Maybe we should change that old saying to ''When the going gets tough, the tough take an R&R day''

Ditto and ditto. I can''t even understand the thought process behind the OP (which brought about some interesting conversation, I thought). If a parent feels a child needs time sans sibling split the kids up for the day (on Saturday or Sunday) and give it to him/her. No need to disrupt the learning process so a kid can wander around the house alone "rejuvinating" (I''m going to ask my first graders if they even know what that means today and then see if they feel they need time to do so, once I explain the definition to them).

As TG said, your life, your kids, but you put it out there and ask for responses.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 5/13/2009 11:53:47 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 5/13/2009 11:18:25 PM
Author: MC
It''s interesting how this has spiralled out of control from my initial post. All I said was two days per school year. . .not like I was saying once a month or just any old time one of my kids or I didn''t feel like getting out of bed.

Education is highly valued in my household. I spend hours a week volunteering at my kids'' school, so they see first hand how much I respect their school, education, teachers, AND what they are learning. If one of my kids did ''skip'' a day of school, say once a year, I highly doubt they''ll turn into a sloth!

It''s gotta be the overall picture. If a parent is NEVER involved and shows little interest in the child''s education and THEN gives the child too frequent R&R, the child is learning bad behavior! LOL (Okay, this is just hilarious! What am I debating here??? I''m just being silly, now. . .time for bed!

)

I don''t think your kids would turn into a sloth. I think why people would shake their heads is the parent''s (in this case, your) mentality that young children need a R&R day to get some alone time away from his sibling.

And parents who are never involved and who show little interest in a child''s education would probably not be so over coddling to think their kid needs a R&R day. It''s those that are overinvolved in their kid''s lives who ''project'' (per Deco''s definition). Just like refusal of vaccinations is happening in affluent communities, it''s the overparent who is thinking a little too hard about these things.

However, you kids, your life. If people put it out there on an Internet forum, I''ll make my judgment calls/opinions. But in the end, it''s none of my business.

My response was in JEST! I wasn''t trying to defend anything I wrote. In fact I was *laughing* when I posted the above post that you have quoted TG!!!

(yep, it''s difficult to "hear" the tone when posted on the internet, and this is a prime example.) Like I said, I was being silly!

(oh an OT note, why do people write the "OP" rather than type out my user name? It takes two seconds to look up who I am. . .in fact, a person only has to scroll up a few posts to see "MC" started the thread! lol

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Oh, and I want to add, through bad experiences, I''ve learned not to post serious child-rearing questions. This thread was started just for fun! Neither of my kids are having R&R today!

In fact, we''re leaving in just a minute here for school.

With what I just said in mind, nothing you guys have posted has offended me because I wouldn''t have posted about this, knowing it could potentially turn ugly (which luckily it hasn''t)!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 5/14/2009 8:25:49 AM
Author: LostSapphire

Date: 5/13/2009 11:18:25 PM
Author: MC
It''s interesting how this has spiralled out of control from my initial post. All I said was two days per school year. . .not like I was saying once a month or just any old time one of my kids or I didn''t feel like getting out of bed.

I apologize, MC for the threadjack. So sorry! One of my newbie staffers really got under my skin yesterday and my vent landed in your thread!

I''ll self-adminster some lashes with an al dente noodle.

LS

There is nothing to apologize about!

 

[LostSapphire]

Date: 5/14/2009 10:59:25 AM
Author: MC

Date: 5/14/2009 8:25:49 AM
Author: LostSapphire

Date: 5/13/2009 11:18:25 PM
Author: MC
It''s interesting how this has spiralled out of control from my initial post. All I said was two days per school year. . .not like I was saying once a month or just any old time one of my kids or I didn''t feel like getting out of bed.

I apologize, MC for the threadjack. So sorry! One of my newbie staffers really got under my skin yesterday and my vent landed in your thread!

I''ll self-adminster some lashes with an al dente noodle.

LS

There is nothing to apologize about!

Hi MC

I try really hard to muzzle myself on PS because I''m always terrified of offending someone. So I usually delete when I find myself venting!

I''ve self-lashed with a noodle and feel far less guilt now than before!

LS

 

[asscherisme]

Date: 5/14/2009 10:57:54 AM
Author: MC
Oh, and I want to add, through bad experiences, I''ve learned not to post serious child-rearing questions. This thread was started just for fun! Neither of my kids are having R&R today!

In fact, we''re leaving in just a minute here for school.

With what I just said in mind, nothing you guys have posted has offended me because I wouldn''t have posted about this, knowing it could potentially turn ugly (which luckily it hasn''t)!

Thats what I love about this board. If someone asks for opinions, you will get opinions!!!!

Glad you have taken the responses for what they are, just opinions to the question asked

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 5/14/2009 10:53:42 AM
Author: MC

Date: 5/13/2009 11:53:47 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 5/13/2009 11:18:25 PM
Author: MC
It''s interesting how this has spiralled out of control from my initial post. All I said was two days per school year. . .not like I was saying once a month or just any old time one of my kids or I didn''t feel like getting out of bed.

Education is highly valued in my household. I spend hours a week volunteering at my kids'' school, so they see first hand how much I respect their school, education, teachers, AND what they are learning. If one of my kids did ''skip'' a day of school, say once a year, I highly doubt they''ll turn into a sloth!

It''s gotta be the overall picture. If a parent is NEVER involved and shows little interest in the child''s education and THEN gives the child too frequent R&R, the child is learning bad behavior! LOL (Okay, this is just hilarious! What am I debating here??? I''m just being silly, now. . .time for bed!

)

I don''t think your kids would turn into a sloth. I think why people would shake their heads is the parent''s (in this case, your) mentality that young children need a R&R day to get some alone time away from his sibling.

And parents who are never involved and who show little interest in a child''s education would probably not be so over coddling to think their kid needs a R&R day. It''s those that are overinvolved in their kid''s lives who ''project'' (per Deco''s definition). Just like refusal of vaccinations is happening in affluent communities, it''s the overparent who is thinking a little too hard about these things.

However, you kids, your life. If people put it out there on an Internet forum, I''ll make my judgment calls/opinions. But in the end, it''s none of my business.

My response was in JEST! I wasn''t trying to defend anything I wrote. In fact I was *laughing* when I posted the above post that you have quoted TG!!!

(yep, it''s difficult to ''hear'' the tone when posted on the internet, and this is a prime example.) Like I said, I was being silly!

(oh an OT note, why do people write the ''OP'' rather than type out my user name? It takes two seconds to look up who I am. . .in fact, a person only has to scroll up a few posts to see ''MC'' started the thread! lol

MC, I know you were jesting. I was clarifying as to why this thread may have "spiraled out of control."

 

[oobiecoo]

I am honestly VERY surprised that many of you seem to think that kids don''t get stressed or have no need to take a day off! Kids get stressed or stretched too thin with activities just like adults do! I see no problem with taking a day or two off for the kids to refresh if they are hard workers and good students. My parents let me do this a few times in elementary and middle school. In high school I did it WAY more because I simply had too much going on... and I managed to graduate with honors.

 

[pennquaker09]

When I was in high school, there were many times that I took a day off from school because, like obiecoo said, I had a lot going on. I was taking a full International Bacculaureate course load and college math classes. My parents didn''t mind and if my kids end up being honor students, I wouldn''t either.

When I was teaching, my first of the day was AP Chemistry and that''s a really difficult class. So, imagine having to go from one honors course to another without a break day after day. Your weekends are spent studying, so every now and then, I can see when a student needs a personal day.

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 5/14/2009 12:45:07 PM
Author: oobiecoo
I am honestly VERY surprised that many of you seem to think that kids don''t get stressed or have no need to take a day off! Kids get stressed or stretched too thin with activities just like adults do! I see no problem with taking a day or two off for the kids to refresh if they are hard workers and good students. My parents let me do this a few times in elementary and middle school. In high school I did it WAY more because I simply had too much going on... and I managed to graduate with honors.

I just don''t see how an elementary student can be that stressed out.

That said, my parents did pull me out of class for vacations and things like that. My dad didn''t get the luxury of taking summers off of work. His time off would be in May after the tax season so if he wanted to go somewhere for a long weekend, he''d have me skip school on a Friday. He didn''t lie about it either.

There was one time that my dad pulled me out of school around 10AM (I was in 5th grade) just to show me that he beat a card game on the computer. He and I had tried to beat it so many times and we were both really curious what happens after you beat the game. So when he did, he went and got me, showed me the screen, and then took me to Coney Island. Granted, he wasn''t just wanting to show me the card game...he wanted to spend time with me as he was feeling down. That day was *awesome.* I''ll never forget it.