To not send my children to school because I need to fly ?

[Paticake]

I have to fly tonight and my kids have been left with my mum, she lives two hours away. Is it ok that they don’t go to school or am I a terrible parent for picking work over the kids?

I work in attendance at a primary school, I would phone/email the school in the morning and explain due to family illness you have had to go abroad unexpectedley and the children will be absent for x number of days due to them staying with your mum. It will either be authorised or unauthorised and unless school have on going attendance concern that should be the end of it.

Yea, and for many the impact was gargantuan, and still shows in classrooms today.

Honestly OP this is fine.

Women get crucified on here for not having a job. But sometimes jobs have conditions - this is one of them. The kids will not come to any harm by missing a bit of school, unless their attendance is already hitting trigger point.

How about eating and paying the bills?

That's what emergency parental or dependents leave is for.

Most workplaces would enable you to take 1-2 days unpaid leave in order to care for your kids (and take them to school) and arrange something more longterm. Like your mum coming to stay at yours to care for them while you were away.

If the work trip was the most important one of your career and they couldn't send anyone in your place/you couldn't have flown out a day later then I guess you have done what you could. Though I would expect your kids to be missing only a day or 2 of school, not a full week.

When are you back and is your mum taking them back to yours so they can go to school?

How sick is the other parent? only because I know some men who won’t do any childcare when unwell at all. If you were as unwell as their dad would you be able to get them to school OP?

I think as a general rule you need to be able to arrange sufficient childcare to do the basics but if it is genuinely an emergency (other parent is in hospital, non weight bearing etc the. It’s fine).

Im reading this as though she is flying out to meet the other parent as they're abroad and not well.

If so this is an emergency situation and absolutely fine imo.

I don't understand why they aren't getting an early night and then just going in the morning? My daughter goes to a specialist school and drives for 1.5hr there and back in a taxi every day (there are 3 other children to drop off/pick up) Not ideal but is what it is and she copes fine.
A one off wount hurt them. Alternatively they could go in a bit late if getting up early wouldn't work

I don’t know a single mother that doesn’t stagger on whatever is wrong with them. Should you be going anywhere if the other parent is so desperately ill?

The OP says am I terrible for picking work over kids so she’s flying for work. Assume the children’s other parent is at home.

If her job fired her she would have a case for unfair dismissal. The children's education is important.

Deaths door or just unwell. Because most mothers manage to get a tracksuit on, drop the children off at school and then go home to bed. I’d still expect the other parent to do their bit unless they were highly contagious or hospitalised.

I don't really understand why this has become an issue. Presumably the work trip was already scheduled.
I don't know why there wasn't a plan for the children going to school? I am assuming the other parent was supposed to have the kids and deal with this but is 'unwell'. Not sure whether this is your partner who lives with you or an ex who shares time.
Rather than sending your kids 2 hours away with your mum it would have been better for her to stay at yours and take the children to school (assuming you are alone). If it's the other parent, unless they are at deaths door I would say they need to get a grip and do the school run like any other adult does.

Of course it's important, but it's not groundbreaking important. An unforseen circumstance is just that, it's not the end of the world.

It's not ideal, but needs must in an emergency, OP. Unless they're sitting GCSEs or something tomorrow, one day isn't going to do lasting damage. I hope their other parent gets better soon and your work goes well.

This I do agree with.

But for whatever reason that's not happening and it doesn't sound like OP can do anything about it.

Perhaps she's not with their father anymore and he's feckless?

Other parents isn't well??

How unwell? In hospital? Can't do a school run after a good night's sleep and having a day tomorrow unwell.

Seems you have "other parent" problem rather than the bother of having to travel for work.

If it was a last minute thing and the only way you could get childcare then fair enough. Your mum can't be expected to spend all day driving to and from the school. Equally you can't be expected to jeopardise your job at the last minute, and at this stage in the summer term they aren't missing that much anyway.

But is there any way your mum can come and stay at your house?

Because it would mean OP's mother potentially spending 8 hours driving tomorrow, or else having to kill time during the day in the vicinity waiting to drive them back.

Your mum should have come to yours to take the kids to school.

If other parent is ill enough they can't look after them and send to school, and your mum won't come to you and do it, you need to contact work and tell them you can't go. If other parent has a cold and is being dramatic you tell them to sort their shit out and be a parent.

Op could drive the dc to her mum's tonight, mum then takes the dc to school in the morning then stay at op's house for the day/rest of the week/however long op is away for/other parent steps up gets better.

Not enough info. Are they 5 and 6 or 11 and 14? Is their ill parent poorly with a bit of a cold or recovering from surgery?

Away for two weeks.

Other parent (seperated) is suffering burn out.

Should add I have just spent weeks away and only been home the weekend

So you're planning on your kids being off school for 2 weeks?

I guess there must be valid reasons why your mum cannot move to your house for these two weeks?

How are going to deal with the school in terms of explaining their 2 week absence?