AIBU to think a three-hour sports day is too long?

[DriveVerySlowlyPastNumber23IWantThemToSeeMyHat]

AIBU to think a whole school 3 hour sports day is ridiculous?
11am - 2pm.
A range of activities.
DD is in Reception.

No sympathy. I'm a teacher and never get to go. My kids have a successful life.

It won't be three whole hours because they will have lunch in that time too. You obviously don't think you're being unreasonable but I genuinely don't see a problem with it. You don't have to go.

Some of those activities will be drink / rest stops.

But if they start at 11am, i'm curious about when they're eating their lunch. Getting everyone to eat before 11am woud be incredibly unusual, are you sure you have the correct times?

We have dc in ks1 and 2 and they have different timings so we have to sit in school all day. It's the worst day of the year for me. The prepared parents all sit with champagne with seats they've brought. I end up perching on a tree stump trying to use 5g to log into work calls while watching bean bag races.

My kids' school didn't have parents there for sports day. The kids were all off timetable for the day doing sporty stuff. I didnt have to be anywhere near it. Bliss.

Are you sure you have this right? Most schools allow children to go home after sports day, but they can't enforce everyone leaving early.

Sounds normal to me, at my kids school the kids sat in there class under the tress in the shade. They were in “houses” basically a colour team and cheered their team on. Different races for different years, at end parents race and the most waited for race of all for kids was the teachers race .it was a lovely day out, picnic lunch with kids . When I was childminding I used to take my little ones for the morning they loved it and would join in with the sibling race at the infant school one. We would spend time before and after learning about different sports and playing them in my garden.

There is a letter that has been sent out! I have read it, my husband has read it, the other parents have read it.

So you're saying the children are not having any lunch that day?

What’s the problem??

You don't have to go

I thought they were supposed to take the whole school day apart from lunch time.

Ours is:

9:30-11 Races
11-1:30 Class/lunch
1:30-3 Potted sports and baton relay

Honestly you sound like a PITA.

If you can’t get the time off work, that’s fine, but don’t expect the school to change something they’ve probably been doing for years and/ or considered carefully to suit you. It’s not necessary to attend everything. When would you like them to do sports day, at 5.30pm on a Thursday to suit your employer?

The school will be thinking about what works for the kids and for reception this is probably a much better format than sitting for hours and then 10 min of activity.

If you want to compromise why not take the afternoon off and just watch from 1-2pm?

If you can’t go don’t go. If you can only go for an hour go for an hour.

not all children will be collected at 2. It will just be an option for parents who are there.

Staff do these things because on the whole most children love it! We would much rather not.

Ours used to be infants all morning, picnic lunch, then juniors in the afternoon - so for a couple of years I had to be there all day 😫

Plus, come on OP, your kids are at primary for what, 7 years? Out of a lifetime. Of course if you genuinely can’t get the time off work then that’s fine, can’t be helped and your DD will be fine, but if you can go just try to enjoy these little rituals as they can be fun (my kids’ sports days were often hilarious) and they don’t last long.

Don't go as many other parents. No big deal.

Our school do the entire day! It's potted sports in the morning and then races in the afternoon. The whole school isn't out on the field all day, but if you have kids in both age groups and want to see them do both parts you're there from 9.30-3pm with an hour off at lunch! They also release the date late every year so it's difficult for me to arrange to get off work to attend.

So don't go then?

Sounds like odd timings re lunch but the total hours is very much normal. Loads of kids to get through. Not everyone has a parent there - I usually go but not every year and my kids’ friends’ parents will cheer for them if I can’t go - and I’ll do the same. I tried harder with my daughter as she spent most sports days crying on my lap but my son isn’t particularly bothered so I go if I can easily sort work.

Of course they do school events during the school day 🙄

It's not compulsory to go. Some years I do, some I don't. Sometimes DH does, sometimes a GP will. The timings don't sound that weird apart from confusion about lunch.

So you want teachers to work in the day and at night?

When do you expect school events to happen other than in school? You don’t have to go.

Not all parents will be able to collect their kids at 2pm as they’ll be working. School will just hang on to them.