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Original poster

Unaceptable taking a "snow day" when schools are open

409 replies

Creambun2 · 28/02/2018 11:28

It really annoys me that the vast majority of schools are open in my area, yet many, many children have been taken out of school by parents "to enjoy the snow". Talk about lack of respect for the staff and other pupils who bother to turn up. We only have a couple of cm of snow!

OP posts:
Theimpossiblegirl · 01/03/2018 20:09

My school had to shut at 1 to ensure a safe journey home for children and teachers. Parents who chose not to bring their children in at all were put down as authorised on personal safety grounds. Totally fair.

How often do we get snow? My year 4 class don't remember the last good snowfall, it is exciting and rare, let them enjoy it.

Theimpossiblegirl · 01/03/2018 20:13

All of the children who did make it in to school had a lovely time playing together in the snow, with the option of a warm room /dvd if they wanted to warm up. We had no complaints at all, our parents know we are just trying to do the right thing by everyone.

macbethh · 01/03/2018 20:16

If they're primary school, I don't see the harm honestly

ChocolateKeepsMeGoing · 01/03/2018 20:29

This weather is not exactly typical in the UK.

I think keeping the kid(s) off school for 1 day, making fun and happy memories that will stay with them a lot longer than 1 day of school is a good thing. Whether the family (or with friends) play outside for 6 hours or snuggle up watching movies all day, we remember the moments not the days.

Let kids be kids and let their parents make that decision without critisising bloody everything!

stayathomer · 01/03/2018 20:52

Would you not assume if they're off school it's because their parents didn't think it was safe to drive to school? And that because they were home they were allowed walk to the park to play in the snow etc?

stayathomer · 01/03/2018 20:53

Ps our school doesn't allow the children to play in snow, even when there was a tiny amount the kids were kept in

Blueink · 01/03/2018 21:16

Plenty of opportunity to ‘enjoy’ snow, missing school is totally unnecessary if u can get there safely & the school is open. Entitled mentality might see it otherwise

ShiverMeTimberz · 01/03/2018 21:19

Ooooh bust out that old MN fave 'entitled'. That'll have 'em quaking!

Blueink · 01/03/2018 21:23

I’ll go old fashioned with selfish & pathetic then!!

ShiverMeTimberz · 01/03/2018 21:25

With two exclamation marks no less. Goodness me.

ShiverMeTimberz · 01/03/2018 21:27

Strange how emotional and hostile some people get about when other people choose to parent in a slightly different way.

Strygil · 01/03/2018 21:36

We struggled in with my son yesterday to find that only eleven out of his class of thirty had turned in, and we got a message at 1300 to say we could go and collect him whenever we wanted to. The school also said that absences yesterday would not be counted as unauthorised [although they clearly were - a number of the parents in the class are the sort who simply can't be arsed to stir themselves]. More than that he spent the whole day watching videos and playing games. So today, with overnight snow having made the roads even more difficult than they were yesterday, we rang in at 8.30 to say he would not be attending school on the grounds that he could watch videos and play games at home, and that if this absence were to be recorded as unauthorised we would make a formal complaint. There are times when this country makes me sick, and this is one of them: six inches of snow and we cave in. Spineless or what?

Abbylee · 01/03/2018 21:57

The US snow day system is up to the individual districts. Some parts of America are used to 4"-6" of snow every day or so and wouldn't think of closing until 12" But others stop school at a few inches bc it's unusual and treacherous to inexperienced drivers.
Snowy areas have snow days built into the calendar year and so don't add days to summer unless it's unusually light or heavy.

Also kids have to go out to recess into the teens f°. (32°F = 0c)

Booboo66 · 01/03/2018 22:50

Im not overly bothered about people taking one snow day to play and make the most of it. Let’s face it this weather is rare for most communities. What is getting me is the number of people who have kept their kids home because ‘it’s too cold to go out’ ‘kids should be safe indoors’ when they have a 5 minute walk down the road to a warm school . We have a 45 minute morning school walk in all and do it in all weathers, ours have been closed since Wednesday due to being in the red warning area and we’ve spent 6 hours out in the -12 to -17 windchill, my dd who are 5 and 8 have loved every second. I feel sad there are so many kids being kept home and indoors.

Fairynormal · 01/03/2018 22:53

. We live at the top of a very steep hill and they are all taken to school by car, I have kept my children at home because my oldest DS has disabilities and cannot regulate his own temperature, the car would slide down the hill and definitely would not get back up, I am disabled and have to use a wheelchair and the kids schools are too far away for me to "walk" to collect them if school closed during the day, my husband drives, but has severe arthritis and I don't want him falling and breaking bones. I have DS and DD at one school and DS at another, the school where DS goes have now taken the decision to close tomorrow, but the school where DS &DD go are still opening, 150 children attended today out of 1000, they have only been able to provide food at one break, not both breaks, I have requested work for DS & DD but this has been ignored.

Muddle1977 · 01/03/2018 22:53

Whilst I appreciate your view it's not the same in all cases. I have a 13 year old who has lots of medical conditions and attends a special school which has been closed since Tuesday due to treacherous conditions.

The primary school that my 7 year old attends has been open all week. I kept him off yesterday. I also have a 2 year old little girl and I myself have health problems currently under review at the hospital. I could not leave my 2 year old with my eldest, it would be unsafe to do so and although the school is a 20 minute walk away I didn't feel physically able to push my 2 year old in a pushchair through the snow.

This morning I managed to drive my 7 year old to school but wish I hadn't bothered. The nearby car park and paths to the school were an ice skating rink. My little girl fell over 4 times even with me holding her hand and my son slipped too. We ended up walking up the road as it was less slippery but still a risk. The school felt it necessary to send a letter justifying why they have kept it open which is all good and well but they (& others) don't think of the wider picture. They'd made a good job of clearing and salting the playground and paths immediately outside the school but didn't consider the safety of pupils, parents or staff walking in on the untreated paths.

In the afternoon I wrapped my little girl up well and walked her in her pushchair but wish I hadn't. It was a nightmare getting it through the snow and battling with the wind. I felt quite I'll by the time I got home and exhausted now. I'd hoped the snow would have been more compacted today.

So to me my son missing a day of education or two due to bad weather isn't an issue for me and I should have kept him at home today too. Will schools start sending homework home when kids are ill as they're missing education?! Fair enough if they're older and studying for exams but does it really matter....I think not. So don't judge those parents who take their kids out on snowy days because there can be other factors as to why they have.

I missed days when snowy when I was younger and I haven't struggled!

DiegoMadonna · 01/03/2018 23:06

It's funny that our classrooms are massively overcrowded, and then when half the class don't show up we complain that they're selfish and "entitled".

I'd love my child to be in a class of 11 instead of 30 for a change! Why would that be a negative thing for me or him??

Cardiganqueen71 · 01/03/2018 23:07

I don’t have kids. But I pay a huge amount of tax for other people’s kids to be educated. I don’t mind that a bit. But I do mind if the school is open and the kids aren’t there. They should be at school to learn. End of. No excuses apart from safety, and if the school seems it’s safe to open, parents should get their kids there.

cloudspotter · 01/03/2018 23:12

Why does everyone care so much about what other people do?

Each to their own. I sent mine in because I was working, but then another time I might decide to let them enjoy a day in the snow.

I can't understand why thus brings out the pitchfork mentality in so many people.

ShiverMeTimberz · 01/03/2018 23:13

We all pay taxes for things we don't use. That's the way our society works. But what kind of saddo would you be to get all 'End of. No excuses' knickers in a knot stylee over a very rare impromptu snow day? The world must be very aggravating indeed for these people who are so easily stressed over something that has literally no bearing on their day.

Unclench and let it go.

Ljtiling · 01/03/2018 23:43

Well it's outrageous that our young children should have the chance to be happy and play in the snow!!!! Every once in every 5 years now, actually just behaving like children and having fun with their parents, making memories that will stay with them for ever!! How selfish us parents can be, its also educational for children to learn how different the climate can be, so not that selfish of parents after all, especially when my kids school closed since Tuesday even though we have walked that way every day since it's been closed... So i will be sending a letter to the school regarding the teachers attendance😉

Ljtiling · 01/03/2018 23:58

Well you pay taxes for other kids to be educated.... I suppose just like my mum and dad paid taxes!!!! So I assume you was a kid once??? So on your not well educated statement : they contributed to your education, just like my nan and grandad did for those younger than them!!!! E.g your parents and my parents future.... So you think by saying you have no kids is a positive thing, think again and actually puts you at the top of the list of selfishness????

tinkywinky2018 · 02/03/2018 00:00

I don’t have kids. But I pay a huge amount of tax for other people’s kids to be educated

You really don't. By the time your taxes have paid for the thousand other things you personally do use, there won't be anything left to go towards teaching other peoples children. So you can stop caring about whether other people kids have a bloody snow day.

tillytrotter1 · 02/03/2018 00:05

So i will be sending a letter to the school regarding the teachers attendance😉

You might like to ask for a lesson in the use of apostrophes as well.

When this happened during my time at the chalkface I changed the planned lesson and did something really hard, some of the skivers never caught up.

Ljtiling · 02/03/2018 03:05

??? !!!
Please explain🤗
🐔🐓🐔🐓

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