Do kids need to take personal days from school? I was watching “The View” the other day and they were talking about an episode on the sitcom, “The Middle.” The young boy asked his parents if he could take a personal day.
Well that sparked a conversation between “The View” ladies about children being overscheduled. Actually, I tend to believe that there are times kids do need to take a personal day.
I don’t have any hard-and-fast rules when it comes to this. But if one of my children has been working hard and doing well in school and hasn’t missed any (or hardly any days) of school…they just might earn a personal day.
But I might also consider what is personally going on in their lives. If things have been particularly rough, they might get the option to stay home. This isn’t something I do on a frequent basis. It is a once-a-year treat.
Not all of my children have earned the right (yes, I do believe it is a right) to take a day off. And I have never called it a personal day, so they don’t even realize this is what they are getting.
At the same time, I do agree that many children are overscheduled. I think the only reason my children have never dealt with this issue is because I am too selfish. If they were to be overscheduled, I would be too.
I would have to be the one who drives them where they need to be. I would have to make accommodations for things to happen. And frankly, I do enough chauffeuring without adding on extra activities.
It’s not that my children have never been involved in something. But it has always been limited to one thing. And thankfully they have never really desired to do more than that.
What about you…what do you think about kids getting a personal day from school?
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Photo by ccarlstead in Flickr