Learner Dad: School mornings in June feel like a form of torture

Here’s the solution— a mid-term break in late May, like they have across the water

Tue, 14 Jun, 2022 - 15:05

Pat Fitzpatrick

Two things are a given in the month of June: hay fever and cranky kids because they can’t get to sleep before midnight.

That’s not so bad when school is out and they can laze around until after 9am the next morning.

But we still have a few days of school mornings, and every single one of them feels like a form of torture.

For starters, I’m sick of work. (Except for this column, which is a labour of love).

The Christmas break feels like it was during the Iron Age. Our last proper holiday away was last year and that was in Ireland. The sun shone, West Cork felt like Greece, the people were lovely, it was one of the best weeks of our lives. But I get a better recharge from a foreign holiday with guaranteed sunshine and days fooling around the pool. There’s just more parenting involved in a staycation. And the food isn’t as interesting.

It’s been three years since we had one of those campsites in the sun holidays. We have one coming up in a few weeks, rolled over after cancellation last year, and I’m pining for it at this stage.

As for the kids and school, their reports have arrived (geniuses, the two of them), homework is over for the term, and there are a lot of school tours. As much as they love the place, their friends and their teachers, I get the feeling they’re also looking forward to getting a break from the school-morning routine.

Here’s the solution — a mid-term break in late May, like they have across the water.

I have yet to meet a parent who says, "Yay, I can’t wait for the Easter holidays". The weather is disappointing, it gets dark too early and when both parents are working, it’s a proper pain trying to juggle the child-care.

Easter is a bit earlier next year — no one wants a fortnight off in early April.

If we could move at least one week of the Easter holidays to late May, it would open us up to cheaper holidays. The biggest shock you get as a parent is when your child reaches five and your holidays suddenly double in price because now you have to book when school s are out across Europe.

You can always take them out of school a bit early but that can end in a letter from Tusla. Instead, what about the State actually allowing us to go away for a week in May? J ust make sure it doesn’t clash with the British mid-term because prices are hectic around then.

May is a better option than high summer now that the Mediterranean seems to have non-stop heat waves from the end of June.

Now that I think about it, chop both weeks off the Easter holidays and move them to late May. It looks like flights are going to get very expensive, making ferries a better choice for those of us who need to get off the island once a year. Give us two weeks off in May, and we’ ll have enough time to take an eco-friendly ferry to the sun.

We might even get a train down through France.

It’s mid-20s around the Med in mid-May , perfect for the foxy-skinned Irish. We’ll arrive back in Ireland in early June, recharged for a few more weeks of school and work.

The rest is easy. Move the summer holidays a few weeks forward to mid-July, and move the start of term to mid-September. It seems wrong to send kids back into school in late August at a time when the Irish summer might just be getting going.
So there it is. Bye-bye Easter holidays, no one likes you. Hello to a proper break in May, where the kids can stay up all night and not worry about school in the morning. I’m glad that’s sorted now.