It’s ironic, really. When your kids are little and not yet confined by the school calendar, they are generally too young to appreciate most of your travel adventures. Taking a 3-year-old to Disney World or the Southern Cape of Africa is often a waste of time and money, considering they likely won’t remember it in the years to come. (Not to mention the headache for mom and dad!) The truth is, you can generate the same excitement for a 3-year-old by spending an afternoon at a local water park or Chuck E. Cheese.
The Dilemma of School vs. Travel
Then, the kids get older, and they are able to travel more easily and appreciate the world around them. But you’re now faced with a limited amount of time during the year to go anywhere. Scheduling travel during Spring Break, holidays, or summer vacations often leads to much higher ‘peak season’ rates, making family vacations unaffordable. Plus, using up all the family “off time” can leave little time for relaxing and just hanging out at home. This leads to the ongoing debate of whether it’s acceptable to take your kids out of school to travel during the year.
One of the major attractions of taking kids out of school to travel is the availability of off-season rates and the ease of access to various commodities that families can experience during the school year. The bottom line is that you can often get more ‘bang for your buck,’ so to speak, by planning a trip in October rather than during the summer months. Yet, educators and many school systems frown upon the idea of school-aged children missing school to travel with their families. In fact, in most school districts across the United States — especially with the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act — parents are only allowed to write a certain number of absentee notes for their child. Once that number is exceeded, professional excuses from the school must be provided, or parents could face truancy consequences, potentially landing them in court.
However, many parents feel that their 6-year-old missing one week of 1st grade to spend quality time with their family is a priority worth making.
According to educational experts from the US Department of Education, parents should think carefully before deciding to travel during school. They encourage parents not to take their children out of school. However, by talking to your child’s teacher and reviewing the school curriculum, you may find there are optimal times for travel when the child won’t miss much of the academic workload. If you find an irresistible deal, talk to your child’s teacher, get all schoolwork ahead of time, and ensure the dates don’t overlap with important testing periods at school.
Additionally, keep the trip short. Most teachers won’t have an issue with parents taking their kids out of school for an occasional trip, so long as it’s not a regular occurrence. You should also make sure your child is performing well academically before pulling them out of class. The last thing a parent wants is to be responsible for their child’s poor academic progress due to travel.
Age is another factor to consider. A child will miss less in terms of academic studies in kindergarten than they would in middle or high school. Depending on your child’s academic performance and workload, a missed week or two in the upper grades can be detrimental to their report card. Again, planning ahead and discussing work with educators can ensure that your older child stays on track, even while abroad.
And, of course, you must be respectful of the laws and rules of your school system. If parents are too lax or indifferent to the attendance requirements, their child may adopt those same attitudes and lose respect for the school calendar.
Many parents who take their kids out of school to travel — think Brad and Angelina — believe that jet-setting children around the world is an educational experience in itself. If you want to take your child on a mission trip or to an exotic destination to teach them about different cultures and pass on your family values, who’s to say they’re not being educated? In fact, they are receiving education that cannot be found within the brick-and-mortar walls of their school. This is a valid point. And if dad has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit Japan and wants the kids to experience a different culture, should it really be passed up because of school, knowing that this opportunity may never come again?
The best rule of thumb is to use your judgment as a parent and plan ahead before pulling a child out of school to travel. Often, the travel deals available at certain times of the year are simply too good to pass up. For many families, it’s these off-season deals that make travel possible. With careful planning and clear communication with the school, the whole situation can work out well for everyone involved. And bringing back a small token or keepsake from your travels for the teacher or principal — well, that sure won’t hurt anything.
