We’ve all had that awful, sinking feeling on a cold, dark, winter’s morning – oh no…….work. You know, those mornings where you just cannot face work and just want to turn off the alarm, roll over and go back to sleep. And, of course, it’s the same for the children. They wake up groggy, grumpy and just don’t want to go to school.

For adults, the concept of ‘duvet days’ was developed for those days when you just can’t face the office, and rather than faking a terrible illness and coughing uncontrollably down the phone, the duvet day (or mental health day as it is sometimes called) allows employees to have that quiet time at home you desperately need to get back on track.

For most parents, when the kids try the ‘I don’t want to go to school’ routine, they arepacked off regardless; nothing less than an outbreak of tropical, infectious disease being considered reason enough to take the day off school. But some parents see things differently and allow their children to take the day off, to take their ‘duvet day’ and have some down-time at home.

The parents who believe in the concept of duvet days for their kids argue that, just like adults, children sometimes just need to re-group for the sake of their mental health and after taking a day off will return to school feeling much more positive, confident and ready to engage in social interactions and learning again. Other parents see this as teaching children that it’s acceptable to decide you don’t want to do something, and argue that this approach sets a bad example for their working life and for life in general.

It’s an interesting debate. What do you think? Is an occasional duvet day for the kids acceptable, or do you think they should be taught that school simply isn’t optional.

Let me know what you think and I’ll ponder your responses from the warmth and comfort of my duvet.

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