My daughter was complaining that one of her teachers had been absent quite a bit lately. She explained that the teacher wasn't out for full days, but instead left early and missed my daughter's class a few times. The teacher told her students that her son was home from school because he was sick and she and her husband were taking turns staying there with him. Her husband took off from work in the mornings and she took off in the afternoons. It sounds like a pretty good arrangement ... except for the kids whose classes she wasn't teaching because their section happened to meet in the afternoon.
A sick child at home is just one of the snafus that can befall working parents who have otherwise gotten things to run pretty smoothly on the home front. For example they have arranged for after school childcare, summer vacations and even holiday recesses. Then along come random holidays, conference days and sick days to foul things up. If you're a parent considering a return to work, you can try to plan in advance. Read Returning to Work: Answer These Questions First.
Work vs sick children is an on-going and difficult situation to manage. Looking back (I’m now a grandmother) – - here are few things to consider in the over-all picture. And, I believe there is no one right answer – each situation speaks for itsself.
Nothing beats having Mom or Dad at home with you when you’re sick. Figuring out how to make that happen can be as tricky as any negotiations between countries. And, missed classes are not ideal, but most students can catch up and/or learn the information either from a substitute teacher or from the regular teacher when she returns – - it will just be in a more concentrated time frame.