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May 11, 2017

11 Comments

Mum shares why she thinks it is important children are allowed a leave pass from school.

I let one of my twins stay home from school yesterday.

He wasn’t sick.

He wasn’t avoiding anything.

He asked and I said Yes.

Each term I give my kids one day leave pass to use. Yesterday he chose to use his.

My mum used to do this for me and I still remember these days better than any single day I spent at school.

We use this as a rest and replenish day. I worked while he played in the sunshine with his lego – until he got bored. He then had to think of other things to do.

The rules are: No TV. No Ipad. They have to find things to do themselves, get their own snacks and I’m not there to entertain or play. It’s not my job to make the day super fun. Just a normal ordinary day to allow him time to process, think and catch up with being still.

I allow him (and hope!) he will become bored as boredom is the birthplace of creativity. ‘You’re bored?! How fantastic! I wonder what interesting thing your brain will come up with to do next?!’

I don’t think we let our kids get bored nearly enough.

I think ‘mental health’ days are as important for kids as for adults and a day in the quiet with little stimulation does wonders for a childs overall wellbeing, energy levels & immune systems.

Guess who was first up this morning and couldn’t wait to get to school??! This morning was effortless. This child who drags his feet every single morning was dressed and ready for school before I even got out of bed.

That one day at home improves the whole term. Seriously.

Works. Every. Damn. Time.

The little bit of one on one time is also rare and special for us. They are small for just a short time and we expect so much from them out in the world every day.

Nikki from Mouths of Mums has also previously shared her Pyjama therapy rules, check out her post HERE.

Do you ever give your kids a day off for no reason?

Share your comments below.

This post originally appeared on 123 Nourish Me and has been shared with full permission.

Find more on Alisa’s blog HERE or follow on Facebook.

Alisa is a nutrition warrior and has avidly studied nutritional medicine, herbal medicine and health sciences for close to a decade. She is a proud mum to twin boys and is passionate about feeding babies, toddlers and kids a diet rich in nutrients and using products that are free of harsh chemicals. She loves beautiful, organic, nourishing foods and products that help kids grow up with healthy bodies and minds.

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  • My children onky have days off when sick or holidays

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  • Yeah.. this is called a weekend in our household. And most weeks we manage 2 days (although sometimes things are busy and we only get 1). The rest of the days in the week are normal school routine; and in over 10 years no one has missed a single day. Must be some sort of record, but you wont thrive on just a few such days a term/month – especially not if that is taken from the school routine and you are relying on it! Reclaim your weekends and those hours after school!

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  • I wouldn’t do this – at least not that regularly.

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  • To each their own. My children got so bored during school holidays, they loved going to school.

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  • My little one has to spend most days entertaining himself. He’s great at being bored.

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  • no way, school is far too important to be missing just because! Kid’s have weekends and holidays, curriculum days, public holidays, sports days and report writing days, not to mention camps and excursion days!

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  • I love pj days – we often do them over the school holidays but I have friends who do a “mental health day” for their children if their children need it – the cues are grumpy, stressed, tired and lethargic then she knows they need a rest day

    I would need to hide all the electronic devices from my kids if we did this lol!

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  • PJ days only on a weekend and only on holidays. :)

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  • My kids have pj-days during the weekend and the last holiday they hardly came out of their pj’s, lol !
    I’ve no problem getting my kids to school, they all love to go and see their friends.

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  • If l done this, l would have the school on my doorstep, wanting answers on why my child isn’t at school. They are so strict on absences, any more than 2 for the year and you get a visit from the school, unless you provide medical certificates.

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  • I wouldn’t encourage that idea. Last day of the term when they won’t be doing anything perhaps. Each day a child misses school is recorded against his / her name. Aren’t you supposed to contact your child’s school if your child isn’t attending that day?? What explanation do you give? Pyjama day should be one day during the weekend or school holidays.

    Reply

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