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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aibu to take kids out of school for a ski hol in March?

145 replies

Nurserymumm · 08/01/2023 00:41

Midterm is ridiculous, so expensive. DH has a week off the start of March so thinking of taking them out & going skiing for a week then. It's educational right?

OP posts:
Delatron · 08/01/2023 22:23

Everyone panicking about snow. It’s always rubbish at round Christmas- the snow tends to be later these days. April skiing is good so March could well be the best time.

SparkyBlue · 08/01/2023 22:46

Absolutely go. If you have had otherwise good attendance this year then its not a a big deal. Mine are two days late heading back to school as we went away for a week( I'm not in the UK) and the school told me to enjoy ourselves.

PlusLaMeme · 08/01/2023 23:18

NashvilleQueen · 08/01/2023 22:16

If you had said you wanted to take your children out of school for a week to go to butlins at a cheaper rate you'd have received very different responses.

My opinion would still have been the same and I would have urged the OP to take advantage of the cheaper rates 🤷

Ragwort · 08/01/2023 23:42

I've nothing against ski holidays ... my DS has been frequently since he was 3 and has also been on a number of school ski tips (& a recent Uni ski trip) but always during holiday time and whilst it a great experience, enriching etc etc I still wouldn't try to say it was 'educational' just to avoid feeling guilty about missing formal lessons. But if you happy for your DC to miss school then why worry what random strangers on Mumsnet think?

NoKnit · 09/01/2023 07:53

Delatron · 08/01/2023 22:23

Everyone panicking about snow. It’s always rubbish at round Christmas- the snow tends to be later these days. April skiing is good so March could well be the best time.

It's not the snow but the temperatures that is the problem. It's been warm in the alps for weeks. Yes OK you can make snow but there have to be good conditions too. Resorts lower are being forced to close. This is having a massive impact on the higher resorts. Lifts crowded, restaurants unable to cope with numbers.

Personally I'd write off a ski holiday for this year save the cash and go next year instead. We just got back from the alps and it wasn't all that great

Yerroblemom1923 · 09/01/2023 07:59

YABU in prioritising a holiday over your children's education. It sends out a v clear message to your children about where your values lie.
Like a previous poster said, if this was a week at Butlins the response would've been v different!

backinthebox · 09/01/2023 08:07

YABU in prioritising a holiday over your children's education. It sends out a v clear message to your children about where your values lie.

Tbh as an adult I go to work in order to be able to pay for the holidays. That’s where my priorities lie! 😁 Work or holiday? Holiday every time.

EmmaDilemma5 · 09/01/2023 08:10

How many other days have they missed due to unauthorised absence and illness?

If none of just the odd day of illness then YANBU. If their attendance isn't great already YABU to make them miss more school.

Skiing is great, but it's in no way educational. The school won't agree it is. In the school I work at, it would be unauthorised and if over 5 days, it may attract a fine for each child so bear that into the costs.

Delatron · 09/01/2023 08:22

NoKnit · 09/01/2023 07:53

It's not the snow but the temperatures that is the problem. It's been warm in the alps for weeks. Yes OK you can make snow but there have to be good conditions too. Resorts lower are being forced to close. This is having a massive impact on the higher resorts. Lifts crowded, restaurants unable to cope with numbers.

Personally I'd write off a ski holiday for this year save the cash and go next year instead. We just got back from the alps and it wasn't all that great

Show quote history

Temperatures change all the time. This has happened before and then they get loads of snow. We still have all of Jan, Feb and March for it to get cold. I don’t think ski holidays need to be written off after a bad December. It happens all the time. More frequently these days to be fair but quite often there’s no snow in December.

Delatron · 09/01/2023 08:27

Yerroblemom1923 · 09/01/2023 07:59

YABU in prioritising a holiday over your children's education. It sends out a v clear message to your children about where your values lie.
Like a previous poster said, if this was a week at Butlins the response would've been v different!

My parents took us out of school every other year at May time to go on holiday. Otherwise they wouldn’t have afforded it. Though maybe it was less of an issue with fines in those days. I don’t feel they gave me the message holidays were more important than education at all. I haven’t grown up to be a massive rule breaker.

I completely understand why people do this.

earthlybeing · 09/01/2023 08:34

I definitely would take them!

My parents took my brother and me out of school for two weeks every year through primary and secondary (and 6th form) to go to Florida. As you say, holidays are actually educational and about getting a better world view.

The kids will be fine. Even with two weeks out a year my brother and I still got very good grades and ended up doing well in our careers.

Life is short, missing school to spend time together as a family isn't an issue

seperatedmum · 09/01/2023 09:04

you'll be rightly fined www.gov.uk/school-attendance-absence/legal-action-to-enforce-school-attendance

creamcoffee · 09/01/2023 11:18

is the fine £60?

GasPanic · 09/01/2023 11:41

Just remember that if you ever turn up to complain to the teachers that your kids aren't getting the education they need, you've not just lost the moral high ground so much as flattened it with a bulldozer.

Because my guess is that once you've done this once, it's going to become a yearly event, because who ever just skis once and then never goes back ?

Abraxan · 09/01/2023 12:33

creamcoffee · 09/01/2023 11:18

is the fine £60?

With my Lea it is £60 per parent per holiday (bit per week/day) per child.

So two children with two parents - £240
Not much when compared to the savings made in the holiday cost.

Abraxan · 09/01/2023 12:36

GasPanic · 09/01/2023 11:41

Just remember that if you ever turn up to complain to the teachers that your kids aren't getting the education they need, you've not just lost the moral high ground so much as flattened it with a bulldozer.

Because my guess is that once you've done this once, it's going to become a yearly event, because who ever just skis once and then never goes back ?

My experience is that the vast majority of teachers wouldn't care and wouldn't holiday it against you or your child. 🤷🏻‍♀️

TheKeatingFive · 09/01/2023 12:48

Just remember that if you ever turn up to complain to the teachers that your kids aren't getting the education they need, you've not just lost the moral high ground so much as flattened it with a bulldozer

After covid, that holds no water at all for me. Sorry.

minipie · 09/01/2023 12:56

my guess is that once you've done this once, it's going to become a yearly event, because who ever just skis once and then never goes back

This would be my concern

What happens when they love it, want to go again in future years but by then it’s more of a problem to miss school? They will definitely want to go again (unless you get zero snow as the doom mongers are saying). How do you say to them sorry that was a one off and now school comes first till you’re through public exams?

GasPanic · 09/01/2023 12:57

Abraxan · 09/01/2023 12:36

My experience is that the vast majority of teachers wouldn't care and wouldn't holiday it against you or your child. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Show quote history

My guess is most teachers wouldn't care until little Johnnies parents turned up and started complaining to them because they thought little Johnnie was not making enough progress in maths.

At which point the teacher would probably quite reasonably point out that in order for little Johnnie to do well at maths, it might be a good start to have him attend all the maths lessons.

Kids clearly miss lessons all the time through illness and other unavoidable issues. How much damage missing a weeks worth of lessons will do is arguable. If they are smart and well ahead probably not so much. If they are already struggling and have missed lots of time due to illness probably more of an issue.

But to me if I were a parent I would be worried about the lack of respect it showed to the teacher, after they had spent the time planning the curriculum, and working hard to get the kids educated. I would also worry about the sense of entitlement it projected from me, to not care about that planning and hard work put in to do a good job educating my kids, but still expect my kids to be well educated.

PlusLaMeme · 09/01/2023 14:23

I would also worry about the sense of entitlement it projected from me

Yes, little Johnnie is definitely going to receive the news of a ski holiday with a scathing takedown of the sense of entitlement protected by his parents.

And then everyone will stand and clap 👏👏

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