To ask if you can think of an excuse which will get 11yo off PE for the rest of term?

[HelloKittyGirl]

Just that, basically. What would get her off games for a few weeks?

@Momicrone

Aren't you building her up to be the sort of person who just takes sick days off work willy nilly

Yeah, because everyone who skives PE in year 7 goes on to be a lazy good for nothing who never turns up for work and takes the day off to watch This Morning

PE is important

Uh, why, exactly?

[quote worriedatthemoment]@5foot5 why would a verucca swing it , its not bare foot
Pretty sure they don't do waltzing now
Most of the ones complaining are comparing to pe 30/40 years ago
They do so much more now in schools
Trampolining , badminton, wheelchair basketball all sorts [/quote]
Trampolining and badminton are no better. In fact making a child who struggles with coordination exercise on a trampoline in front of everyone else would be awful. And any racquet/bat sport can be just about impossible for these children.

If people have never felt the humiliation that PE brings to those who can't do it, they will never understand how it feels, nor the damage it does.

I offer no suggestions because I think it is wrong. What I think you should be doing OP is finding out why your DD does not like or want to do PE. One thing where I think schools should improve is in the range of sport/exercise offered, and in the clothing worn.

To those people who go on about getting out of Maths and English - do you have to take your clothes off and put other clothes on in those lessons?
And what exactly happens in Maths that could make you blow a kneecap?

Answers please.

Doctors note if it's affecting her mental health
Mine had one for drama

A walk to school isn't adequate and PE is about team work, different sports and exercise is important for younger people. She doesn't need a library and can do work at home. It's a really odd request tbh

[quote FrazzledMCPremenopausalWoman]@MermaidEyes me too - I was bullied incessantly in PE by teachers and students, due to my lack of coordination and clumsiness. I suppose nowadays I'd be diagnosed with dyspraxia or similar.
I also had horrendous periods and any form of movement was torture.
Unfortunately, on our first day of school we were addressed by the head of PE in the changing rooms and told that periods were not an excuse for missing a lesson, exercise was good for period pain, letters from parents wouldn't be accepted etc.
She was an absolute, utter bitch who made my life hell for the whole five years.[/quote]
@FrazzledMCPremenopausalWoman - my teacher was only one for a year when I was 9 and she also was my form teacher who taught and loved maths which I disliked (preferred English). Because she was so nasty re maths and PE I had real issues with them after this but luckily played rounders with friends. Unsurprisingly she’s a sad lonely old woman whom I sometimes see round my old local area but never say hello to.

In my secondary school one was rough as hell so PE could be challenging but I liked and enjoyed dance lessons (Fame! on tv had just started airing) and we also did volleyball a few times which I liked too. In my private school we had nice PE teachers who could see I didn’t like it but encouraged me and I got better at rounders but hated netball. Once we did meditation in class and I used to do this at home and I recall teacher being impressed I could do it,

I sort of wish my parents had encouraged me (DF was a champion runner and hurdler and played for England and Arsenal schoolboys but he divorced my mum when I was young and then didn’t see him til
I was 13) but mum hated PE as no good at school and they only encouraged us in walking, tennis and swimming. Though did pay for horse riding etc. A very sporty friend from primary school (netball Queen etc) doesn’t play it at all now, neither does her friend). The two sporty pin up boys one joined army and is a part time personal trainer and the other played tennis for years in local courts. Other local very sporty boy got out of condition in 20s, had back issue and got very overweight until he lost loads recently.

She's old enough to try to come up with her own ideas for getting out of PE. Tell her to get creative, and see what happens!

So many on here are talking about how much they hated PE. I hated PE so what we had to get on with it we were not allowed the excuse im on my period unless it was swimming. And this is only temporary until the weather improves …

In life we will often come across things we do not like, do not want to do, not want to engage in. Few children will love every single class at school. My family is never going to be an artist finds art boring and a waste of time should I pull him out so he can do what he would prefer How many children love doing their homework. Not many …

This entitled attitude is awful and who are the first parents to complain about others acting entitled usually the ones that allow their children to be. So many parents have this attitude it’s shocking if there is real concerns then discuss with the school but they should still have to participate in some way not wonder off to do something they prefer (homework in class time)

My ds not family (have no idea why that changed to my family..)

You’re not even saying she doesn’t like sport or that she’s terrible at it, you said she’ll deign to do it when the weather gets better. All these people going on about the trauma of PE is irrelevant, she just doesn’t like the cold. Just tell her to get on with it.

We just used to hide in the toilets if there was a lesson we couldn't face - usually PE! I'm not sure if you could get away with this these days.
I think children do need to know that you can't just avoid anything you don't fancy doing because life's not like that.
PE might not be her bag but it's all good exercise and I think it's sad so many girls start losing interest in sports at secondary school. I appreciate it's usually because of becoming more cost-conscious and having insecurities about their size/shape - but the kit today is a thousand times better than the silly little netball skirts we had to wear (we weren't allowed to wear shorts underneath either! Remember feeling so self-conscious and paranoid at certain times of the month)
Nowadays girls can wear shorts, leggings, jogging pants etc which is so much better.
I'd want to get to the bottom of the problem with her to find out why she doesn't want to do it.

@inheritancetrack

A walk to school isn't adequate and PE is about team work, different sports and exercise is important for younger people. She doesn't need a library and can do work at home. It's a really odd request tbh

Not this again. You don't learn a thing about teamwork if you're the child who is last to be chosen for a team every single week, the child no-one wants in their team, the child who is worse than everyone else at whatever game they are playing, and who lives in dread of PE lessons every week.

Anyone else think the OP is being a bit of a joke. It's shocking that she's willing to lie and teach her daughter to fake an illness 😞

@Intheopinionofourexpert I agree, hence my suggestion to the OP to find out why her DD wants to miss PE. Things such as team selection can be changed.

@Tabitha888

Anyone else think the OP is being a bit of a joke. It's shocking that she's willing to lie and teach her daughter to fake an illness 😞

I really can't decide if you're being serious or not.

Loads of kids skive PE and yes, their parents often help them

@Piglet89 I really regret my parents not emphasising sport from a young age. Even now, my mum has the warped idea that you can’t actually be academic and sporty.

My parents thought the same. I would complain I was crap at sport (I was!!) and they would say "never mind, you're good at English and Maths, we're not a sporty family" and that would be it. I was quite good at running but by the time I discovered that, my PE teachers had written me off because I was shit at ball games and my parents were not very interested.

With my own kids I encourage them to try different things and always say that with practise there is always the chance to be better than how you started. Lots of people expect them to be good at running because that's my hobby but thats not their thing and I'm ok with that. I want them to find something they enjoy.

@HelloKittyGirl

Those asking what will change in a few weeks time…

The weather!

(Although yes, I do realise there’ll be other years before anyone points that out. The PE requirement at her school drops quite considerably though after Year 9)

She's in Y7 and doesn't like PE because of - apparently - "the weather" in winter.

What are you planning for Y8, 9, 10 and 11, @HelloKittyGirl ?

Moreover, you're teaching your child at a young age that lying to evade something you don't much like but are obliged to do is acceptable.

doorornottodoor

I think it’s a shame that people are projecting their hatred of PE onto their children. Things have changed so much. I’m a teacher and our PE staff are lovely, really approachable and want the best for for the children. It’s not just about sport it’s about the mental and physical health boost of exercise. Setting up good habits. There should be something for everyone in this day and age“

You’re right, an awful lot of projecting on this thread.
As a PP said, PE really isn’t like Kes any more.
I have the late middle aged memories of serge knickers and having to “country dance” in the baking sun until my feet were blistered but it’s just not like that anymore.
Our two otherwise pretty lazy kids really enjoyed their PE lessons because of a wide choice of activities and really engaging teachers who made it fun. They set up good habits for life.

Trampolining and badminton are no better. In fact making a child who struggles with coordination exercise on a trampoline in front of everyone else would be awful. And any racquet/bat sport can be just about impossible for these children

If people have never felt the humiliation that PE brings to those who can't do it, they will never understand how it feels, nor the damage it does

It is practice that is all. It is easier for kids whose parents did coordination things with them from a young age, or for people who have inherited the aptitude from parents, but everyone NT is capable of learning to a standard which would be enjoyable and beneficial. Practice makes a huge difference and people who are put off at the beginning because it is hard and seemingly impossible can be encouraged to keep trying, until they see progress. Or could be encouraged to not even try, as you say.

Benefits of exercise, trampolining, running are significant for brain health, mental health, other aptitudes

@MrsSkylerWhite

doorornottodoor

I think it’s a shame that people are projecting their hatred of PE onto their children. Things have changed so much. I’m a teacher and our PE staff are lovely, really approachable and want the best for for the children. It’s not just about sport it’s about the mental and physical health boost of exercise. Setting up good habits. There should be something for everyone in this day and age“

You’re right, an awful lot of projecting on this thread.
As a PP said, PE really isn’t like Kes any more.
I have the late middle aged memories of serge knickers and having to “country dance” in the baking sun until my feet were blistered but it’s just not like that anymore.
Our two otherwise pretty lazy kids really enjoyed their PE lessons because of a wide choice of activities and really engaging teachers who made it fun. They set up good habits for life.

This. I'm amazed at the range of sports that my DCs got to try at their (state) primary, and secondary is working out to be pretty awesome too. Girl's especially need should be encouraged to participate in exercise and activity. If the OP had said her DD was doing XYZ activity outside of school I may be every so slightly more to understanding, but just walking to school is not enough!

@usinon

Trampolining and badminton are no better. In fact making a child who struggles with coordination exercise on a trampoline in front of everyone else would be awful. And any racquet/bat sport can be just about impossible for these children

If people have never felt the humiliation that PE brings to those who can't do it, they will never understand how it feels, nor the damage it does

It is practice that is all. It is easier for kids whose parents did coordination things with them from a young age, or for people who have inherited the aptitude from parents, but everyone NT is capable of learning to a standard which would be enjoyable and beneficial. Practice makes a huge difference and people who are put off at the beginning because it is hard and seemingly impossible can be encouraged to keep trying, until they see progress. Or could be encouraged to not even try, as you say.

Benefits of exercise, trampolining, running are significant for brain health, mental health, other aptitudes

It really isn't just practise. I played tennis at school for years. I was no better in the 6th form than I was in the first. Some people just aren't able to coordinate their bodies in the way others can. Unless you are one of those people, it simply isn't possible to understand.

And I didn't say that children shouldn't be encouraged to try. There is some form of exercise that every child will be able to participate in and enjoy, that's what needs to be worked on more by schools. I listed some upthread.

There are reasons so few girls engage with sport, and telling them to just practise more won't improve that figure.

Chaosrabbitland, totally agree. Weight is more influenced by diet than physical activity.

Good for you OP. My mum would never have tolerated me skipping something actually important but she was willing to get me out of PE when I just couldn't face it and I will never forget that kindness at a time when we otherwise struggled to get on. Of course it's not equivalent to skipping maths. The only thing I ever learnt in PE was that however hard I worked academically I was a waste of space if I couldn't hit a fucking rounders ball. Oh and that I was disgusting for not shaving my legs. If that's what teamwork is, kids are far better learning self sufficiency.