flexi days

For the child that is, not you. Mind you, flexi days for the parent aren't a bad idea either.

I am a big believer in flexi days. That is, a day off school now and then for no apparent illness reason. Not too many mind you, maybe one per term or so.

School is really hard work, and now and then, it can all get too much for our little people. Seriously, untill the higher grades, they are not going to miss much in just one day. Even if they do, catching up on the weekend isn't the end of the world. In primary school at least, they don't do that much in the day, much of teaching is crowd control.

I also find that spending a special one on one day with your child can be a great bonding exercise. It's important that each child feel special, and that's really hard to do these days if you have more than one, so sometimes flexi days can come in handy here.

Usually after a flexi day my daughter is more than ready to go back to school. She misses her friends and finds too much time with me boring (thank goodness). She is usually better rested too and therefore enjoys school all that much more.

On the other hand, if your child is constantly faking illness to get off school, or is less likely to go back to school after a flexi day it might be time for a chat. There is probably some sort of problem at school, other kids, teacher, finding the work too hard etc. It's best to sort out these problems as young as possible. If talking to your child yeilds little information, have a chat with their teacher (nicely - no blame), or if you're desperate, spend more time at school spying on your child - reading groups, canteen, join every committee you can!

Alternativly, the problem may be at home - is your child starved of attention? Do you focus too much on the housework, paid work, television or something else? Might be time to sort out your priorities.