Mom Asks If She’s Wrong For Wanting To Call In Her Son Sick So Family Can Keep Their Holiday Plans

Oct 31, 2022 by apost team

Going on a holiday is much more fun if the entire family can join the trip. Not only do parents get to bond with their children and have much-needed family time after spending hours at work, but they also get to share precious memories with them. As they say, you can never bring back time. So, it’s always best to make the most out of holidays spent with your children as much as you can. Plus, you won’t have to worry about finding people to look after your children. But scheduling conflicts tend to get in the way of plans.

Like any working professional, parents who want to take vacation leave need to seek permission ahead of time to secure approval from their bosses. For some parents, going on a vacation is simply impossible. In the case of children who go to school, summer breaks or school holidays are usually the best time to go on vacations to avoid any hassles. 

One mom had a dilemma when she came to a crossroads about how to excuse her son from school without getting into trouble. 

In a post on netmums.com from 2013, the mom said she and her husband had wanted to take a holiday. However, it fell in the month of June, which she revealed had a scheduling conflict with her then-4 ½-year-old son, who was attending foundation year at his school.

The mom explained that she had no other choice but to push through with their plans since it was the only time both she and her husband could go on a holiday.

“We want to take a holiday in June for 2 reasons. 1, we simply can't afford a holiday out of term time,” she said.

“2, (my) husband and I work full time and this is the only time we can both take time off work,” she added.

She then sought advice from her fellow moms on the best way she could excuse her son from school with a guaranteed success that it would get approved.  

“My question is how do I go about wording a request for absence from the school? Are our reasons enough to get it authorized?” she asked.

At the end of her post, the mom asked if the easiest way to excuse her son was to just call him in sick.

“Or should we just call him in sick that week? He started in the attached nursery 18 months ago and since then has only taken 2 days off,” she said. 

Most of the moms who responded to her in the thread told her to just be honest since schools usually find out the truth in such instances.

“I wouldn't recommend phoning in sick as this usually gets found out. Most schools would prefer you to be honest even if they don't agree with the holiday,” one user said.

Other parents, on the other hand, said it’s not advisable to go on a holiday outside of school breaks just because it’s a lot cheaper.

One parent also pointed out the disadvantages of lying to the school especially if they go on an overseas trip.

“Don't phone your child in sick, you would then have to get your child to lie when he goes back in the following week ... and if you're going abroad, how do you explain a suntan when little Johnny has supposedly been in bed ill all week?” another parent stated. 

apost.com

If you were in the mom’s shoes, would you have also called your son in sick to excuse him from school? Let us know your thoughts and pass this on to other parents who might relate to this story!