Here is my latest dilemma. Most parent & me classes offer two free make-up classes during a semester for several reasons – your child gets sick, the parent gets sick, you go away on vacation, your child sleeps through the class, too cold, not in the mood, or because you paid a bloody fortune for the class so you better get your money’s worth! Basically, most venues do not care why you miss the class – you still get your make-ups!
However, some parent & me classes do NOT offer any make-up classes during the course of a semester. The biggest reason is that they feel the chemistry of the class will get lost if there are always new faces in the class completing a make-up. These selected venues pride themselves in nurturing a bond between the parents that show up consistently every week. I agree that this is a legitimate advantage, but at what cost? Does a pricey class that doesn’t offer a make-up class force the hand of some parents to decide to participate in the weekly class, even though (dare I say it) their child is sick.
It’s winter time & my son is sick again. Nothing major – congested, runny nose, watery eyes – but, enough to keep him home from our parent & me class. Therefore, I am alone today as I write this blog entry. I “suck it up” and miss out on my adult interaction for the day & my son is missing his chance to socialize with his friends. BUT, aren’t I making the right decision, so my son doesn’t spread the germs to another child. Being quarantined in the wintertime is a drag. Consequently, I don’t want to be “that guy” with the kid who is coughing in a parent & me class making others cringe.
Sure, maybe I made the mistake of signing up for this type of class knowing that there are no make-up classes allowed. Do I stand alone?
It makes me wonder, what measure do other parents use to gauge how sick is too sick to participate in their weekly parent & me class or playgroup? Do you say, it’s just the sniffles with a runny nose – no big deal – we are still going anyway? Is it the presence of fever? Have you been faced with a similar dilemma? If not, have you been in a class where you noticed there was another child who was definitely sick, and you had to keep your child from going near them?
I don’t think that centers are being honest in their reason for not offering make ups. As the owner of a children’s center that offers all drop ins, I know that it is diffcult to keep track of who is coming when, and it does take some administrative infrastructure, something which most centers lack since it is expensive and affects their bottom line. Trust me that it has almost no bearing on the “chemistry” of a class if one or two new faces participate every couple weeks as a make up. If anything it’s a great opportunity for your child to check out another program or teacher within a particular center, which I think should be a win-win for both the parents/children AND the center. I would question a center that uses the “chemistry” excuse as a reason for a strict make up policy. There is no educational reason for this and you should check out where else they are “inventing” educational best practices! My two cents.