Just opinions please.
If you think so, how many days would you allow to be missed?
Um, I’d say no.
Not that I know the particular 16 year old in question, but this would be a bit of indulgence, don’t you think?
It just reminds me of a really lousy parent I know who would probably permit something like this because she’s convinced her kid is some kind of emotionally fragile disaster waiting to happen, and the kid milks it for all it’s worth.
Hell, no.
I’d be wary of letting a twelve year old skip school for that reason. A sixteen year old is on the brink of university study or paid employment - both of which entail self discipline, and turning up as expected, even if you’re not in a good frame of mind.
Sorry, but a dead rodent doesn’t cut it.
One of Bing Crosby’s kids had a pet hamster that died and the child was inconsolable - wracked with grief. So Bing suggested a funeral for the hamster in the backyard. He made a coffin from a shoebox, they dug a small grave. Bing sang a couple of typical hamster funeral songs. Before interring the hamster he asked his son if he wanted one last look. He opened the box to show his son the hamster lying peacefully on a handkerchief. And the hamster moved.
His son looked up at Bing and said, “Ah, let’s bury it anyway.”
Your decision.
I just realised that I am jumping to judgement here…were they involved in a sexual relationship?
I do know that people in my job have taken time off because of a pet’s death. I’m not a pet owner so will probably be attacked for this by some of them but I think that that’s a bit OTT and not a reason to miss school and definitly not a reason to miss work.
I don’t know. If the kid was a really good kid in general and didn’t normally ask to skip school for no reason, and did well in school (so a day wouldn’t harm him), and seemed to be broken up over the hamster, I guess I don’t see harm in him skipping one day. What’s going to happen? Is he going to turn into a juvenile delinquent after one day?
The parents should be able to tell if the kid is faking it…I just hate to say NEVER because I come from a family where I was made to go to school with fever and chills (what turned out to be malaria) for three days before my mom finally conceded I was sick.
Much as I like pets, and I was a pet-owner myself, I vote no. Death of a relative, especially a close one, yes. But school is too important for anything less.
If you know that they were close, then I’d say one day off to mourn might be ok, assuming this is an otherwise decent kid not looking to skip just to watch The Price is Right or play Everquest 2.
for a dog or cat, I might say ok, but a hamster? those things never live longer than like a couple years. not to say that the kid didn’t develop a bond with the animal, but seriously, it’s a hamster. I sure as hell didn’t skip school when my lizard died, and I loved that thing.
My first thought was no. When I was in Kindergarten, the family dog died during the night, and I was sent to school that morning, along with a short note. All was fine. I’d be concerned if the the kid couldn’t pull himself together for eight hours.
That is a good point though. Missing one day isn’t a big deal. Especially if you can collect the teen’s work to complete at home.
It depends on the kid. I think one day would be fine if the teen is really and truly visibly upset, and is not in the habit of missing a lot of school to begin with. There were maybe two days over the course of my four years in high school where I was so emotional over something (one was the death of a pet rabbit) when my mother allowed me to miss school, and I was very grateful for her understanding. It was definitely made clear that this was not to be a frequent thing.
Oddly, I find that while I think missing one day is okay, the idea of missing more than one day seems completely ridiculous to me. Obviously subjective! I guess I am willing to think that a teen is still learning to manage emotions and responsibilities and one day is acceptable for them to learn to “get it together,” (where I would expect an adult to soldier through) but two days is too many.
No.
Yes, if they are obviously upset. The loss of anything is devastating to some, and one day off school isn’t the end of the world. I’d leave it at one day though, and clarify that it’s a one-off.
I’d say no - for several reasons.
-Unless it really has caused some kind of massive emotional trauma, learning the perspective that life actually must continue as normally as possible is a good thing
-It’s a hamster. Dying is what hamsters do.
-If I did something like this, my schoolmates would have laughed at me forever.
I agree with Anaamika & Tommy Tutone. Parents know their kids – they will know if the kid is genuinely upset by the loss, not just trying to get out of school.
I have let my kids skip school for lesser reasons than the death of a pet. When my daughter was around 9 or 10, her favorite singer (country singer Paul Brandt) came to town for one of those radio-station sponsored meet-and-greets. It was held at a local restaurant, quite early in the morning – I think it began at 7 AM. He was going to sing some songs from his latest album, then be available for pictures & autographs.
My daughter was crazy about this guy, and was having a real tough year (she had had a very difficult orthopedic procedure – a painful surgery, 6 weeks in a full body cast, followed by a 6 month recovery period). She really wanted to go and I decided that the experience would do her more good than missing one lousy day of school would do her harm. I had a number of people tell me I was being overindulgent, especially considering that she had missed so much school that year anyway. But I felt she deserved the treat.
She was the youngest fan there, and Brandt was very, very sweet to her – spent 10 minutes chatting with her about school and other musicians she liked, signed all her cds, and took a nice picture with her.
She’s 20 now, a sophomore in college, where she is making excellent grades and doing great. That little mini-concert is one of the absolute highlights of her childhood. I can’t imagne anything she would have learned in school that day that would have been more important.
That’s what I was thinking.
Had it been dislodged?
Anyway, whatever. Maybe a day. I know full grown adults that will take a day from work when a dog or cat dies.
I couldn’t see getting attached to a hamster in a cage that much, but maybe. I’d say if the kid is that fragile over his hamster, it’s probably already too late. Let him stay home.
Every year of high school I missed a couple days just by asking my parents if it was okay. They didn’t care… why would they? I was a good kid, stayed out of trouble, and got decent grades.
Maybe the 16 year old just doesn’t feel like going to school and is using the hamster as an excuse. That’s fine… let 'em skip, as long as they’re caught up on their homework and their grades are okay.
Yeah, 'cept in that case, I’d deny it on the ground of an excuse being used. A smart 16 year old with good grades would probably get a couple of days off each year from me too - but it would involve being upfront about it.
When I was 16 and we were all getting ready for school, my dad inadvertantly karate-chopped the family gerbil while trying to catch it, and killed it stone dead.
14-year-old sister was hysterical, 11-year-old brother hysterical. I calmed them down while my dad disposed of the corpse. Then as a dispensation, and because the incident had made us miss the bus, we were driven to school about 30 minutes late.
So, I vote no.
I did once take half a day off work to have my cat put down, but I think that was allowable because the animal was in severe distress and nobody else could take her. I was in by lunchtime and able to work, albeit in a bit of a state.