Duvet Days For Kids

This isn't the post I was going to write today - in fact I have another post more than half written that I was just going to finish off but then this cropped up.

In general I believe that children should go to school unless they are actively throwing up, have a temperature or some other tangible sign of real illness.

BUT - I also think that there are times where you can use your discretion as a parent and give them a break.

It's not something I do lightly or often but today I've allowed Miss Mac to take the day off.

This is why:

In my last post I told how the year 9's were running the school Christmas Fair this year as part of a business project.

Miss Mac has put an enormous amount of work into it.  She was supposed to be working with two other friends.  I had said that they could both come over on Saturday to draw up the posters, get organised and do the shopping.  That I would be available to help in any way that I could.

On Saturday one of the girls decided she couldn't be bothered to help and didn't show up.  The other one did come and spent the day playing on her phone, eating sweets and doing bugger all else.

Another friend of Miss Macs who was doing a different stall also came round and she DID help out even though it was nothing to do with her.

Miss Mac has agonised over this bloody stall.  Like me she is a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to things like that and she wanted to do a good job.

Yesterday was the Christmas Fair.

Miss Mac set out for school happy and excited, some money in her pocket to spend at the fair (the idea being that each would have the opportunity to have a look around while the others minded the stall).

She came home completely dejected and totally exhausted and took herself off to bed for a couple of hours to sleep.

The other two girls hadn't given her any help other than blowing up a couple of balloons.  She had been left to man the stall by herself the whole time.  She didn't get to look around or spend her money.  At the end of the fair she was left to pack away by herself.

She had borrowed a bowl from the food dept to put some prizes in and when she came back from returning it she was told that she couldn't go back into the room to finish tidying up but had to go to her next lesson.

This she did and at the end of school she returned to finish the clearing up only to find that the cleaning staff had been in and everything left had been binned!

All Miss Macs hard work, the posters, the sleigh that I made (still with some reindeer food left in it), the Christmas decorations I'd lent her to decorate the stall and,the thing she is most upset about, one of the teachers baby photos that she had put in the sleigh as she didn't see her to give it back, all thrown in the bin!

I am angry on so many levels.

I'm angry that her so called 'friends' really let her down.

I'm angry that her business teacher and her form tutor who were both at the fair didn't pick up on what was going on.

I'm angry someone thought it was ok to throw away things that clearly weren't rubbish.

I'm angry that Miss Mac takes all this onto herself and worries herself sick that the teacher who's photo has been binned is going to be really upset and angry with her.

I'm angry, so fucking angry that she worked SO hard and should be so proud of herself and yet she spent most of the night in tears and worrying so yes:

Today I'm letting Miss Mac have a duvet day because she bloody deserves it!!!

ps - I'm well aware that some people may think it's the wrong thing to do and, whilst they may have a point and whilst I generally am happy for people to view any opinions on my blog (and please do feel free to on this post too) - you should be aware that if you do choose to tell me how I should parent my child it's entirely possible I may tell you to fuck off ;)

Oh and yes, I WILL be speaking to the school to sort this out!