Do You Let Your Kids Stay Home on Their Birthday?

Never! Sorry, but I think they need to go to school and be around their friends. We can't do cupcakes or anything any more but I do go have lunch with her. I can't take her out of school but I can go eat with her.

Absolutely not! It's not worth wasting a school attendance day to just blow off on nothing. Most employers don't give employees off for their birthdays, so I don't believe in starting the trend now. Most schools allow for a little bit of celebration for the occasion anyway :)

Absolutely not. School is important. If I let my children stay home on their birthdays, I've just told them that school is only important sometimes. Attendance is important every day.
LBC

It isn't an acceptable reason to miss school whatsoever. It sends a poor message of entitlement.

My daughter goes to school on her birthday. I might try to get it off or at least her lunch hour off and take her lunch (her elementary school allowed this not all do!).

No way. School is too important.

No. My son's birthday was last month. I bought lunch for him at one of his favorite restaurants and his sister's and I ate with him in the cafeteria. I also took cupcakes for his class to have after they ate lunch.

I haven't read the other answers... but I wouldn't. That just sets the precedent that they have no responsibilities on thier birthdays... which isn't a big deal as far as school goes but when they go to work I'm sure employers won't appreciate it. I know one guy who lost his job because the boss woudn't give him his birthday off, so he just didn't show up.

Plus... It's fun being having the special day at school!

No way!
How can you have cup cakes to celebrate with your class if you stay home?

Nope. One of my kids birthday is in March and the other in July....so it's not fair to let one stay home and not the other....especially since we are not in year-round school here.

I wouldn't. Yes, it's a special day - but school and education important!!

Absolutely not.
Unless my kids are sick they are in school , birthday or no birthday.

No, I think the school party (cupcakes, etc.) is so fun for them. Do something special on the weekend.

My DD is only 3, and her b-day is first part of August, so she would not be in school anyway, but if her b-day was during the school year, I would still expect her to go. It's fun for them to bring treats to share and they get some extra attention, but I don't think it's right to let them skip school just because it's their b-day. I think it sends the wrong message - that their b-day is more important than whatever they are going to be doing in school that day. What are they going to do as adults - skip a day of work because it's their birthday or whenever else it suits them?

They wouldn't want to- Having a birthday at school is fun for them!

My daughter's birthday is at Christmas time so that is not a issue for us.

IF her bday was during the school year, you bet she'd be at school.

I don't get why a child would stay at home on the bday. At our elementary schools, daily birthdays are announced and the children are made to feel special. They also announce holiday and summer birthdays so each child is recognized and has an opportunity to bring something to share with the class in celebration. Why would a parent take that away from a child?

Our daughter also did not miss school in order to get any requirements done at the DMV. You are setting a standard now regarding the importance of school. You can find many "reasons" to stay home but the best thing for the child is to go to school.

Nope, my daughter is so excited for school on her bday. Save it for when hes sick, he will need those days.

I wouldn't. Whats next are they going to expect the day off from work later on in life?

If anything I think a person can feel more special going to school or work on their birthday.

NOPE! Not even for 15 & 16 when we had the trips to the license dept.

I also avoided restaurant food, floral/balloon deliveries....all those things which can make other kids feel so left out. As far as I'm concerned that's just a big...."woo-hoo, look at me".....which is better left for at home!

Absolutely not. We can't avoid our responsibilities just because it's a special day. Will our kids want to skip a final exam or an interview because of the date? Those other parents are teaching the wrong lesson.

No...I have to say that I have noticed this more this year than any other. My son is 15 and a lot of his friends that also turned 15 were allowed to miss school so they could go and get their driving permits on their 15th Bday. To me this was just silly, school is important. Letting them skip on their birthday seems irresponsible to me.

Never heard of this. Sets up an unrealistic idea of what birthdays will be during his life. Have him bring a treat to share and carry on with his responsibilities. That's real life.

nope! I always had so much fun going to school on my birthday! You get to bring cupcakes and I remember in H.S. my friends would have a HUGE thing of balloons delivered to my classroom, I mean so many I couldn't fit them in my locker and I had to carry them around all day. It was so much fun!

We let them pick the restaurant for dinner that night.
They get to bring cookies or cupcakes to school.
We have a party on the weekend either before or after.

I have one in school, a junior and she actually brought brownies this year.
My homeschooll kids do not do school on the birthdays and do a field trip of their choice.

No way! They WANT to go to school on their birthday. Special day at school with treats, acknowledgement from teacher and classmates and most importantly, a preferred seat on the bus!

Even in HS, it was fun to go to school on your birthday with friends decorating your locker etc.

Besides, it is sending the wrong message of entitlement, as suggested by MR.

My daughters birthday is comming up and I even gave her the option if she wanted to stay home but really thats the one day she doesnt want to miss school for because they make a big deal out of birthdays. She gets to be the special one tohold this or that. Treated special and good for her day. Instead I let her take off Friday and we drove up to Disney for the weekend. She really loved that.

I let my son skip school on his 6th birthday two years ago as Disney was giving free admission to one of their parks, and it had to be on the exact date of birth. He's a good student, so it doesn't hurt to miss a day and motivates him to keep bringing home good grades. Its up to you, I don't see anything wrong with it if you have something special planned.

No, my daughter loves the birthday attention at school! I have picked her up after a 1/2 day and we went for lunch and had our nails done just for fun. That was just once though for a milestone b-day.

When my daughter's birthday falls on a school day she goes to school. All of her friends are there so I send treats. When her birthday falls in summer, like this year, she will stay home. I'm taking time off of work to do something special for her birthday this year!

Nope. I send my kids on their birthdays. The school makes a big deal about their birthdays with a cute little gift package and they sing "Happy Birthday" during morning announcements. :-) The kids love it and their friends are always excited. They always come home so happy that all of their friends and even kids they don't know kept wishing them a happy birthday all day at every turn.

We used to go to Magic Mountain on my sons birthday which fell in May. I'm all for letting them take a day off of school for the birthday.

My dd's bday is in July so she is not in school anyway, but if it wasn't she would definitely be going to school!! She actually wishes she was at school on her birthday cause the kids get such a fuss made of them. Singing, cake and king/queen for a day!! :-)

Nope - my kids like to celebrate! We leave a little early and stop for donuts for them and make sure to have their favorite dinner (normally out) but they go to school still.

I've never heard of this. My kids would be pretty upset if I made them stay home on their birthday instead of letting them go to school and bask in the glory of it being THEIR BIRTHDAY with all their friends. I think most kids wouldn't even *want* to stay home - especially if you're allowed to bring in a birthday treat to share with the class.

No, I dont let my boys stay home and my parents didnt let me stay home. I think going to school on your birthday is fun. How about asking the teacher if you can bring a treat for the class to celebrate?

Hell no. I have seen on FB where some people keep their kids home for whatever reason. WHAT???? My daughter is 11 and has only missed 4 days of school...ever! I have never heard of keeping your kid home on their bday...what for? My kids get cupcakes and a little party with their class at school so why would they want to miss that? I wouldn't do that. My kids know that school is like their job, they don't miss it unless they are VERY sick, which like I said is rarely. We also plan all of our vacation time when the kids are out of school on break or summer. I just don't get it. I wouldn't do it. Good luck.

We have four kids ages 8 to 13 years old and no, we don't do that.

No. I don't think its appropriate. My children's job is to go to school---playing hookie is not in the cards for us. Birthdays should be celebrated, why not celebrate with the friends at school~!

Yes . . . but we homeschool! :P

When my kids WERE in school they went to school on their birthdays.

That being said, I view it differently than I used to. I really think it depends on the child. If the kid is very family oriented, and it thrills them to be with their family all day, being feted, then I probably would let them stay home. If it's more important to get celebrated at school with their friends - then that's fine too. I've got one child who is extremely family oriented, and one who is more extroverted, so I see both sides.

I've definitely changed my opinion on this issue since we began homeschooling and have had a few birthdays at home. It's always so much fun, and I can tell my kids really enjoy it (though they do have parties too).

They're only kids once, and they are not in the adult world working yet. When they do get there I don't think they will be expected to be treated like children. You can spoil your children but you can't love them too much. JMO.

I never went to school on my bday. =)
It was my day and I got to do whatever I wanted.
One year my bday fell on the Science Camp trip..my mom gave me 2 options. I could go to Science Camp and celebrate my bday when I got home, or choose to stay behind, attend the small class with the other kids who didn't go, but get to stay home on my bday. I didn't go to Science Camp. lol.
Even as an adult I often took my bday off from work, just to do whatever, or relax.
I'll probably do the same when my child gets older and school aged.

Our daughter's birthday was yesterday and she went to school, kindergarten. However, we are taking tomorrow (Friday) off to go to Disneyland as that was her bday present. We chose Friday so that we would hopefully avoid the crowds on the weekend.

No. I think it was the case they enjoyed being with their friends on their birthdays and being congratulated by them and others at school. They got gifts, celebration, etc later in the day with family. I saw no need to keep them away from school for that.
And depending on what grade, he could treat his classmates to a celebration.

No I would not allow my child to skip school on his birthday. Your child's education is important and his birthday can be celebrated without skipping school. Besides, what kind of preparation is this for real life? You can't have a holiday anytime you want one. An employer would not tolerate it so why start excusing it now?

I will admit that I did not read the other answers, simply because there are so many :) As a child, my birthday was always treated as my own personal holiday and no I don't ever remember going to school on that day. Usually my mom would take off of work and we would do fun things together on my Birthday. As an adult (not afforded the luxury of taking the birthday off) I came to realize that it was just as fun to go to "work" on your birthday because people were always so nice to you, every one said Happy Birthday and often there were tokens of appreciation as well. So there are pro's and cons to both. As a parent, both of my kids have summer birthdays so this is not a delima in our house, but we try to make them as special as we can.

My daughter just turned 8, Wed. I made cupcakes for her to pass out. She was really excited to be at school on her bday because they announce bdays on morning announcements, and she gets to be leader for the day and she likes taking the extra cupcakes to other teachers.

No, I arrange for a birthday treat for his class and they have a little party in his honor.