to keep DD off school because she's knackered and it's going to be hot?

[ladymontdore]

She's in reception and exhausted. They are also meant to be going for a walk and a picnic, forecast is for 31degs!!
Also think she could do with a bit of mummy time, last chance tomorrow when dd2 is at preschool!
I would present it as 'I'm not letting you go' not 'it's a treat'. and she may really want to go on the picnic anyway!

Hear hear Caffeinedrip

I gave mine days off if they were knackerrd in reception and they have gone on to have good attendance when older, simply because as they got older they didn't get knackered and so didn't need the odd day off. It certainly didn't lead to an attitude that school wasn't important and fwiw their reception teachers agreed that sometimes they did just need the odd day off to rest, they certainly weren't going to learn anything if they were exhausted to the point of tears.

I wouldn't keep a child off just because it was hot but if they were exhausted and the heat contributed to them being unable to cope then the factors combined might make me think they needed a rest. As it is ds4 is shattered but he only has to get the end if wed and then its holidays so he has gone to school, if we still had weeks left if term I would have given him the day off. He has consistently come home from school, laid on his bed in his uniform and gone to sleep then I have had to wake him for dinner and he has been tired and tearful until going to bed at 6:30-7pm and then I have to wake him in the morning. We have a long walk to and from school as well which doesn't help, today dp was at home so took him on the bike seat which helped and thankfully sports week is now finished.

Some children can cope with the length if the school day and terms but for many little ones in reception it can be too much and the odd day off recharges them to cope, as they get older they don't need the rest.

Some people would probably expect those poor TA soldiers who died of heat stroke in Wales to get up from their death beds and "effin get back to work"!!!!! They were definitely wimps.

Agree totally 5madthings

Eh? Am I reading this correctly? A parent would keep a child off school because they "would rather keep an eye on their fluid intake on days like this".

Apart from the fact that it is quite warm and not blisteringly hot like the Middle East, I struggle to get my head around that degree of overparenting.

Oh and the reception DCs get very little chance to rest at school now.We used to have proper rest areas in every classroom but there's no room any more the poor little things are also made to do 'work' in the P.M. when it used to be free play. It may be better now but I don't reckon it is.

No clare people are saying that they try and realise even their child is exhausted and would gain more from a day to rest than propping their eyes open with match sticks in a hot stuffy classroom.

But of course they must send them in if only to absorb nothing and puke with the heat.

Clare-my ds was off for 2 days with heat exhaustion last week after a double games lesson outside in the heat. He is 12. He felt very very poorly.

And I imagine that the middle east is like the majority of countries with high temps where school starts early and finishes early so you can stay out of the strong afternoon sun.

Blimey, I've spent too much time living overseas to get my head around the lily liveredness of some of Britishers.

So what if your child is tired and a bit thirsty? They'll learn to drink maybe and possibly not learn that much. But they won't die.

But the alternative is much worse.

It's a bit hot. It's not Death Valley.

We should teach our children how to cope with life's less comfortable situations. Not dodge them. That's just lazy.

Caffeine why do you ignore the actual purpose of the thread which was that the OP wanted to keep her child home for some mummy time?

I've lived in the Middle East and yes, or course it is better set up for the blistering levels of heat.

But I've lived in China and Singapore where it's way way hotter and humid at times and Life Goes On. And yes, not always with aircon

Ditto Russia where it's the opposite but yes, children wrap up and still go to school.

Do you know what a child's reaction is to being to hot and exhausted. It is not "oooh pass the water. Or, good job it's not important I won't remember this"

It's to cry, alot, possibly faint or vomit. Good job the other kids aren't learning anything either hey.

The OP wanted to spend a day with her daughter.

If it wasn't too hot, there would have been another reason to keep her off. Too cold, too tired, too long a day.

She also said she was exhausted!!! And that they had a long walk and a picnic planned in 31 degree heat.

You seem to be ignoring that part

I have children (in hot countries) and know its sometimes tricky to get them to drink. But yes, if they are thirsty they will ask for water.

And although I'm not going to wish pain on them, I sometimes think going through discomfort is part of growing up. And you can talk to them about it to help them deal with such situations in the future.

If you have an issue, you should discuss it with the school but not keep your healthy child off.

Except I didn't, and I sent my child to school who came home very poorly

I've taught a lot of EYs and you have to REMIND them to drink and wear hats and make sure they stay in the shade (if you're a caring teacher) there are a few who may not. Also there some DCs who are allergic to suncream or who are sent to school without it. At the end of the term FFS give the teachers a break .

Did you call the school valiumredhead?

I did, they were apologetic and had done all the 'right' things such as drinks, hats, cream etc but 30 degree heat is too much for some kids, especially if you aren't used to it.

It's a bit hot. It's not Death Valley.

This is going to be my quote of the summer. Some people need to get a grip. And I say this as someone who doesn't even like the heat.

I have worked in schools overseas where the temperature regularly rises to 40 degrees in summer, there is no aircon and the buildings are built to cope with bitterly cold winters as well as hot summers. It simply isn't true to say that all hot countries are geared up to cope with the heat. What is true is that children are taught to cope with the heat.

I suffered with severe heatstroke on holiday as a child (in much hotter temperatures than we have here, now) and had to be taken to hospital. It was horrendous. However, my mother was told in no uncertain terms that it had happened because I hadn't been drinking enough and because I hadn't been protected properly from the sun, I should have been wearing a hat etc.

My own dd doesn't cope with the heat well either, but we don't have extreme heat in this country and she has been taught how to look after herself properly, so while the current weather might be a bit draining for her, I don't perceive it as a danger.

If the OP had concerns about the walk/picnic, why not ask what risk assessments had been carried out with regard to the hot weather? Perhaps they were planning to stay in the shade.

Well StuntGirl I'm sure the family of those soldiers who died of heat exhaustion on the welsh mountains will take comfort from that.

Actually that was an extreme but if valium's DC had been left for longer it may not have ended happily either.

Buildings have shutters, marble floors, thicker walls, schools start early etc in Mediterranean countries. It's easier to cool down as being inside usually means it's cooler. Suggest a picnic out in the sun mid afternoon to any of my Greek relatives and they would look at me like I was bonkers and suggest I wait until it was cooler in the early evening.

ppeatfruit, the OP wanted to take her child out of school for some mummy time.

That is not exactly what happened to those poor soldiers on the Welsh mountains.

Do you think they got to be in that position by staying off school to be with their mums?

Probably not if everyone wrote them off after one lousy day off at five at end of term.