Do you take your children's birthday off work?

[balancingact]

Hi,
I feel horrible - it's my little girl's 3rd birthday today - we gave her a nice big fairies and pirates party on saturday but her real bday is today. Just started in a new job and i have two major client meetings today - so i did go to work - and was planning to go home early to spend the day with her. But an officemate of mine said - why are you here? and made me feel really bad. Am i an awful mother for not just taking the day off automatically?
As you can see...i'm hoping some of you will say no....

In the past I wasn't able to, if it fell outside of school holidays, as I was teaching. Only happened once though and she was so young we pretended her birthday was the day before

Last year it was on my day off, but DH took day off work and we went to cinema and for meal out together. This year she has started school but her birthday is in holiday time. It's on a Wednesday so, yes, I (and probably DH) will take the day off work and we will go out together.

I certainly wouldn't be taking DD out of school if her birthday falls in term time, no. Actually DD has found out that birthday girl gets a sash to wear, a badge, cards read out in assembly and Hapy Birthday sung to them at lunch time, so she would love her birthday to be on a school day. She thinks she is being cheated this year!

Definitely not a bad mother for working on a LO's birthday. If anything a very pragmatic and un-precious mother.

Dh never takes our childrens' birthdays off work. We have a special Birthday Breakfast with a cupcake for each year of their age, birthday candles and singing Happy Birthday. Presents from us and possibly immediate family are opened that evenign when he gets back from work. The rest waits for the party, whenever that is.

Birthday Breakfast is a great treat - how often do you get to eat cake and icing for breakfast? And school and pre-school have special events for childrens' birthdays, so it's hardly as if they lose out!

I wouldn't have time to do the birthday breakfast as have to leave for work often before DD is awake. Sounds like a lovely idea though.

Nor would I. DS's birthday is in the holiday so why not take it and then we can got out for a day together. I usually take at least one day in most of the holidays to spend time with the kids.

Well, i didn't take the day off as you girls now know, but i did go home early and took her and her brother (and the nanny) to dinner at Tootsies (it's on our road). She was pleased at first and then when they gave her a little cake with a candle she got v. annoyed as she told them she was already three (because she thinks it was her bday last sat when she had the party). My husband said, what is it with mothers that you always find something to beat yourself about - haha, so true. We all do the best we can!

I can understand the wanting to be with your dc on their birthday when they're pre-school but once they're at school they like going in on their birthday because they take cakes and get Happy Birthday sung to them.

Being summer born I always had maths exams at school on my birthday