Keeping child off school because it's their birthday!

catkins

Torry_Quine wrote: »

Yes I agree that birthdays are special but especially if you are in a couple and working to arrange for both of you to be off seems rather extreme to me. It's different if self-employed as you are in control of when you work.

Even when my OH was not self employed we both took my birthday and his birthday off. I don't see why both of you taking a day off would seem strange.

ska_lover wrote: »

I think the family in question probably thought it was none of your business - hence it not going down very well. They would be correct, it really isn't anyone elses business

Sticking the 'irresponsible parenting' label on is a bit OTT and judgemental.

I think you should try and not judge people so harshly. There is no such thing as the perfect parent - and we can only do the best we can, at the time.

You're not being judgemental at all are you? I didn't make a negative comment I just expressed surprise because I was surprised! It seems a silly reason to keep a child from school and to lie and say they were ill is not setting the child a good example and also in my opinion is irresponsible parenting. It seems some other posters agree with me

ska_lover

Torry_Quine wrote: »

When I was working I never took a day off unless it was a genuine illness and that's not me boasting just being factual. I think it is very irresponsible for instance to drink alcohol to excess if working the next day, surely that's not such a strange concept.

You would think so, but the figures of days lost through sickness say otherwise - and you may be in the minority for being so honest

ska_lover

catkins wrote: »

You're not being judgemental at all are you? I didn't make a negative comment I just expressed surprise because I was surprised! It seems a silly reason to keep a child from school and to lie and say they were ill is not setting the child a good example and also in my opinion is irresponsible parenting. It seems some other posters agree with me

That is cool, really. It doesn't make me break a sweat when others don't agree with my view point - I don't need approval.

In your OP you did ask what other people think, but seemingly the only opinion you want to hear, is one agreeing with you.

If it makes you happy when people back you up, and click that little ''thanks'' button - then that is great

I think the other parent knew what was being insinuated there, hence the reaction you got.

Person_one

ska_lover wrote: »

No one on this thread ever taken an unauthorised absence from work - pulled a sickie?

Um, I never have. Surely its a small minority who do this? Especially in the era of strict sickness policies.

daisiegg

Person_one wrote: »

Um, I never have. Surely its a small minority who do this? Especially in the era of strict sickness policies.

Ditto. I have never called in sick unless I was genuinely too unwell to go in. Mind you, I have ended up having quite a bit of time off sick for various, unavoidable reasons, so I would not add to that unless I had to!

Torry_Quine

catkins wrote: »

Even when my OH was not self employed we both took my birthday and his birthday off. I don't see why both of you taking a day off would seem strange.

Other than my cousin it's not something I've ever thought people did, taking a single day off seems rather unusual to me. That said if someone took a day off on it's own how do people know the reason as I never knew when birthdays were?

ska_lover

Person_one wrote: »

Um, I never have. Surely its a small minority who do this? Especially in the era of strict sickness policies.

One would like to hope so lol, and it is impossible to tell how many people are faking illness to get out of work - all we can see are the figure of how many days productivity are lost each year through sickness, and it would be impossible to figure who the blaggers were.

I think if you work with a blagger you would know who they were, as I have worked with one, who used to admit to me that they were doing it. The job was stressful and they struggled to cope. One day this person was walking around a shop in town, on a sickie day - and bumped into another member of our team also throwing a sickie. I can't imagine how AWKWARDDDDD that conversation must have been hahaha

alias*alibi

ska_lover wrote: »

No one on this thread ever taken an unauthorised absence from work - pulled a sickie?

According to reports last year, something like 131 million work days were lost in the UK with a large proportion of them being for minor 'illness' like hangover, or people just fancying a day off

Clearly millions of adults don't think pulling a unauthorised absence from their own responsibilities is a big deal - with clearly a lot more riding on it such as mortgage payments etc, rather than a missed sports day or something

Exactly; those in glass houses shouldn't cast the first stone. Fed up with reading all this 'bad parenting' rubbish on here from the holier than thou bunch. I'm taking my DD out of school first week of September because it's cheaper to holiday so she will miss her first week in a new class in the upper school. Shock horror, stone me to death now for my atrocious parenting.

Peter333

I actually can't see a massive amount wrong with it. All three of mine used to go in to school for the morning on their birthday, and come home at lunchtime (about 12.30-ish.) Then they'd go to the cinema in the afternoon with their mother (and me if I had the afternoon off too: depends how my days fell back then.) And then they would have a little party at around 4-ish and their pals would come straight from school to it.

The teachers knew they were leaving the premises at about 12.30-1pm, and they knew why. It's never done any of them any harm. In fact, they looked forward to their birthday immensely, because they got the afternoon off. Plus, sometimes, their birthday has been at the weekend or on a 'PD day' anyway. The school used to have plenty of these when it suited them, so it would be somewhat hypocritical for them to begrudge a child an afternoon off for their birthday.

But my lot are grown (20 plus,) and back in the day, the school were not as strict, and anal as they are now.

I know that many disagree, but it was tradition in our family, the school didn't mind, and as I said, it did them no harm. There was never ever anything important going on at the school on any of their birthdays: ever.

Peter333

alias*alibi wrote: »

Exactly; those in glass houses shouldn't cast the first stone. Fed up with reading all this 'bad parenting' rubbish on here from the holier than thou bunch. I'm taking my DD out of school first week of September because it's cheaper to holiday so she will miss her first week in a new class in the upper school. Shock horror, stone me to death now for my atrocious parenting.

No, that is too harsh. But you SHOULD have your kids taken off you! :rotfl:

I am joking of course.

Enjoy your holiday!