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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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

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 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.

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

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

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 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.

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

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

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.