Will I regret missing my child's first day of kindergarten for a work trip? wwyd?

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to schedule travel for a weeklong business trip. I know I'm overthinking and that in the big scheme of see life it's not a big deal, but I'd welcome outside perspective. Thanks for indulging me.

I can return the evening before K starts for my only child, but it means missing out on an extra afternoon of networking with people that rarely are all in the same place. It could potentially be very useful for my career, but it's hard to tell since I've never been to this particular series of meetings before. It could also be a dud. If I stay, I'd get home the evening of the first day of K, hopefully before bedtime but not certain.

Kindergarten feels like a right of passage, and I'm sentimental, so it gives me pause to miss being there the morning it starts. In my child's mind, moving up to K is a Very. Big. Deal. I won't ask her, but I'm certain she'd say she wants me there. On the other hand, child has been in PK this year on the same campus, so it doesn't feel nearly as consequential as starting school for the first time.

WWYD?

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't miss the first day of K. You will never get that moment back again. Ever. You will, however, have business trips on the horizon again.

[Anonymous]

I had a board of directors meeting that I absolutely could not miss on the afternoon of my son's first day of K. I should have gone the night before but I was home for his first day. I left immediately after he got off to school and I wasn't there for when he came home, but it was the best I could do. I'd do what I could to be there if I were you, OP.

[Anonymous]

Can you find out more about what that evening event will be like? If it turns out to be a dud, sounds like you may be sorry you stayed for it.

[Anonymous]

Can you take a red eye home and make most of the networking event but still be home before your DD wakes up the next morning? You can always crash back to sleep after she's off to school, so you're fresh by the time she gets home.

[Anonymous]

It's kindergarten - whatever. You don't need to be there - make someone else take a first day pic.

[Anonymous]

First day of K for us was taking a picture in the morning. There was nothing particularly special about it. It would not have been a big deal for me to miss it. I think this is a family-by-family decision.

[Anonymous]

Is there another parent that could step in for pictures and extra encouragement? I think that would be sufficient. I agree that the approach would depend on the family.

[Anonymous]

It was very special for me and I made sure to work everything else around being able to walk my son to school and see him enter the doors on his first day of kindergarten. Only you will know if you'll regret not being there - I would have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was very special for me and I made sure to work everything else around being able to walk my son to school and see him enter the doors on his first day of kindergarten. Only you will know if you'll regret not being there - I would have.

When my kids went to kindergarten, I absolutely felt this way. Now, I see the first day of kindergarten as one drop in the big bucket of parenting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First day of K for us was taking a picture in the morning. There was nothing particularly special about it. It would not have been a big deal for me to miss it. I think this is a family-by-family decision.

+1

[Anonymous]

DH missed DD's first day of school (pre-school) for a work trip. Trip wasn't really avoidable, but it bothered him. Even though it was a ridiculous time difference (he was in Asia), he made a point to call when she was leaving and when she got back.

In the grand scheme of things, though, I think it's more about him than her. She's fine. He kind of regrets missing out. So, in the end, it's really just about how you think you'll feel in the long run. I don't think DH is that torn up about it either.

[Anonymous]

Does your child go to preschool? For us, kindergarten is not that different from PK3 and PK4 (same charter school, same classmates), so kindergarten does not seem particularly different for us or DD, just the start of a new school year. Still, I wouldn't want to miss the first day back to school for any grade, but if it was really important, I would.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Reschedule the trip. You may not care, but your kid probably will. Trust me.

[Anonymous]

Since it is the same school as last year for preK, I do not think this is a huge deal to miss. If another parent will be there, I would not feel horrible about missing it. I am less sentimental than some of these posters, but now as a mom of teens, I don't see that as a big event and truthfully do not really remember either of the first days of K (these were also just continuations of the same school). Other things rank much higher in my mind. To assuage guilt and make DC feel special, maybe schedule a special outing as soon as you get back (ice cream or something) for just the two of you where you focus on hearing about K, the teacher, etc.