Keeping child home from school for being up all night?

[ggmom87]

My 4 year old is in Reception. She has been having some massive sleep issues this week since her dad left for a month long work trip. She's been waking up around midnight and then not going back to sleep. Right now it's 2am and she has been up since 10, having gone to bed at 7:30. She is saying she's not tired and cannot sleep. I have kept lights low, no tv or screens, and nothing exciting. But she won't sleep. I don't know how I can possibly send her to school tomorrow on such little sleep. She will be dozing off and such a tired mess. Is it acceptable to keep my child home from school for not having slept at all the night before? I just don't know what to do.

Or you can send her - warn the teacher about what's happened and ask that they call you if you need to collect her. If she gets through the day then she might be exhausted enough to sleep tomorrow night.

I wouldn’t. Largely because I’d rather someone else dealt with keeping her awake and busy. Too easy to let her sleep at home during the day if she’s crabby and irritable and exhausted. And that would just exacerbate the nonsense.
Daytime is for school. Have a lovely day.
Night time is for sleeping. Night night.

Yeah that makes sense. I think I will let the teacher know.

I’d send her in, but tell the teacher about her sleep so they’re aware and can call you if she gets too tired to cope.

I’d be a bit worried about her having a big sleep during the day and then not sleeping again tomorrow night if she’s at home.
Hopefully if she can keep going through tomorrow daytime - easier at school than at home - she’ll be tired enough to sleep properly at bedtime.

I'd keep her home and have done with dd when we been out late and got home at stupid hour, like fireworks displays in the city or family get togethers
She won't learn anything while tired
Its not fair on the teacher to be managing your tired kid when they have a whole class.
Not fair on the other kids if she takes her tiredness out on them.

I'd have her up at school time as normal though and keep her up, no naps. Exhaust her and let her crash at bedtime.

I think I'd send her to school in order to keep her routine exactly the same. Warn teacher as PPs said. Otherwise she may start to associate staying up all night with having a nice day at home.

My 5 year old also in reception has major long term sleep issues. She quite often goes into school having either been up until 2/3/4am before being up for the day at 8am or the other trick is she sleeps 6pm-9pm and then 4am-8am.

Make school aware but schools are good with knackered little kids and they seem to be good at keeping them awake.

Absolutely send her in.

If she’s tired and not quite with it, she’s not going to learn amazingly well, but she may learn something. Bits of what are being taught will go in.
If she’s absent, she’ll learn nothing!