‘The days off were magic’: What kids lose when they lose snow days

canceled snow days when it announced its new 2021-2022 school year calendar.

“On ‘Snow days’ or days when school buildings are closed due to an emergency, all students and families should plan on participating in remote learning,” the city’s school district website stated.

Many waxed nostalgic about snow days on social media and expressed disapproval of the move by NYC public schools. And experts say the change has positive and negative implications for students that have experienced a seismic shift in their schooling due to the pandemic.

“As a retired NYC teacher, I’m appalled by this news,” @hemleeloquy tweeted. “Just let them have their snow day, people. We can’t forget that we were once children.”

“It’s truly unfair that children will not experience the snow day magic I did, which was actually me and my sister watching hours of TV and not being able to leave our house until our mom came home from work,” @katie_honan wrote on Twitter. 

@GabStaton wrote: “I feel like if I were a teacher those kids would be watching me watch TV the whole day.”

Students are more in need of positive experiences than ever to de-stress, according to Prerna Arora, an assistant professor of school psychology at Columbia University.

“If we’re not getting those via activities such as snow days, where students have historically been known to be able to play with friends … it’s going to be critical for schools and families to make sure that students are able to (receive) that kind of support in other avenues,” Arora says.

Snow days canceled at New York City public schools

Some are also losing snow day superstitions

New York City’s change also signals the end of snow day rituals for kids. Some common snow day superstitions include children wearing their pajamas inside-out for good luck, doing snow dances and staying glued to news tickers for snow day announcements. 

For Patrick Murphy, snow days remind him of growing up in Guilderland, New York, in the 1970s.

“We would get all bundled up to spend the day outside,” Murphy, 56, says. “The schools didn’t close too often, it would take about a foot of snow at least. But the days off were magic!”

Murphy, who now lives in Arvada, Colorado, recalls getting up early and listening to the school cancellation list on the radio. When there was enough snow, that meant helping his dad clear it.

As soon as the driveway was set, he enjoyed a day full of sledding; about 15 or 20 kids would gather on the neighborhood hills.

Mental Health America report recently found the rate of 11 to 17-year-old children screened in 2020 for anxiety and depression was up 9% compared to 2019. A national Gallup poll in June 2020 revealed that about 3 in 10 parents indicated social distancing and school closures were making their children experience emotional or mental harm.

The loss of snow days could negatively impact kids psychologically, Arora says, the same way they’ve been affected by missing school dances and group sports. 

“If we’re going to take this away, I think it’s imperative that we consider how schools can still be in the business of educating our children and making sure they get the services they need, while also supporting their other mental health in different ways.” 

Children’s mental health:What to know a year into the pandemic

If snow days are off the table, parents can still make sure their kids mark these weather-related days at home. Parents can build in some sledding time for kids as a break from the day when it snows, especially for younger kids, Calvert says. 

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