Is it OK to have a Child Skip School for a 7 Day Disney Vacation?

[neweagle99]

During my last family visit to WDW my granddaughter missed a week of 1st grade to come with us. My friend's wife thought it was wrong to take their 1st and 2nd grade kids out of school for their coming trip. They are staying at the Contemporary Dec. 23 to Dec. 28 when school is off. What do MO members think about children missing school to go when its far less money and far fewer crowds?

[nevada]

We pulled our kids out of school when they were in 4th and 8th grades, so that we could take advantage of early December pricing, etc. I firmly believe that travel is great for stimulating kids' brains. The only reason I wouldn't do it now is that my son is in a demanding (IB) high school program and missing a week would stress him out. It wouldn't be worth it.

[zgoodfella75]

Originally Posted by neweagle99

During my last family visit to WDW my granddaughter missed a week of 1st grade to come with us. My friend's wife thought it was wrong to take their 1st and 2nd grade kids out of school for their coming trip. They are staying at the Contemporary Dec. 23 to Dec. 28 when school is off. What do MO members think about children missing school to go when its far less money and far fewer crowds?

today is my daughters last day of school until we return from THE WORLD on December 13th.....I dont feel bad about it at all....granted she is younger, but teacher gave us some assignments for her.....Family time for me is VERY important. For her to miss school so we can go on vacation and enjoy it more especially WDW on a slow time THAT is worth it for us. Now as she gets older and midterms/finals get involved I will re-assess my thoguhts, but right now....easy decision

[Presley]

It's always okay to have quality time with your kids that you all will remember forever. They won't remember those school days 20 years from now, but they will remember the vacation days.

[PecosBill]

don't most kids have final exams the week before Christmas break?

I could see skipping a day or two of school but not a whole week. Especially if they are going to miss any sort of testing.

[bethy]

Originally Posted by Presley

It's always okay to have quality time with your kids that you all will remember forever. They won't remember those school days 20 years from now, but they will remember the vacation days.

Amen. It's *just* school. School is a huge and critical part of our lives right now but it is not the be all/end all for a lifetime. Relationships are more important and vacations really do have a tremendously significant impact on nurturing relationships for our family. On top of that, my DH's work does not allow him to travel during typical school vacations.

This is coming from someone who loved and did very well in school (and who missed 2 months of highschool due to illness and yet somehow still survived and thrived).

[TW1]

The Libertarian in me is screaming, "Stop telling me what to do!" though, as the son of a teacher, I grew up listening to the "we keep falling behind" arguement.

Unfortunately parents have less power then ever due to the funding that hinges upon the average across the grade and the school. When kids miss school, the average could go down, and no teacher/administrator will support missing school for fear of losing funding.

But come on, as the parent I understand what I'm doing and I accept the responsibility to see that my children are educated. I will take them out of school if I think its necessary. Period.

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

I voted up to 4th grade, but I have to qualify my answer:

It was ok *for us*. It may not be ok for everyone.

Based on the kids' school performance and the rules in the school, we were able to do it without it causing undue harm to them academically.

Now, they're in 6th and 7th grade, and I can't imagine having them to try and catch up-the pace is so fast now.

[a1000monkeys]

My wife is against it, primarily because she has to deal with the schools and they give us a hard time about it.

I had planned to pull them out for a week every year until my oldest was in sixth grade but I'm reasessing that.

He's only in first grade now and we are pulling him out for 6 days in Feb for a Hawaii trip and will probably do the same next year.

We are planning a Nov WDW trip probably when he is in 4th or 5th grade but after that we'll probably go in the summer or not at all.

[cgcowner]

I definitely agree with Presley's thoughts.

I think up to 4th grade is a no brainer - go on your vacation and enjoy! I think above that would depend on the student and the school work. I could never have missed a week of school from 5th grade up. At middle school, I averaged 4-6 hours of homework a night, and that only increased in high school (and I was a straight A student). However, my co-worker's child had barely any daily homework from 5th-8th grade. Now that he is a freshman in high school, her whole family is struggling to cope with less time to do things because of his homework load.

It should also depend on how your student acts/learns in those higher grades. If your child struggles with subjects daily, probably not a good idea. If your child does well without taxing themselves, and can get their missed school work (and makes time to finish it on the trip), I think you should do it.