Do you/ did you send your child to school on their birthday?

[bagpuss90]

Light hearted thread no I’m not having a whinge before anyone asks 😂No -I’m just curious. Was chatting to a work colleague and she mentioned that her children have never been to school on their birthdays. They don’t fall within school holidays. She was a bit surprised when I said mine all went to school on the day -business as usual. Don’t get me wrong -they had pressies before school, lovely parties and so on . Never really thought about it before but just wondered if its school or not on the big day

Yes

The way I see it is if I wouldn't take a day off work for my birthday they shouldn't take a day off school. They like going in anyway, with a shiny number badge and everyone wishing them happy birthday all day. They would rather spend it with their friends than at home with me 😂

Why did you give in to that? @blubberyboo ?

I do not agree with days off for a birthday - but I think it’s better that it’s a parents choice than a parent just giving in to whining about it!

Always.

It was going to be one or the other.

So sink school. Very rough. And your DS doesn’t seem at all happy. 😞

Yes!

Sad that this seems so unusual to you.

My two flipping love school

oh don’t get me wrong - they love sleeping in at the weekends and chilling out…. But school means to them - doing loads of sport, which they love, being with their friends and… well, they enjoy most of their lessons!

I wonder if there's a correlation between those children and the adults who post threads about their birthdays not being special to other people

I wondered that too; there’s something healthy about learning that, while it’s a special day for you, the world turns as normal for everyone else. If their actual birthday is a bit of a “meh” school day, then we just have cake etc on the day and then have a birthday weekend when we make a big fuss. I think keeping them off school is quite excessive and sets a bad precedent/ gives the wrong idea about education.

Yep, often wearing a birthday badge and getting sung to by the class (and a freaky wizard puppet at Infants).
MIL is horrified at the thought of working on a birthday and proud she never has! Don't know if she was given the day off as a child.

They wake yp

I do a special birthday breakfast and they open a couple of gifts
go to school and see friends
come home, I do special birthday dinner, birthday cake, more presents, homework, then they watch whatever they like or game (usually no gaming Monday - Thursday) and go to bed a bit later.

Celebrate “proper” following weekend ie dinner in a restaurant of their choosing and what they want to do with friends

I’m sure I recall my DC s primary school not allowing them to bring sweets in to share on their birthdays. I think the reason given was that the sweets were not good for their teeth.

I think the idea of not going to school because of a birthday or something else they fancy doing is not a good idea. It’s about more than ‘just one day’. It’s about attitude to the importance of education, a work ethic and later success.
A comfortable life generally requires effort. That’s a valuable lesson from quite a young age.
Its a birthday not the second coming!

@bagpuss90

if your kids pressurise you not to go to school on their birthdays, how do you fare with other stuff that they want to do but you are not comfortable with?

Do they like school?

Do you work?

What do they do on their day off, when all friends at school?

Well I always went on my birthday. It wasn't even under consideration in our house.

Dd doesn't. But her birthday is never a school day.

@bagpuss90

ah I remember your user name

you started a thread about your partner choosing to go to his hometown on his birthday rather than wait for when you’d recovered from a knee injury

the majority thought you were being incredibly precious about it. I was one of them!

www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4678041-partners-birthday-im-so-hurt

Sorry the pressure comment was to a PP

I always went to school on my birthday (one glorious year the annual theme park trip fell on that day, what a time to be alive).

Even when my son missed 10 days of school in one block with a genuine illness in Year 9, he was told not to worry, ‘you’ll catch up as we go’ 🤷🏻‍♀️

And no, if they had their birthday off school, I didn’t make them do a days schoolwork in the holidays. It hasn’t seemed to hold them back. Some people are extremely dramatic about a day off.

My birthday always fell in term time. It was just the norm for me to go to school and for my friends too. It was actually nice to see friends on the day, despite lessons. It was a nice group and we'd always make a fuss of each other on birth days

I make them a special breakfast on their birthday and they get to open their presents before school.

@Eeksilon I think it’s just us! I am surprised so many people have such a strong reaction to kids staying home on their birthday. My girls are nearly 8. One of them is autistic and would absolutely hate everyone making a fuss of her at school on her birthday, she would be so anxious leading up to the day. School is hard enough for her on a regular day, there is no way I want her going in upset on her birthday.
Its really nice spending the day with them, they are only little for such a short time 😊

Even when my son missed 10 days of school in one block with a genuine illness in Year 9, he was told not to worry, ‘you’ll catch up as we go’

it says a lot about your son’s school that they think 10 days of teaching is so ineffective that missing it doesn’t mean anything 🤷‍♀️

Can you not see that given going in to school for your DD would be a very clear negative experience is a tad different to others?

Two of mine always went to school on their birthday, one sometimes went, depending on when Easter fell, as it’s a moveable Feast, and one didn’t go as it was summer holidays. I’ve never been to school or work on my birthday as it’s at Christmas time.

I wouldn’t ever have kept mine off school for a birthdays.