Education outside of school is just as important as inside, according to the founder of the popular parenting website Happy Mum, Happy Child.
Maria Foy tells Checkpoint she has no problem giving her kids 'mental health days' off school.
A new attendance report from the Ministry of Health followed anecdotal reports from schools that the 10-week second term, which ran from 2 May to 8 July, was severely disrupted by rolling absences among both staff and students due to Covid-19 and other illnesses.
In terms two this year only 40 percent of students regularly went to school and kura; by definition that is turning up more than 90 percent of time.
Almost 6 percent of time off school was considered unjustified.
And an Education Review Office report said 40 percent of parents it surveyed were comfortable with their child missing a week or more of classes each term.
Foy said her kids were usually off due to sickness and there was a lot of that around this year.
"Usually with an illness, but I'm not averse to giving my children and mental health day," she said.
That was something she would have no problem doing, she added.
"If my child's had a bad night, then I will assist them in the morning and maybe offer them that day," she said.
"If I know that there is something coming up that may be quite stressful for them, then I may pull them back, although I'm a little bit loath to do that because we all like to encourage kids to step outside of their comfort zone.
"But obviously I know my kids best."
She was open and honest with the school about the reasons her children would be off and was not worried her kids were missing out at this stage, particularly because educational resources were online, she said.
"They seem to be on track and I'm always keeping in touch with the teachers. Thankfully, a bit of a blessing with regards to Covid and lockdowns, we now have this really great online system that they can put give our kids stuff to do at home, which is amazing."
Many parents she knew allowed their kids off school if they had anxiety around catching Covid-19 or any other prevalent illnesses.
Taking a few days off before school holidays to be able to get cheaper flights was also justifiable, she said.
Holidays were an important part of learning and growing, she added.
"I think that during the school holidays, it gets really expensive to do stuff and if you can take a few days off beforehand and reduce that expense good, especially nowadays with everything being so expensive and especially while your kids are young.
"It's probably a little bit harder when your kids are older and ... it's harder with exams and stuff like that for the older kids."
She was unsure whether parents were being complacent about taking school leave.
"I really do think school is important, but I also see the other side where outside of school is equally as important to educate our children."
Chronic absence rate nearly doubled in second school term
School attendance hit a new low in the second term with just 39.9 percent of children going to school regularly.
Figures published by the Ministry of Health this morning show chronic absence nearly doubled to reach 14 percent and absences due to illness reached an all-time high of 8.6 percent.
The report showed that the 10-week second term, which ran from 2 May to 8 July, was severely disruptive to schools, with rolling absences among both staff and students due to Covid-19 and other illnesses.
It also followed the publication today of an Education Review Office report that said parents were more likely to keep children home and for longer periods if they were even slightly unwell.
The report said 39.9 percent of children attended more than 90 percent of their classes, the benchmark for regular attendance, down from 46 percent in term one this year and 60 percent in term two last year.
It said 13.8 percent of children were chronically absent in term two, meaning they missed 30 percent or more of class time, up from 7.7 percent last year.
The report said absence due to illness increased substantially, accounting for 8.6 percent of all classroom time in term two, the highest figure on record.
