In our house, we have a rule that may be unlike many parents. My kids go to school every day unless these things are happening: they are running fever, throwing up, or have been diagnosed with a contagious virus of some sort (I am not trying to infect the entire school here!). Other than that, off to school they go! You may think this is harsh and maybe it is, but there are a few reasons this works well for our family.
Education is important, our teachers work tirelessly to plan and implement daily lessons so our children learn and grow the best they can. As parents, we are partnering with our teachers and the first step there is to keep our kids at school. In order for our kids to succeed in school, they need everyone in their world to be working toward a common goal.
My daughter struggles with anxiety. This manifests itself as a tummy ache most of the time; therefore, this rule keeps her reminding herself that school is good and that tummy aches aren’t necessarily reasons to stay home. She has said to me a few time “stomach aches are annoying but they get better and school is fun!” For us, this is a small way for us to tackle the day to day “but I don’t wannas.”
We have had MANY days where teachers will follow up with me throughout the day to let me know that my daughter, once at school, started feeling better and nerves were settled. For us, this is reassurance.
I feel that this is preparing my children to be successful adults. My son who is now in high school, does not even think about missing school. He knows that it is important for him to get that instruction time every day. Just like I cannot miss work every time I am feeling a little off. Now, I am a firm believer of staying home and not spreading germs, however, there is a level of “sucking it up” that we as adults have to do.
Finally, I know we all know our own kids the best and we will all find what works best with our families. For us, this works. We work hard to have everyone at school and do our best to have a good school year!
