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?

Where will it end, PE opt out now what next. Unbelievable. I hated PE but would never have dreamed of asking Mam to write an excuse me note.

Sounds like classic helicopter mothering - and that never ends well.
You end up with an entitled, spoiled child.

I just used to fake my own PE notes. Do kids not do that any more? I don't think engaging in weekly ritual humiliation and cold showers would have made me a better person.

So in year 10 and 11 I opted out of pe in the summer. I hated the track stuff, I ended up spending pe lessons doing a level ict practical work. I honestly just spoke to the teachers myself and as I was still doing work and not bunking off it all all okay.
In the winter I did do pe but was mostly just trampolining the whole time as I refused to do basketball or run in the rain. If I couldn’t do trampolining I stayed in the ict room. Don’t make an excuse. Openly talk to the PE teacher about how you feel and talk about coming up with a plan.

To add onto my list my others didn’t even know I had opted out of pe until my year 10 parents and teachers evening when they spoke to my pe teacher. My parents didn’t care that I dropped it and was happy I was doing something productive with my time instead.

I teach in a college. The amount of students we get that ‘don’t want to do that’ is getting worse each year and it’s down to this kind of thing. At school lessons are not optional whether you like them or not, just like at work you have to do things you may not like.
Teach her a good life lesson and keep her in PE.

Thinking back I did once allow my (now adult) DD to miss school to avoid a PE related activity.

I think she was in Y9 or Y10 and the last day of term before Christmas most of the normal timetable was suspended due to some staff meetings. Instead the pupils were meant to be doing a sponsored "reindeer run", i.e. running round the field a few time in PE kit and antlers for charity.

Normally I would have thought yes fair enough here is some sponsor money. However the day before she was full of cold. Nothing serious and, in those halcyon pre-pandemic days, I would have usually just packed her off with plenty of tissues. The weather though was bitter and rain was forecast. I asked DD if she thought the run would be called off if it rained and she was sure it wouldn't.

It seemed to me then that expecting her to run around in the freezing rain when she was already full of cold was a good way to end up with her being unwell over Christmas. Given that there were no proper lessons taking place anyway I let her have the whole day off and told the school something or other, exaggerating her ailments.

She hasn't grown up to be a work shy skiver as a result. As far as I know she hasn't taken a day of sick leave in over four years.

I'm sure you're a great parent, but this particular parenting decision, is a terrible one.

Not read through, but say that he or she, or they have been signed by a professional football club and cannot play or risk injury.

ingrown toenail my Gd has had one for 2 years been painful and infected. finally had it removed so she's got to do pe now

@NuNameNuMe

Not read through, but say that he or she, or they have been signed by a professional football club and cannot play or risk injury.

I very much doubt that

@NuNameNuMe

Not read through, but say that he or she, or they have been signed by a professional football club and cannot play or risk injury.

Oops accidental post earlier. I very much doubt that the teacher will believe that a Sri

Totally with you OP, skiving off PE is one of my fondest lessons from childhood. My friend and I used to go to her house and watch Monty Python videos, which has been of infinitely more use to me in my later years.

@NuNameNuMe

Not read through, but say that he or she, or they have been signed by a professional football club and cannot play or risk injury.

Seriously, this just kept posting. Seem to have a problem typing on my phone when it's charging, it just does random things. 3rd time lucky! I doubt a teacher would buy that a student who hates PE, especially in the cold, soils have been signed by any professional sporting organisation. They aren't stupid

If you are a slow developer, changing rooms are Hell. If you have terrible hand eye coordination, playing lacrosse is worse. Worse of all is basketball when you are under 5’. I hated gym, but it build character to do painful things. Most of being a grownup is doing things you don’t want to do, so starting early is wise.

Absolutely not, if shes fit and well getting fitter is a bonus. Tell her to be grateful she can do PE when lots of kids cant and wish to god they could. What message are you sending to her, lifes not like that.

PE isn't just for fitness. It teaches leadership, sportsmanship, life skills, patience and other attributes. Why should your child be excluded when the others have to participate. You're not teaching your child good behaviour. Im sotry to say that they must go in my opinion.

It's only a couple of hours per week, why disrupt her whole class (potentially school) by enabling her. They have to deal with all pupils on an equal basis. She needs to get used to the idea that sometime you just have to do things that aren't your favourite

My son has pots on both legs -it gets him out of pe.

However he would love to be normal and take part in pe rather than the kid who can't walk properly (he doesn't have broken legs it's muscle issues that are long term).

@HelloKittyGirl

“Don’t be silly @SheilaWilcox. No university ever turned anyone down ‘cos they didn’t do enough sport (and definitely not ‘cos they had a few weeks off games when they were in Year 7).“

No but a child who has learned from their parent that they don’t have to anything they don’t want to and can get out of it by lying with the full support of said parent will, by the time they are 18, be very obviously ‘that type of child’ and to educators that is very very obvious.

Life is full of “things we don’t want to do because it’s inconvenient” you are setting her up to fail and believe me, once will lead to twice, thrice etc… and a pattern of entitled, the rules don’t apply to me, utterly precious behaviour.

She might get in to a university but if she can’t cope with 5 or 6 weeks of PE when the weather’s cold without Mummy writing her a false sick note she won’t last.

My kids secondary still makes kids get changed and stand on the sidelines or referee if they can't join in.
My child can't play contact sports but still has to participate in some way- no sitting in a library or doing work elsewhere!

I wonder what sort of schools people went to where sportsmanship, patience, leadership and lifeskills were part of a PE lesson. That would have been cool!

Wait!

I did learn how to use a skipping rope and how to make daisy chains so not a complete waste of time.

Ahh PE lessons when you are rubbish at team sports are the worst. I honestly don't think I got anything out of them other than thinking I was terrible at all sports and left the with a hatred of exercise. I do think kids like that should be encouraged to keep fit with individual sports. OP would you speak to the staff at school and explain the difficulties your DD has rather than have her sit it out completely?

@Charlotteskye

PE isn't just for fitness. It teaches leadership, sportsmanship, life skills, patience and other attributes. Why should your child be excluded when the others have to participate. You're not teaching your child good behaviour. Im sotry to say that they must go in my opinion.

It really doesn't, lol.

It teaches you that the popular/sporty kids always get picked first and that everyone else either sits on the sidelines or gets picked last and ends up doing nothing as they're no good.

As for patience, really? Why do you need to be stood shivering on a hockey pitch to learn patience?

I also can't think of any life skills I've learnt in a PE lesson...

I developed quite a complex about PE, Stressbucket. It was terrifying, induced blind panic. People who don't feel that way will never understand. I grew up OK, fit and healthy, and lacked no leadership skills (apart from being bit of a pushover sometimes).