Should parents take the family holiday during school term time?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.express.co...-for-bargain-holidays

What is the solution to this annual problem?

Couldn't the tour operators be forced to level out their prices throughout the year, instead of them hiking up their prices during school holidays?

Perhaps one or two could try, and then maybe the others would follow.

[ummmm]

It's ridiculous. Some people just cannot afford a holiday because of the price rises. Personally, if it was a toss up between taking a holiday in term time or not having one then I would take one in term time. A holiday can also be an education..

As long as they weren't doing exams.

[jackthehat]

The solution (as there is no longer any need for children to labour bringing in the summer harvests, etc.) is to rationalise the school-year. No ridiculous 6/7/8 week summer-break where the travel companies artificially inflate their prices.........

[youngmafbog]

i think they should only take them in the holidays, then I dont have to put up with other peoples screaming brats.

[Seadragon]

That's true Jack, I think the summer break should be a week shorter and that week added to Christmas so parents have a 2 weeks Easter, 5 weeks summer and 3 weeks Christmas as well as the usual 1 week half-term breaks. Or 3 weeks Easter? I think the high season prices do need to be addressed because the cost between afew days is ridiculous esp for larger families.

[ummmm]

Not everyone has screaming brats...!!

Also...there are loads of people out there that are parents to teenagers that have grown out of the screaming stage.

[jackthehat]

Why 5 weeks summer-break ?
Trying to find child-care during the long summer-break has always been a nightmare of juggling for parents.

[LoftyLottie]

Agree with Ummmm. There is too much made of taking kids out of school for a couple of weeks. I am not talking about more than this. A couple of weeks will do the child more good than harm and as ummmm says a holiday can also be an education. Says she who worked in schools for many years.

[anotheoldgit]

Some food for thought with these answers.

I think jackthehat has it though.

Why do schools need so many holidays, the MPs have had theirs cut, so why not the schools?

[LoftyLottie]

Because teachers are so hard working they need really long holidays!! ;o) In fact they work harder than anybody else. (Tongue firmly in cheek! - they moan more than anybody else too!!)

[jackthehat]

Most employers are happy for their staff to take two-weeks off together..........so why 'any' break needs to be longer than that, I really don't know. It would mean that the teachers actually have them in school for more days of the year, ergo, they ought to be able to teach them more !

[Nosha123]

my parents always used to take me out of school for holidays - which never affected my education.. however I always missed the first week of term in September - which was always the start of the new year and so when I got there everyone else had paired up with friends and I hadnt...
Made it a harder start to the new year...
However - I would take holidays term time.. but wouldnt time it as my parents did..

[LoftyLottie]

Amazing Eddie. I remember those days well and the teachers coped well too and they didn't have teaching assistants or parents coming in to help, and what's more the teachers didn't moan all the time about being overworked. They just got on with their job.

Mind you, generally we were in awe of teachers and teachers commanded respect.

Oh dear, I am beginning to sound really old!! ;o(

[craft1948]

On the first cruise I ever went on there was a family with 5 children all of school age. I said to the father that he'd been lucky to get the schools' permission to take term time out and he said they'd applied and had been refused but gone on holiday anyway..........it was a 24 day cruise.

[LoftyLottie]

And I doubt whether any of the kids will suffer because of it Craft! They will just be more rounded individuals.

[annie0000]

I am very strict on not taking my kids out of school - why I bother as I don't think they bother to teach them half the time anyway especially as it gets near to the end of the term. I always arrange dental appointments etc in the holidays as well. My eldest has only ever missed 3 days of school in his almost 5 years ( the last 3 he hasn't missed any) and my younger has missed about 5 days in 4 years and only missed 1/2 day in the last 3. However, as I say, I don't really know why I bother when they get no credit for it. Despite the fact that it is a pain in terms of childcare (and considerable cost!) having the kids off for 7 weeks in the summer, i do believe that they do need a long holiday so that they can learn all the things they don't get at school and get time to grow as people. Teachers however don't necessarily need to be off as well for the full time.

[LoftyLottie]

Yes, I would agree that the children should have a long break from school, but teachers should work the same amount of weeks that the rest of us do. I have worked with teachers long enough to form this opinion. The majority of them are not as hard working and dedicated as they would like us to think. There are exceptions.