Some mornings, children wake up feeling so ill that they can’t get out of bed. Other times, they fall ill or sustain injuries while at school. Their parents may then need to pick them up, take them for medical care and monitor their condition at home for the rest of the day.
When children are sick, there’s an expectation that their parents should be available to care for them, even if the illness occurs when they are usually at work. When parents who have separated or divorced share custody, sick days from school can become a point of contention.
How can co-parents determine who is responsible for a child who cannot stay at school?
Parenting plans may include answers
There is a default presumption regarding school sick days when parents share custody. Essentially, the parent who has parenting time or physical custody when the children fall ill is the parent responsible for making arrangements when their child cannot stay at school for the whole day or when they must stay home.
The parent who dropped the children off at school or who would have picked them up afterward is the one responsible for caring for them in most cases. However, one parent may have a much more demanding job than the other or a longer commute to work. As such, parents may include provisions in their parenting plans that delegate sick day responsibility to one parent or that impose other specific rules for addressing a child’s inability to attend at school as normal.
Making clear arrangements in advance can prevent a child’s illness or injury from becoming a source of parental conflict. Sick days are a predictable source of scheduling strain, and including a plan for handling sick days in parenting arrangements can prevent them from becoming a contentious issue between co-parents.