How many sick (fun/vacation days vs sick) do you take for your kids?

[Anonymous]

Is it acceptable to say your kid needs a mental health dayoff? I would like to take my ADHD son skiing for a day to burn some of his energy but do it on a less crowded Day.

[Anonymous]

I would just take the unexcused absence. Don't lie and say he's sick.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't for a day ski trip. Just go on one of the many many random days off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would just take the unexcused absence. Don't lie and say he's sick.

Agreed. When you do, it forces the child to lie.

One or two unexcused absences a year are not a big issue.

[Anonymous]

That's wonderful thing to do for your kid. I wouldn't lie or ask the kid to lie. (I also wouldn't say we were going skiing - maybe just taking a short family trip.)

[Anonymous]

Totally acceptable for a kid to take a mental health day.

[Anonymous]

Yeah. For ES kids I'd just do that. Being with a parent and doing something productive or active is very valuable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would just take the unexcused absence. Don't lie and say he's sick.

At my children's school, unless you have a doctor's note, it is going to be an unexcused absence regardless of what the parent says.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't for a day ski trip. Just go on one of the many many random days off.

+1

If you skip school, what are you teaching your kid about the importance of education?

[Anonymous]

I don't take my kid out of school unless he's actually sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Totally acceptable for a kid to take a mental health day.

Is there anything that would not count as a mental health day? How then do you distinguish it from a vacation day?

While legitimate mental health issues have often been ignored or discounted, it seems like people are now abusing the system by deciding that their feeling like a day off warrant a “mental health day” where a sick day can be used instead of vacation/unexcused absence.

[Anonymous]

Are you asking for your kid (i.e. what to tell the school), or for yourself (what to tell your employer)? Actually, it doesn't make that much of a difference. If you're going skiing, it's a vacation, not a sick day. By that standard, all vacation would be sick days, because it's good for your mental health. Now if you had a full-days' worth of neuropsych testing, for instance, that would be a legitimate sick day.

[Anonymous]

How is the thread title related to the question ?
Anyway, OP, do what you want. I agree with not asking kid to lie. Kid will probably talk about what he did on his day off to his friends. Just accept that it’s unexcused. Don’t pick a test day, the consequences to unexcused are not high in elem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would just take the unexcused absence. Don't lie and say he's sick.

At my children's school, unless you have a doctor's note, it is going to be an unexcused absence regardless of what the parent says.

This is a terrible policy. Every sickness - most, in fact - does not require a doc visit.

[Anonymous]

I think my son has had 2 unexcused days in his entire schooling (he is in 9th grade now). His dad was visiting and had to leave on a Friday night so I let him take off Thursday and Friday so he could spend time with him.