Taking kids out of school for holidays

[foxymum]

yes i suppose its down to everyones individual choices & circumstances.
i think though if you do it as a rare occurence then the money you save is worth it.
i just would feel i'd been conned paying so much more money for the same holiday.

our is literally £1000 dearer in July than it is in June.

 

[Krystal]

I don't think anyone was having a go at you really Kirsty - just discussing their own points of view on it.

When do you go?

 

[Suzie and Faith]

Oh bloody hell, I wish I hadn't asked now

I've just sat for 30 minutes trying to write a reply that doesn't sound offensive or directed at anybody - I give up now

I couldn't get a holiday during half term as it was a last minute decision to go anywhere, so I'm taking Josh out of school for 5 days so we can go away as a family. It's not ideal, but some of the comments in this thread have been a bit OTT... it's not the end of the world if he misses 5 days, I'm not gonna beat myself up about it 8)

I hope you have a really lovely holiday! I'm sure Josh will have a great time. Everyone needs a break now and then and some family time away is always a good thing xxxxxx

 

[missac]

Just to reiterate Valentines point I may not have a school age child but I did have to comply with the school holiday rules and could only go away at peek periods so therefore did have those money issues, crux of the matter is if you can't afford it don't do it, or as someone else mentioned go away in feb when it is cheaper, plenty of places are hot in feb.

Kirsty - have a lovely time, I really don't want to upset you

 

[Gemma & Jake]

When Jake is at school I will probably take him out of school for a holiday because it will be half the price. The prices go up so much in the school holiday's. We went to France last September for 10 days. The caravan cost £450 for 6 people(4 adults and 2 children) but if we had gone a couple of weeks earlier in August it would have cost over £1000

 

[x-kirsty-x]

Just to reiterate Valentines point I may not have a school age child but I did have to comply with the school holiday rules and could only go away at peek periods so therefore did have those money issues, crux of the matter is if you can't afford it don't do it, or as someone else mentioned go away in feb when it is cheaper, plenty of places are hot in feb.

Kirsty - have a lovely time, I really don't want to upset you

It's fine, I wasn't upset. It's been good to read everybodys views and I totally understood where you were coming from

 

[meg_bellamy]

Hope you guys have a fantastic holiday!

 

[Urchin]

This is an interesting thread.
I suppose I don't mind taking Mason out because he's in the top groups for everything, and we take reading books etc with. We go to zoos and buy him a spotters guide to the beach etc.
I also usually buy a maths workbook or ask the teacher for something too.

 

[x-kirsty-x]

This is an interesting thread.
I suppose I don't mind taking Mason out because he's in the tops groups for everything, and we take reading books etc with. We go to zoos and buy him a spotters guide to the beach etc.
I also usually buy a maths workbook or ask the teacher for something too.

Yeah, that's what I did this morning, asked his teacher if there was anything we could take. She said all they'll be doing next week is number recognition and he's really good at that anyway, and writing their reports but she got Josh to do that yesterday. You know where they have their end of term reports and the kids have to write a little bit about school... Josh wrote 'I like the big blocks', bless him

We're going Monday to Friday, just to a caravan park

 

[foxymum]

Just to reiterate Valentines point I may not have a school age child but I did have to comply with the school holiday rules and could only go away at peek periods so therefore did have those money issues, crux of the matter is if you can't afford it don't do it, or as someone else mentioned go away in feb when it is cheaper, plenty of places are hot in feb.

Kirsty - have a lovely time, I really don't want to upset you

to say if you can't afford to do it then dont do it, is missing the point really, i would not pay an extra £1000 to go in school holidays wether i could afford to or not, its disgusting that the travel companies get away with hiking the prices right up in the hols & i for one will not go along with these ridiculous prices.

going away in feb is out of the question too as where is hot in Feb? caribean (sp) australia & other exotic places, that will be just as expensive or probably more expensive than your average 2 wks abroad in the holidays.

lifes too short & kids are at school for 11 years, so if i'm shot for taking mine out of school for 2 weeks every 3 years then so be it.

 

[daftscotslass]

I think Missac meant that she worked in a school and doesn't (like me) have the flexibility of being able to have holidays herself during term time.

I too think the prices are pretty disgusting but unfortunately it's part of the package working in education - when I'm back at work I won't have an option about when to go on holiday so I'll just have to go on holiday less often.

It's a pity more folk don't kick up a stink about it - I would if I knew who to kick up a stink to! Sadly people like me do pay the high prices because they have to (or have to choose not to go away) and thats why the companies get away with it. If you book in advance or go completely last minute then there are some fairly decent deals so thats what we've tended to do. Either that or visiting the in-laws in Holland (from where we sometimes drive elsewhere in Europe) where we only have to pay for the flight.

It's really down to personal choice on this one but some of us unfortunately have the decision made for us due to our choice of career!

 

[uncle_bens]

Its not like many parents take the kids out for a month, I dont think a week is gonna make a hige difference, I was taken out of school for Hols coz my parents cudnt afford to take us out in the Official summer Hols, It didnt make much difference to me.

I think missing secondary school for 2 weeks is harder to make up than missing 2 weeks in primary school, thought i'm sure thats personal choice. If parents help its easy to make up short times missed at Prim school

 

[evemarie8]

I think its such a shame that people have to feel guilty about trying to have some quality family time with their kids, imho a happy child results from a good balance, education is very important but being able to get away for a week or two just as a family is essential to their wellbeing as well, and the only people who can be blamed for the kids having to come out of school during term time are the holiday companies for hiking up their prices and the government for not regulating it better, not the parents who are stuck between a rock and a hard place!

 

[smile]

maybe we have too many holidays these days?

we were never taken out of school as children - we were brought up that school was like work and you ALWAYS went, no exceptions except proper illness - no holidays, no duvet days etc, but then we could never afford to go away anyway.

I first left england at 17 (i had a job and earned enough to go camping in france) and my first time on a plane was at 20 - I've still only been abroad a handful of times as it is too expensive and my husband and I rarely get time off together because of the jobs we do. I've never been away for more than one week even on honeymoon - I'm always bemused by my sister in law who thinks that anything less than two weeks is pointless!

We tend to make do with long weekends in the UK visiting relatives or doing fun things locally and that will probably continue now we have Baby Smile - a week of annual leave at half term and spending quality time as a family hunting for bugs in the garden or a long walk in the park is as exciting for kids as a foreign holiday or centre parcs etc because all your kids need is you

 

[Princess_Puddles]

You only live once!
I enjoyed our holidays abroad better than ones in england but maybe thats just me.

 

[Misslarue]

a week of annual leave at half term and spending quality time as a family hunting for bugs in the garden or a long walk in the park is as exciting for kids as a foreign holiday or centre parcs etc because all your kids need is you

Dan might need me, but I need a break!!

To me a family holiday is about everyone and not just the kids. I think its just as important for me and OH to get away from the usual surroundings and spend quality time together as a family (we even took our dog away with us this year!) Esp for my OH as he works hard all year and deserves a rest away from the house, with the phone still ringing and the bills dropping on the mat! A complete break

(Also Dan hunts bugs in the garden most days (poor bugs!) so wouldn't be much of a change! )

Have great week Kirsty, we had a lovely time away in a caravan a few weeks back. Can't beat a bit of caravaning! Hope you have some nice weather

 

[mary70]

when we went on holidays with kie we always got a book for him and every night we wrote a little diary about what we had done and tried to collect something for him to put in the diary eg park entry tickets or bus tickets and he even stuck some sand in when we went to spain because it was very pebbly, he enjoyed doing it and he loved taking them to school to show when we got home and it has been a beautiful keep sake for me

 

[Squiglet]

Just want to point out that cos of my dads job... i never got to go on holiday during school holidays, he couldn't get the time off (even worked xmas day too)... and I always caught up with my work... but primary was just as important as secondary...my parents always got extra work for me to do while on holiday (what they would be covering in my absence) don't they do that any more???

 

[HappyAlice]

I volunteer in a Reception class and even at age 4, school is important. They learn to write their names, learn numbers 0-20, learning to read which includes tricky words like which where who etc etc and lots of other things too, plus there are Sats to take in year 2 and anyone who is behind has to be caught up again, so primary school is just as important as high school.
However, I have taken my children out of school for a week in Feb (Centerparcs) and even the class teacher said she did this herself with her children as it's good for them to experience things out of the classroom too.
Unfortunately my children's school has just sent out a letter saying no more holidays during school time unless it's an exceptional reason, which doesnt include prices being lower. I think it's awful the companies are so greedy meaning that lots of low income families can't afford a holiday
So no holiday for us next Feb, but hopefully I will have a better job by then and will be able to afford a holiday in school holidays. That's the only option really, earn more money.

 

[x-kirsty-x]

maybe we have too many holidays these days?

I've never even been abroad before, and the last holiday we had as a family was when Josh was 2 and we went to Flamingo Land for a week

Too many holidays... I wish