Are the childrens summer holidays too long?

Question

My son and daughter have been off school for 2 weeks and already they are bored. In my opinion they should have a couple of weeks off and thats it. Let me know what you think but im sure the only people who will not agree are teachers as they seem to be on a good thing with all their payed holidays.

just to let you all know that both my children are at summer school and they do play sport but this does not stop them being bored

Answer 1

I think instead of seven weeks off, kids should have four weeks off spanning from mid-July to mid-August when the weather is bound to be as it's best then the other four weeks should be spread out over the course of the year (perhaps a week in February, early May and mid-June). That way, kids don't get bored and appreciate their holidays while parents are left worrying over how to plan child care for seven weeks.

That said, you should try to get your children involved in activies planned at the school, church, community centre or wherever so they aren't under your feet whining about being bored. Also, be grateful they're only at school-- if they go to university, you can look forward to three months of them hanging around the house!

Answer 2

The only reason we have a 6 week holiday is because in past times the children were excused from schooling for summer so they could help with gathering in the crops etc.

Perhaps a review is in order?

As for the teachers 'on to a good thing'. If you add up all the extra time they spend time (outside the normal school hours) writing reports, lesson planning, meetings, running clubs (AND add in the time they spend working DURING the holidays) I think the breaks they do have are more than fair.

Answer 3

Teachers would defiantly disagree with you but rightly so i think. i want to teach and have just done a 7 month placement as a teaching assistant. i had no idea! The amount of paper work involved is phenomenal, seriously. everything has to be planned to the nth degree, you have to be conscious of how you are acting and what your saying, all the time, IE: you cant touch a child for something simple like a PE position demonstration without asking first, you cant cuddle them, you have to 'hug and release' briefly! you have to watch everything you say in case you express a bias opinion and just recently the teachers were told that they weren't allowed to tell a child to 'shh' or say 'how dare you" as it infringed their human rights, couple all the red tape and paper work with 30+ children and your headed for a nervous breakdown.
if you still cant see it then think of how shattered you feel after a hectic day with your little darlings when behaviour is trying and then x that by 30 and then your half way close to how you feel at the end of 1 day let alone a whole term or school year, trust me, 6 weeks are needed.
Lets not forget about the kinders either, they have a lot of learning to do, they cover a lot of ground actually, they deserve a break too.
as for boredom just buy some learn at home work books and offer to give them schooling everyday, they'll soon think of ways to amuse themselves :)

Answer 4

No way. Your kids have the rest of their lives to spend every waking day working. They should be enjoying every last minute of this time while they still have it. Sports or some sort of extracurricular activity would definatly help sway the boredom. Sometimes kids need their parents to REALLY encourage them to do something besides watch TV and play video games. Get them out there playing sports, taking fun summer classes like art or acting. Most community centers have plenty of stuff going on in the summer for kids. What about asking them how they would feel about going to summer camp for a few weeks.

Answer 5

School holidays are an excellent time for children to play and make new friends, you should allow your children to go to playschemes.

As a playworker and playwork trainer I'm at my busiest from May through to September, firstly training people and then running my own playschemes.

Children make friends with other children, they take part in art and craft activities and sports and go on trips, all of this is vital to a child's development.

Answer 6

And the problem is???

Unless you are very young, you went to a traditional school with a long summer vacation. Did it hurt you? Weren't you bored? What is wrong with having time to be bored? Children's development depends on them having enough time to play and discover. What did your parents say to you? Mine told us to go outside and play. They did not entertain us, we did not have activities or camp and they didn't say we should be in school all the time so that they didn't have to deal with us. (I'm not saying that you feel that way, but some do) Life today is too stressful. We expect everyone, kids and adults alike, to be doing something productive every waking moment.

Speaking as a parent, I cherished the time off I had with my son. I knew it would be over before I knew it. It sounds like your kids need to learn how to entertain themselves. When we complained that we had nothing to do, my parents told us to think of something or they would find us something to do. That meant chores. We weren't often bored!

As far as teachers having a "good thing", we don't get paid for all the days off we have. I do not get paid for the summer. I am paid for 5 holidays: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, MLK, New Year's Day and Memorial Day. That's it.

Teacher's spend their summer's catching up on things they don't have time to do during the school year because we work far more hours than what we are paid. I am at work 2-3 hours extra nearly everyday. Except this year because my son has been sick and having numerous testing procedures, I have spent a week or more at school getting ready for the start of school. We have to spend time taking classes to be recertified or licensed. We are expected to attend meetings on our own time. My school is almost a year-round and we go back next week. I was supposed to start on Wed. but got a phone call from my principal "requesting" that I attend a retreat on Monday and Tuesday. The hotel room is being paid for by a local church but we have to cover our travel expenses and meals. Speaking of spending money, I spend between $600--$1,000 of my own money every year in my classroom. The art teachers in our building spend closer to $2,000.

Answer 7

Yes the children's school holidays are much too long. A couple of schools in my area broke up in May, and don't go until September.

2 weeks is plenty long enough for anyone.

Answer 8

I maybe just a kid but summer is never tooo long.....to us its never to long because we worked overdrive during the school hours and sometimes after with projects, field trips etc. (and sometimes the teachers aren't always payed for the holidays) anyways as kids we need relaxation just as or even more than adults.But once on our big break we get bored because we have no homework , projects etc. etc to do.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

I'll answer this question firstly as a teacher myself and also as a mother.
People complain about the 2 months holidays teachers get (and i must confess before i went into teaching i thought it was a bit of a joke too!). However, since joining the profession myself many years ago I realise how wrong i was! For example, the kids at my school broke up on 30th June, but i was still in school for the next 2 weeks preparing for September and catching up on mountains of paperwork from the previous year. Now that I am "off" i work 3 hours every day at home when my kids go to bed. the school will reopen on 15th August and i will be in every day from then on. During school time i arrive at school at 7.30 to prepare the lessons for that day, work until 5.00pm. I come home, do my mother/housewife duties until 8.30pm then schoolwork for next day until 11.30pm. Couple this with the additional stress of the job i.e. parents complaining you are not doing enough for their kids!!!!! Working with 30 kids a day, worrying about children who are not being cared for properly......the list goes on.. So when the summer comes most teachers collapse with exhaustion and it takes them at least 2 weeks to recover before they realise they can spend a full day without doing some work - but this does not last long. You say teachers are onto a good thing with their paid (note spelling) holidays? Well if you calculate the hours i work in day (including evening and weekend work) and work out the hourly rate, teachers would be better off in a supermarket!
As a mother, children need to just be children for a while. My boys are never in the house. Perhaps your children need to be a little more imaginative. Todays kids are not happy unless they are being continually entertained and mountains of money is being spent on them! I have taught my kids that the best fun is free fun. It costs nothing for me to kick a football about with them, go cycling, play tennis. Get your kids out of the house and get active with them! 2 weeks holidays? do you not have happy memories of your own childhood? I know i would give anything to be that age again and out climbing trees. Let them live. before you know it they will be feeling the stress of adult life! (ps maybe you should ask your child's teacher if you can shadow her for a week and maybe you will appreciate that it is a job that consumes your full life!) My husband used to have the same opinion of teachers that you do, but now he admires the work that we do. You remind me of a lot of parents at my school, not happy unless we are driven into the ground with exhaustion!