I came across a Facebook post recently from a news station asking if people ever pull their kids out of school for family vacations as research for a story about parents who travel during off-peak times. How many days did they feel was reasonable and how did their kids catch up when they return? I thought this was an interesting topic to reflect on and that I would share some of the general responses people had as well as my own thoughts and experiences.
Most of the people who responded to the post expressed that missing school for family travel was not only ok, but worthwhile. The biggest motivator for traveling outside school breaks is usually cost savings. Even some teachers posted saying they supported their students missing days for vacation as it’s often a great learning opportunity. Many people indicated the value of family time and taking advantage of travel whenever you can since you only have so many years with your children at home. Most people that said they would pull their children out of school for travel also said that they try to minimize how much school their children miss and let the teacher know ahead of time.
I noted fewer responses from people who would not let their children miss school for travel at all. Some of those noted that their children already struggled in school and it would not be in their best interest to miss days unnecessarily. Others said they would only let their children miss school for travel under very special circumstances, such as for a family wedding or other important event. Some said they would only pull their children out of school in the elementary grades but not in middle or high school.
I think like most people, I lean towards the former. We definitely try to minimize the number of days our kids miss school due to vacation by lining it up with weeks when they would already be missing at least one day anyway for a holiday or teacher workshop. Our kids also have generally great attendance and do well in school overall, so it hasn’t seemed to have been an issue so far. Our oldest daughter is only in sixth grade so maybe that will change as they get older. In addition to school, we are usually also trying to minimize how much time they miss of their extracurricular activities and avoid major conflicts with those as well as our own work calendars.
Next week is February break for my kids and it sounds like some of their classmates have already been out at least part of this week, likely either extending their vacation or trying to travel slightly off-peak times. The other day my second grader was upset about one of her friends being out this entire week. She couldn’t understand why she had to miss school this week when they are off next week anyway. I tried explaining to her some of the reasons why her parents may have decided to travel this week instead and her response was – “They should have called ‘Anne Can Plan!’”. How sweet is that? My own little marketing rep. Of course, I’ll gladly book your vacation any week of the year, friends. No judgement here! Thanks for reading and happy travels!