To consider keeping DC off school?

[lalalooo]

I think I may get flamed for this but keen to hear others' opinions.

We are going to my sister's wedding in NZ over Easter. We are taking DS with us, he's in reception. School have' allowed us' to take him out for 4 days of the school term as he won't be home when they start back after Easter. I am considering also keeping him off school two days before we go (so the last two days of term) because DS is frequently ill and I don't want him to catch anything before we leave. He's had 3 tummy bugs, chicken pox and a chest infection since starting in September. I know this is all common in first year of school but quite frankly can't bare the thought of sick child on 26 hour journey.

Am I being totally ridiculous to even consider doing this? Should add we are taking school work with us and he is doing well at school and has good attendance (luckily for school most previous illness fell in holidays and at weekend!!)

I wouldn't think twice about it. He's only 4 I'm guessing so doesn't have to be in school / education yet formally.
Have fun!

I would say that is ridiculous, yes. He could catch a bug at the airport, or 3 days before you leave.

How old is he?
I wouldn't do it. You are as likely to pick up a bug at the shops or waiting at the airport as at school. And are you really going to do a lockdown and refuse to leave the house for 48 hrs before you fly home for the same reason?

He's 5 so he does need to be In school by law I believe

My son has also had constant bugs since starting YR, definitely far more than he ever caught at any other point in his life (we've been through millions of airports, supermarkets, toddler groups etc. wasn't until he started school that he constantly got sick) so I would do it.

So send him to school!

'He's 5 so he does need to be In school by law I believe'

Correct. But deregistering seems a little extreme for these circumstances.

Because although you do not have to enroll a child under compulsory age at school, if you choose to, they are expected to attend. You cannot be fined, but all other attendance management procedures can be activated.

He's surely more likely to catch something on the plane?

But he could catch anything anywhere! I don't think a couple of days will make much difference...

Actually it depends on when he was 5. The law says that he legally needs to be in school at the start of the term after
His 5th Birthday. So if he turned 5 after January the. He doesn't legally have to attend until the start of the term
after the Easter Holidays.

Yes yabu.

To keep him off school in case he catches a bug sounds incredibly precious.

My friend has just come back from an abroad holiday. They have all been really poorly while they were away and I don't know anyone locally here who has had similar symptoms to them. A bloke on the plane apparently coughed so much he was sick though, so no amount of missing school would have helped them stay well.
As I understood the law around school attendance, no children don't have to attend until the term after they turn five, but if you choose to send them before this you need to follow the school attendance policy.
So yes, i do think Yanu and that this is a really daft reason to keep your ds off school.

If they're already giving him 4 days off then you're being really unfair to keep him off further.

And 2 days incubation isn't long at all. If you start thinking 2 days will make the difference, what when you hear chicken pox/scarlet fever/hand, foot and mouth/slapped face etc. are going round which have longer periods.

That's not true meditrina. Below Compulsory School Age a child doesn't count as part of the school's absence figures and you can't be penalised for any absence. You can send them part time if you wish. My dd attends Reception two days a week.

The term after their fifth birthday they have to legally attend school. When was he five? It wouldn't bother me as reception is largely play based and therefore he would be learning a lot from the experience etc and it would be a one off. I get the logistics of what you're saying. But two days aren't needed. Maybe just one.

A colleague of mine has just left for Australia to live. Literally 2 hours 25 minutes ago. Her kids were in school until Friday afternoon and her daughter even did her piano exam. They will be fine

Pp is right though, two days will make no difference and it's unnecessary

Keep him off by all means (your choice) but you're preventing bugger all by doing so.

I would consider that actually. My son also picks up every bug going in school too. We live overseas and when we are flying home, sometimes I keep him from his swimming lessons that week just in case he catches something. (I'm a teacher)

Have you considered or tried other ways of preventing illness? For example by boosting his immune system via diet or supplements? There is also some research/theories which suggests using a saline nasal spray each day can help keep cold bugs at bay (it seems to have helped my DS although it could be his immune system maturing).

I hope you have a fabulous time away.... sounds amazing!

I'd keep him off, my DS used to catch everything and we've had to pull out of loads of things last minute because if it. It totally depends on how your DS responds to being poorly, my DS1 used to get really poorly so I wouldn't hesitate to have kept him off if we had something important to get to. DS2 has never really been ill apart from a few sniffles which have never bothered him so I maybe wouldn't have with him.

YABVU, you do realise he could catch something sooner than just the two days before and germs don't just live at school.

This is literally one of the most precious things I've ever heard! 😂😂

Most illnesses need an incubation period longer than two days so you'd need to keep him off fur at least a week before you go!