Best if you can show other dog-chewed items.
We head our list up with the classic - who hasn't heard about that homework-hating dog that must eat every assignment? Or maybe it's a homework-loving dog who craves the taste of graphite and ink.
Over the centuries, dogs have been accused of eating everything including, in one story published in 1808, a playing card that would have lost its master the high-stakes game he was playing.
This excuse is based on the true account of an Anglican priest, whose sermons tended to go on and on. He had to cut his preaching short one Sunday because a dog had gotten into his study and had eaten several pages of the sermon. The worshippers were reportedly delighted at spending less time in the pews.
The original dog who ate homework was allegedly Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise's pet fox.
The bottom line: despite its long history, this is not the most subtle or workable of excuses. However, should you have a dog… If all else fails, bring a few chewed-on pages as proof.
Today's technology poses problems for your alleged Swiss cheese memory . It makes it much harder to say you forgot about homework assignments. Upon any claim of faulty memory on your part, your teacher will ask if you checked with your mates.
Besides, what if your teacher assigned homework online , through your school's web-based learning portal? They'll see that you logged in, clearly proving you knew you had work to do.
You're golden with this excuse, but only if your teacher uses no web-based learning platforms . You probably DO remember getting your homework, but they can't be sure of that, right? This particular excuse work best if the whole class - or, at least a majority of your classmates made the same claim.
This is one of the best excuses for not doing homework if your assignment is particularly difficult. You and your mates can agree to back each other's stories up. Likewise, if you'd prioritise doing your homework , a study group is a fine idea.
This excuse works for just about anything, from the money you owe a friend to the book you promised to return. And, of course, for homework not done. It is particularly effective if you first dig into your backpack as you normally would.
And then, more frantically, your fingers scrabble and scour every pocket, even as you cast panicked glances around the room. If you could work up an embarrassed flush, that would be the icing on the cake.
You should make sure not to use this excuse too often with the same teacher. If you don't bring your homework to class several times in the same week, your teacher will probably realise that you simply haven't done it.
This is one of the best excuses for not doing homework for science and maths classes . That doesn't mean it won't fly if the assignment called for you to write at length. You might need to explain that you didn't get you were supposed to write about.
This story hits two birds with one stone when you combine it with "Could you explain it to me, please?". You'll get help with your homework and a deadline extension , especially if you actually don’t understand the assignment.
You might also try to have a quick look at the assignment before you start explaining why you haven't done it. Your argument will be more convincing if you point to the exact part of the assignment that was unclear. Should you choose this one from your list of homework excuses, beware of these possible teacher-counters (remember these answers!).
Did you ask your classmates?
"Ma'am/Sir, I asked my dad/mom/older sister for help. They couldn't advise me, either."
You're too good a student!
"Ma'am/Sir, this isn't my usual style, I know. But I truly did struggle with this assignment!"
You're pulling a fast one on me!
(Bursting into tears) "Nobody ever takes me seriously! Everyone expects so much from me!"
Anyone using these homework excuses should be aware that their teachers will not always believe them. Indeed, depending on how much experience the teacher has, they will know that the student is trying to deceive them. To avoid that kind of situation, it's best to do your homework effectively .
More schools are turning to web-based platforms to assign and turn in homework. This gives us a whole new spectrum of good excuses for not doing homework.
When the student's laptop is out of service, there is no way they can get their homework done. Calling a technician to repair the laptop may take several days and buying a new computer just to do your homework would be too expensive.
Besides laptop crashes, you might invoke pets and/or younger siblings breaking your laptop. Hackers, power failures and even that your printer ran out of ink could work, in a pinch. Of course, that last will be the least effective excuse, especially if you are a serial homework offender . Your teacher may say you could have loaded your work onto a USB drive and taken it to a print shop.
Beware too that, if no other student suffered a power outage , invoking that reason may force to veer into the 'parents didn't pay the bill' territory. That would be the only other reason that only you had no electricity to power your devices.
Primary and secondary school teachers usually have an idea of how much homework their colleagues assign. Besides, if they didn't, it would be a snap for them to check. They may start by asking your classmates; their responses might prove embarrassing for you.
Even if you lay out everything you did for that supposed other class, this story puts you and your teacher in a difficult position. This excuse might work if your professor is too inexperienced to know better or a bit on the negligent side.
On one hand, they might think: "Poor you, clearly you’ve been given far too much homework!". However, on the other, they may contend that other teachers' assignments aren't their concern. Furthermore, being a college/university student, you should manage your schedule and workload more efficiently.
This excuse would work best for college and university students.
Some teachers could take this excuse the wrong way, as though you care more about the other subject than theirs. So, use this argument very carefully and insist that it was an exceptional case in which you had no other choice. Keep this one in reserve for when you truly have nothing else to offer.
You might have earned your attendance tick in the register the day of the assignment announcement. Still, this story could fly if you can convince your teacher you were in the loo when they announced it. It would work particularly well if you are, indeed, a frequent visitor to the loo during class.
If you don't routinely excuse yourself from class, you must try to convince your teacher that they marked you present by mistake.
Here again, your classmates would have to vouch for you. Failing that, you might rope your parents into providing a note . Be sure it explains that, of course, you were absent on that day because you had to do something far more important than attending class.
Beware that telling teachers that you did not hear them announce the assignment may not be a good idea. It would be mean you did not pay attention in class. It is better not use excuses that can damage your reputation as a student and anger the teacher at the same time.
Did you know you could polish your civic, duty-bound image and still deploy homework excuses? Saying you couldn't do any homework because you were helping others would be a sure bet.
Our schools strive to provide citizenship education to all learners. If a student demonstrates social awareness, their teacher will be happy and proud about that.
Claiming team sports or group activities as your extracurricular activity is another good option. Even rowing, playing chess and singing in the church choir can be good excuses for not doing homework. They are beneficial activities that teach students new skills and widen their general knowledge.
Just remember that you should choose the reason you're too busy for homework wisely. If volunteering is your excuse, it would be best to actually volunteer. Should your deception find exposure, your fall from grace will be twice as far.
Not so long ago, in the halcyon, pre-COVID days, being sick was a classic homework excuse . One could claim a 24-hour bug, food poisoning or come to class looking convincingly wan and plead a fever the night before.
Not only would you be excused from turning in your assignments but you might have garnered a bit of sympathy... to say nothing of a handy extension on your deadline for turning work in.
Post-COVID, you may well be so ill that you're unable to distinguish your cat from your homework. However, if you claim you were bedridden and feverish, you may land yourself in quarantine. Missing out on classes, as well as leisure activities, can't outweigh the best excuses for not doing homework.
If you always dole out excuses for why your homework isn't done on time, perhaps it’s time to pull out your ace in the hole – the truth.
Honesty is still the best policy, after all. Your teacher will appreciate you telling the truth. It should be a refreshing change from the usual bombardment of (only somewhat believable) excuses.
Use truth-telling when you’re feeling especially sincere (and desperate). Or, the best yet: tell the truth all the time. The consequences for what we do (or don't do) may seem terrible, at the time. In reality, they often turn out to be less serious.
You teacher might give you additional homework to counterbalance the one you did not do. That way, you will still get a good mark and improve your subject knowledge. Besides, if you knew how to do homework , you wouldn't have to worry about recycling excuses and getting bad marks in class.
The all-time best excuses for not doing homework might not suit you. Or, maybe you've used them all at least once this school year. You might need extra excuses to save you from the wrath of Teacher :
Admittedly, for all that they are plausible, some of these excuses are quite funny. Your teacher may give you props for your inventiveness when you use them. However, if chronic homework neglect is your study style, be careful not to use the same excuse too many times. Otherwise, your teacher may not be sympathetic towards you.
Especially not if you have a legitimate reason for not completing homework. In fact, it would be easier to concentrate on your homework , and save your inventiveness for creative writing assignments.
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A student by trade, Daniel spends most of his time working on that essay that's due in a couple of days' time. When he's not working, he can be found working on his salsa steps, or in bed.
🤷♂️how do i excuse myself from unfinished homework.
There is no definite answer to this question as it depends on the person’s situation and the school’s policy. However, some ways to excuse oneself from unfinished homework could be to say that you are not feeling well, that you have other commitments, or that you do not have enough time.
‘I thought it was due tomorrow’ is a classic, but any excuse from this list will work, if used properly.
Maybe you don’t like homework because exhaustion or anxiety weigh you down. You might have other issues, like fear and perfectionism, and situational factors, like distractions and unclear instructions.
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My math teacher gave me detention when i said my sister drew on it
thankyou!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello. Thank you for always good blog
My teachers to smart
I got detention for telling the truth. I’ve learnt something today from that always lie.
I had a detention when I said that my dog had eaten my homework
Good but i think my teacher wont beleive these excusise
Posted on Published: November 19, 2023
By: Author Jane Morris
Students throw out all kinds of excuses for not getting their homework done! From believable excuses to the tried and true classic “ my dog ate it” , teachers hear a lot of excuses every damn day.
It doesn’t help that by now, the behavioral expectations for students have become so loose that students can pretty much say whatever they want without consequence. These days, the excuses are that much more interesting. (And honest.)
Over the course of nearly two decades of teaching, I heard every homework excuse in the book. Better yet, I’ve saved my favorites! And rounded them up here for your viewing pleasure.
So let’s share in the giggles together! I’ve rounded up 100 of the BEST homework excuses I’ve ever heard. The laughs are good for the soul.
And probably your patience too! Some of these you’ve likely heard before. There might not be a lot of foolproof excuses for not doing your homework, but there sure are a lot of fools that come up with some real stinkers!
So for your enjoyment (and definitely not to be actually used in a real-life classroom), here are 100 odd, creative, nonsensical, and hilarious excuses from students for not doing their homework!
If it’s your first day in the teaching profession , you might think homework excuses are few and far between. At the very least, you might think students bother making good excuses.
Well, you’d be wrong on both counts! You will be fed excuse after excuse from students for not having finished their homework, and very few of them will sound believable.
So new teachers, pay attention! Here is some of the ludicrousness you can expect from your class. And it WILL be on the test.
As for all my kindred season educators, sit back and enjoy the ride! Maybe grab a moist towelette…
Cause it’s about to get juicy.
Before the blog, the podcast, the merch store… there were the best-selling books.
If you like the content on this site, then you’ll LOVE the Teacher Misery books. They’re jam-packed with teaching insanity, ridiculous true stories, and all the commiseration about the profession you’ve come to know, adore, and respect.
Follow the links below to get your copies today!
Man, kids say the silliest things to teachers . From being arrested by the FBI to simply having a gross pimple, the excuses for not having done homework often make no sense…
But they are highly entertaining!
Look, we’ve all had a “little accident” . Only the worst teacher in the world would deny a student the facts of life.
But personal issues that maybe should stay personal are a go-to for slackers. Some funny homework excuses concern the crapper, and now we’re going to laugh at them. Take that, slackers!
Your student’s poop schedule is one bit of TMI you could probably do without. Look, the uncomfortable truth of the teaching profession is that there will be poops, pees, spews, and TOO much information. The funniest homework excuses usually overspecify…
It comes with the territory. So whenever one of these incredibly questionable yet incredibly funny excuses for not doing homework rolls your way, the best thing you can do is jot it down.
So that, one day, you can put it in a blog post on the internet. Guilty!
We, as teachers bound to our duty, MUST be sensitive to the family issues and home lives of our students…
Unless they’re just making up excuses to get out of doing their homework! A solid fib about family issues is a classic reason students use to skip homework.
Now, will parents ever take responsibility for their kids not doing their homework? No, of course not! Parents will blame teachers. It’s their go-to M.O.
So next time you hear one of these clankers, note it down and feed it back to the parents. That’ll throw a spanner in the wheels of the little turds!
“Damn, Miss, I was in Europe over the weekend.”
“Oh, you went for a weekend trip abroad as a 14-year-old? My apologies, allow me to rescind your homework requirements then.”
I honestly don’t know what some students are thinking with these reasons. But the stupidest homework excuses are my favorite. You can just let the kid talk and dig their own hole!
Perhaps, eventually, one of these definitely totally believable excuses will be the final straw for your inevitable nervous breakdown. But until then, just keep quoting them verbatim as teacher comments on their report cards .
Maybe one day someone will actually bother to read those things.
Look, sometimes all you really need to do is be honest . Did you not do your homework because you smoked a bowl and got marooned on the sofa with cartoons?
Screw it! Just tell the teacher that. Maybe they’ll give you a pass for your winning smile alone!
Much like all the ridiculous reasons to visit the school nurse , sometimes, the best reasons for not doing your homework require honesty.
What could possi-blye go wrong!
I’m not saying your students are animals (though they certainly behave like animals ).
I AM saying that students will make excuse after excuse for not doing their homework courtesy of their pets. They’re the perfect culprit! Who’s ever going to interrogate your furry friend for cross-examination?
Only the teachers who are crazy enough. ;)
Oh, man – I saw some whoppers of excuses in the remote learning era of COVID-19!
Technical difficulties are the perfect excuse students make to skip out on their homework. They think they’re more tech-savvy than teachers…
Little did they know that a teacher’s BS-meter is far more finely calibrated than their excuses will ever be!
Teacher Misery is by the teachers and for the teachers. Our mission to improve the lives of teachers everywhere.
If you’d like to support the cause, buy yourself (or the burnt-out educator in your life) a gift from our merch store. And, YES, they are all as sarcastic as you’d hope. 😉
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Reason #100:
Check and mate.
Thus concludes our list of the 100 funniest excuses for not doing their homework, all thanks to the countless students who skipped out on their work.
Stay on guard though. With the rise of AI and homework excuse generators , the excuses only get more advanced!
So stay switched on out there! If it’s not funny excuses for not doing homework, it’s straight-up silly reasons for being absent and everything else under the sun.
Jot them down, collect them, and then (if you’re feeling spicy), post them in the comments down below. Why stop at 100? Gotta catch ’em all!
Stay miserable out there, teacherinos. The excuses and excuses never stop coming! So maybe come up with your own…
“Oh, no, sorry, Lucy. I CAN’T return your confiscated phone. My dog ate it.”
Put a stop to deadline pressure, and have your homework done by an expert.
Homework excuses are common among students at all educational levels. It’s no secret that many learners dislike homework and must find ways to convince educators they are not at fault. Although academic life is exciting, it comes with burdens. Life hardships make some learners unable to complete homework within the deadlines that educators stipulate.
Whether in college, high school, or university, you will need excuses for not doing your homework. This article lists some of the best reasons learners give for not completing their homework. It’s helpful because not every learner is sufficiently creative to convince the teacher or professor to pardon them for not completing assignments.
A homework excuse is a story, explanation, or alibi that a student gives the teacher or professor for not completing their homework.
A learner may require an excuse for various reasons. For instance, they may need it to cover up for something else or lack a good reason to justify their inability to submit the assignment. Regardless of the case, students can use different excuses to convince educators not to punish or penalize them.
Excuses for not doing homework are essential for several reasons. For instance, a learner could be having a bad day. Or they may not feel like doing the assignment. Some educators bombard learners with many tasks with strict deadlines. In that case, students may lack time to do all the coursework and score their desired grades. Therefore, they can give excuses to get extra time to complete the homework.
Every student has been there- you have homework, but certain things prevent you from doing it.
The primary purpose of excuses is to temporarily help you get out of trouble for not doing the task. They can also allow you to focus on what prevents you from doing it.
Homework excuses give students a way to explain why they didn’t do their assignments. While learners have different reasons for using an excuse, the bottom line is avoiding the consequences of not completing the work or punishment. Nevertheless, students should keep a few things in mind whenever they use an excuse to justify their inability to submit homework on time.
First, learners should ensure their excuses are believable. A student shouldn’t try to use a fake reason, like saying your dog ate your homework. Second, they should prepare to back up their story if necessary. If the teacher asks for more information about the excuse, the learner should be ready to give it. Finally, students shouldn’t overuse excuses. If they constantly make excuses for not doing their homework, the teacher will catch on eventually.
An excuse for not completing homework can come in handy in different situations. Here are seven examples of reasons for not doing homework.
If you didn’t do your homework because you forgot about it, you could say that you were sick or that something came up that prevented you from doing it. Maybe you didn’t do your homework because you didn’t understand it. In that case, you can say that the instructions were confusing or that you couldn’t find the needed information. If you didn’t do your homework because you didn’t have enough time, you could say that you had extracurricular activities or that you had to work. Perhaps, you didn’t do your homework because you were procrastinating. In that case, you can say that you started it but ran out of time. If you didn’t do your homework because you were distracted, you can say that something came up or that you couldn’t focus. Maybe you didn’t do your homework because you were sick. If so, you can say that you had a doctor’s appointment or weren’t feeling well. If your reason for not doing homework was a busy schedule, you could say that you had a family emergency or that you had no option but to work.
Always remember that your excuse must be believable to serve its purpose. Therefore, choose a reason that best suits your situation.
Perhaps, you have other commitments that prevent you from attending practice or class. And this might prevent you from submitting your homework on time. In that case, you can give the following believable excuses:
Note that you can also use these excuses for not completing your homework. Nevertheless, ensure you’re convincing the educator to believe you.
Not every learner can give an excuse and get away with it. That’s because educators were once students, meaning they knew all the tricks in the book. So, suppose you have difficulties giving your teacher a believable excuse for not completing and submitting homework. In that case, the following are tips for providing good excuses for not doing homework should help you get away with it.
Be confident: Unless you sell the excuse, chances are that your teacher won’t buy it. So, act as if you believe in what you’re saying, and chances are, your educator will find it too. Keep it short and sweet: The longer the story, the more likely it is to seem fabricated. So, make sure to keep your excuse short and to the point. Make it believable: As we said before, educators were once students. That means they know all of the excuses in the book. So, if you want to make your excuse believable, make sure it’s something that could happen. Be prepared to back it up: If your teacher asks for more information about your excuse, be ready to give it. And this will help make your story more believable. Don’t overuse excuses: If you’re constantly making excuses for not doing your homework, your teacher will catch on eventually. So, use them sparingly and only when necessary.
If you ever want to give excuses for homework, these tips should help you do so without getting caught. But if your teacher is on to your tricks, making up believable excuses might seem daunting. But don’t worry. There are still ways to make your reasons more plausible. For instance, try to use excuses that don’t involve technology. If you say your computer crashed and lost all your work, your teacher will likely ask for a hard copy or proof that you did the task.
Second, try to use excuses that are specific to the assignment. For example, if you’re trying to get out of doing a science project, saying you don’t have the materials is more believable than saying you don’t have the time. And finally, try to use excuses that are relevant to your life outside the school. If you’ve been sick recently or have a family emergency, your teacher is likelier to believe that you didn’t do your homework.
Nevertheless, the best way to avoid giving an excuse in the first place is to do your homework. That way, you won’t have to worry about coming up with a good reason for not doing it.
Maybe you’ve given many excuses for not completing homework on time and think your teacher has begun suspecting you. Perhaps, you can no longer come up with the best excuses for not doing homework. In that case, the following tips will help you avoid giving excuses for missing class or not submitting homework on time.
These tips should help you avoid excuses because you will always complete your homework on time. Nevertheless, excuses are a necessary evil for students who want to get out of doing their homework. But with creativity, you can make even the most far-fetched excuse sound plausible. So next time you’re stuck trying to come up with an excuse, remember these tips, and you’ll be sure to get out of doing your homework in no time.
Perhaps, you’re tired of struggling to find good excuses for missing homework. Maybe you want to ensure you always complete and submit your assignments on time. Perhaps you are out here thinking “who can do my assignment UK ?” In that case, we can help.
We offer high-quality homework assistance online to learners across educational levels. Whether in high school, pursuing our diploma, undergraduate, or post-graduate studies, we can help you. Our service is custom, cheap, and secure. We’re fast and reliable, with the best homework experts in all academic disciplines. Once you contact us saying, “Please do my homework,” we pick the most competent experts to start working on it immediately.
And this, combined with our expertise, enables us to deliver all assignments from our customers before their deadlines elapse. That means you will never struggle to find the best homework excuses with our service. So, use our service if you always want to be on good terms with your teacher or professor. Contact us now!
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1. Know how gullible your teacher is. Some teachers will believe anything, especially new teachers. More experienced teachers are much more difficult to fool and more likely to be bitter and jaded. Experienced teachers have also heard most of the lame excuses you have planned. 2. Know how strict your teacher is . I’ll let you in on a teaching secret: most teachers want you to succeed. They want to believe you stayed up all night nursing your sick hamster. Use this to your advantage. 3. Find out if your teacher likes you. I’ll let you in on another secret: teachers play favorites. Are you a favorite? If you are, use any excuse you like. 4. Find out your teacher’s interests . Here’s another secret: teachers love being the center of attention. Why else would they subject themselves to the torment that comes with instructing teenagers? They love talking about themselves. Listen when they do.
1. I got my backpack stolen: use rampant crime among high school students to your advantage. No teacher in his right mind would expect you to turn in that big assignment if it got stolen the very day it was due. Although most teachers won’t follow through, filing a missing backpack report might not be a bad idea. 2. My mom and dad got in a huge fight last night and the cops came and I couldn’t concentrate on the assignment: Domestic violence isn’t something to lie about…unless it’s done to save your grade. This excuse works on so many levels: (1) Your teacher will never bring this up to your parents; and (2) you will garner sympathy for the rest of the year. The only way this could go wrong is if your teacher reports this to your guidance counselor and your counselor contacts your parents. That’s probably not going to happen. 3. I stayed at my dad’s this weekend and left it there and my mom refuses to let me go back and get it: Teachers are suckers for dysfunctional family stories. This is an all time classic. 4. I left my binder in my mom’s car and she’s at work across town: This is a twist on the easy to see through “I left it at home” excuse. A teacher can reasonably expect someone from home to bring your homework, but not even the meanest teacher would expect your mom to leave work. 5. I was really sick yesterday and unable to do anything. The only reason I came is because I didn’t want to miss any more work: Teachers will admire your perseverance and give you the extra day. 6. It’s that “time of the month”: If you’re a boy, don’t try this. This only works for females on male teachers. 7. Grandma died: Even if the teacher doubts the veracity of your grandma’s death, he’s not gonna call you out on it just in case it’s true. There are obvious problems with this excuse, including the guilt you’ll feel if your grandma does die that week. 8. My dog died and I was too upset to do my homework: This is rarely used, but effective, especially if your teacher has a dog. Only a heartless task master would not cut you a break over losing your best friend. 9. I had to take care of my baby sister who was up last night throwing up: Another underused classic. Be careful your teacher isn’t an e-mailer or he just might e-mail your parents for an update on your baby sister who doesn’t exist. 10. Tell the truth: This is a revolutionary excuse. Often if you just go to your teacher in the morning and tell him or her the truth, you’ll get some additional time. What’s your favorite homework excuse? Image by Jan Vašek from Pixabay
Find the best, the worst, the most popular, and the funniest homework excuses with just a few clicks of the mouse.
We all have drained our brains thinking for the perfect lie that could save us from our teachers. While school days are said to be one of the most memorable days of our lives, homework is one thing that we all used to run away from and would do anything to be away from it. Nervousness tickles up the spine when the teacher starts calling out names, asking for homework, slowly coming up to your name.
And you did not do it!
That is a moment when your brain is thinking hard for a solution, eyes staring blankly at your friends to get help, mouth mindlessly chewing nails and legs just wishing they could let you run out of the room. Alas, none of the things usually work out and it is left up to you to save yourself. And by the time you could make up the perfect justification, your teacher asks, “What about your homework? Have you done it dear?”
“No, ma’am. I mean yes, but actually…”
Well, there is always hope. It can be a good help if you try out these excuses for not doing your homework. There are always some cards that play the perfect role to help you out.
The king of all the excuses, illness can help you out surely. Now, it is important to keep in mind that your illness should sound practical as if it really happened to you. Do not tell of an ill situation that is hard to believe. I have heard that students sometimes even say that they caught rabies, and get blasted later. Viral infection, swelling, digestion issues and fever can work well.
Well, let’s not always blame the dogs for killing away your homework. This time, let your cat save you!
Or even a community club, pets help, orphanage etc can be used to make up a perfect excuse. Teaming up with a social cause shows you as a responsible person towards your surroundings, and your teacher may like it and give you a day to cover up your work.
Well, this sounds as quite a common excuse, but definitely worth a try.
Yes, and that’s why you were busy all day round decorating up the house, fetching orders, planning the surprises which did not leave you any time for homework.
When your teacher is coming to you for homework, just bring out the actor inside you and pretend to be really sick, all of a sudden. You can act as if you have a really bad stomach, dizziness or feeling like throwing up as they happen suddenly. Rush to the medical room and you can be saved from a scolding.
Let’s say the papers just got here and there while your room was being cleaned, and you could never find it again. It will be hard to believe one for your teacher though, but surely a fun thing to say as well.
Let the vacuum cleaner suck up your homework! And if the teacher asks that you could have still pulled it out, cleaned the paper and presented it to her, plainly say that it had too much chunk which was immediately cleaned.
And then think of a punishment which will keep you away from your room. Anything which is exhausting and time taking after which you were very tired and straight went off to sleep. For example, say you were asked to mow the lawn, clean the car, check and fix all the electric sockets etc. Surely this excuse can save you well because your teacher to knows that no one can cheat mom!
And below the bridge, there is the river, where it got dumped. But beware; do not think of saying the lie if there is no river in your way. You won’t be able to slip out of your teacher’s hands later!
This excuse usually works well, because you did your homework but the system crashed. Play it well and you teacher will believe you.
Eww, but it can definitely help you! And no one is going to think further about the assignment once they listen to this perfect lie.
Now you don’t know where the sweet guy who helped you went, neither you have any number to contact him.
Yes, finally the dog comes in to save you! And a further number of excuses that you can make up that involve your dog. Just like the lie where your younger sibling pooped on your precious homework, your teacher won’t think of it further.
Anything bizarre can be cooked up once you say the word ‘Aliens’. You can say they sucked up all the ink of the entire block for their UFO’s fuel, or even that a tornado hit up when they were taking off the land. Aliens are always fun to talk about.
Homework is important of course, but hygiene comes first!
Pretend to be really worried, because you clearly remember keeping it in your backpack right this morning. But when you opened the bag in the class, poof! It has vanished. Your teacher will find it hard to believe because it is a lame excuse, but if you play it well, it can work as it points out that someone from class might have stolen it.
And while you were having breakfast, your dad was packing his bag for the office, searching for his files and papers and by mistake took off your homework with him too. But make sure your teacher does not end up calling your father to send in the homework.
Sounds fake. Totally. But it is possible anyway. Say your cousins were at your place last night and they tried up hypnotizing each other. Initially, it wasn’t happening, but when they tried the trick on you, it happened! And they made you clean all the chores of the house, bla bla bla. Make sure to tell that you were hypnotized all the time and got into senses right before school time.
Your butler cleaned up the room while you were getting ready. He thought it was some waste papers and threw them off. Plainly say that you were so furious that you asked dad to fire him right away.
Your cousin got a new paper shredder and wanted to test it. Before you could act in the situation, he picked up the assignment sheets lying near him and put into the machine. And you were crying your heart out when homework got chopped off finely.
And bring in all the conjuring effects that can trickle down a shiver of fear down the spine. Like the aliens, anything can be cooked up if you talk about paranormal activities. Lights got dimmed, bulbs burst off later, cold wind blew in through the wind, creepy sounds etc can all be a part of your story which made you really scared. So scared that you hid under the sheets and just slept off.
Say that your grandmom lost her glasses and had a very urgent letter to be delivered. By mistake, she picked up your homework and put it in the envelope. And all the while this happened, you were sleeping thus could not do anything.
Due to the heavy rain, there was low voltage and the fuse blew off. There was no light to see the fuse and fix it, thus you had to burn all the papers you could get your hands on, including your assignment. What a sacrifice it sounds! And when the power came back finally, there was not enough paper left in the house to start again.
The most common excuse, after all. Teachers have heard it a zillion times and find it lame. But it does happen that students forget their work due to a rush. But make sure that you do not use the lie each time you skip your homework because it does not make any sense that you forgot your homework every time.
This trick can definitely play well to save you from a punishment. After all, playing a good and responsible kid is never a bad idea!
And thus you could not see anything around you. A little silly it sounds, but if you play this excuse well, it can help you out for sure.
Willing to play with your teacher’s mind? Then do try out this excuse. But be prepared for the fact that you may be scolded a little for letting others copy your work. But I’m sure it will be better than being blasted for not doing it at all!
Make sure to state right in the beginning that your maid can’t read. ‘Sharing is caring’ can indeed help you out and be a good excuse for skipping homework.
This excuse will be more sensible if you have done your homework, but not completed it. Add on some extra lines that the nearby stationery was closed too or anything else. Though a little hard to believe, it might work out too.
Why not add some drama to your lie! Make up a good story of how happy you were when you started from home as all your answers were correct but you got robbed in the way, and the bad guys took out everything from your bag and vanished. If possible, shed off a tear too, and the teacher will surely believe you and give you another chance to work on it. But hey, this excuse may not work every time as it is easy to catch out such fictitious excuses.
Little kids can be a great saviour when it comes to making excuses. Plainly tell your teacher that your baby brother made a boat out of your assignment and sailed it in the bathtub.
Play out a frustrated kid while telling this excuse, and say how dedicated you were to your work all night. But when you cross-checked the answers, you got angry with yourself so much that you just blew off the paper. Quite an unbelievable excuse though, but if you play it smartly, your teacher will surely believe in it.
Keep it simple, practical and real. Who can stop nature anyway?
Sounds fun and adventurous, but do not dare to try if your teacher is sheer smart.
Again, let your family be your saviour!
Though it is another common lie that goes around a lot, it can give you an extra day.
Tell your teacher that you are shifting your house to a new place, thus everyone was busy packing up the whole stuff. And now you have no idea where your stationery is packed!
And you could not do anything but to help him get to the washroom. And it was a stinking gross sight by the time you returned, thus you had to throw away your homework. This excuse can work well if you play it smartly.
This shows that you tried doing your homework, but came across problems while doing it. You can make it even better by asking some doubts from your teacher to make it clear to your teacher that you indeed tried doing the homework.
And you don’t know anything about it. In fact, this is the most common lie that every student has given quite a times in their school times. And the teachers have got bored of hearing this lie. But you can still try it out.
You were staying up all night, working hard on your assignment and then straight away went to sleep. And you went crazy in the morning when you realized that you had turned off your computer without saving your work!
Well, it won’t be wrong to blame your neighbours little for not doing homework. Say the music was too loud or they were drunk and kept disturbing us at our home or anything else.
Teachers go a little crazy hearing this one, and they start lecturing the kids. But it happens often that students are already burying their heads in one subject so much that they can’t complete other subjects’ work.
Let’s say that a crime scene popped out in your neighbourhood and you were called upon for a general investigation. The tiring questions made you really exhausted and you jumped into bed after it.
You were about to print your work, but let the printer take all your pains. Say it ran out of ink, bolts were loose or anything else. After all, technical errors can ooze up anytime.
Oh, poor you! You did a good job at solving all the problems, sitting up all night. But he quarrelled with you right when you woke up in the morning and tore off your homework to bits just to annoy you. And every person knows that fights between siblings are a messy thing to tackle, so such things happen often!
A toothache is a thing which can shiver a person even in his sleep. Your teacher may have gone through the sour experience as well, so such an excuse can keep you safe easily.
An annoying lie which the teacher may not believe, but it can explain to him clearly that you need more time to complete your work.
Sometimes, telling the truth is the best excuse to explain why you did not do your work. If no other way seems to work out, speak out the truth, blaming yourself a little that you felt lazy and did such an irresponsible thing. Tell your teacher that you would not repeat such a mistake and require some extra time to finish your work. Sometimes, truth wins overall.
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12 of the funniest excuses for not doing your homework.
Homework is something that a lot of students choose not to do, even though they know they can get into a lot of trouble for skipping it. If you’re an educator, you’ve probably heard an unlimited number of excuses from your students, and some of them might have been absolutely hilarious.
From a student’s perspective, homework can be a serious obstacle to doing things they love, such as meeting with friends, playing video games or watching their favorite TV shows. In fact, a Chinese study found that more than 70 percent of schoolchildren don’t like homework .
Who’s going to want to do that math homework or write college papers when a new Marvel comic book has just been released, right?
So, to celebrate the inventive excuses students use to get out of homework, we’ve gathered some of the best from across the internet in the list below, enjoy.
1. “My brother’s friend , who came to our house yesterday, said he could eat paper, and I didn’t believe him. So he decided to show how much paper he could eat and grabbed my homework right out of my desk. I didn’t see that it was my homework and realized that it was too late.”
2. “ My dad needs a paper shredder for work, and it was delivered to our house yesterday. He wanted to show us how it works and mistakenly took my homework and destroyed it.”
3. “ My mom once said that she wanted my best homework framed. When I completed all the work yesterday, I said to her that it was the best because I did everything right, even the tasks for extra credit. Today, I couldn’t find it so I went to my mom. She said she had to have it framed because it was my best homework!”
4. “ I didn’t do my homework because I figured I’d do it tomorrow, because I’ll be older, and therefore be wiser, then.”
5. “ Yesterday, I didn’t have time to complete the homework because I was at the rally all day. The rally was calling for an increase to teacher pay, so I had to be there.”
6. “ To be honest, I didn’t do my homework because I know how heavy your current workload is and I didn’t want to add to it. I thought that I could give you some more free time.”
8. “ While I was getting ready for school this morning, I was putting some books inside my backpack. When it was time for my homework, my mom said she needed to see me in the kitchen right away. I went there, and when I came back, my homework wasn’t there. Clearly, my dad accidentally took it to work because his briefcase was next to my backpack.”
9. “ I was in the school yard when I heard some student saying bad things about you. I felt like that should let him know that he was wrong. It would be wrong to hurt him, so I thought a good way was to throw something at him. I quickly looked through my backpack, but the only thing I could find was the homework I had to submit today. After hesitating a bit, I let him have it. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find it afterward; someone must have taken it.”
The amount of homework is steadily increasing , so more and more students are finding creative excuses to avoid it. We collected just a small amount in this article, but there are literally thousands of excuses like these, and students keep coming up with new ones.
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do my homework for me.
Have you ever found yourself in a position where you didn’t do the homework given, and the time passed? Well, you are not alone. Studies have shown that over 70% of students don’t like homework, which is why they have to devise good excuses for not doing them.
Seven out of ten parents agree that students should be given a break from homework once in a while. Homework makes students find it difficult to attend to other matters and socialize with family members.
Here are some of the best homework excuses you can use if you did not do your homework.
This is one of the most common excuses for not doing homework that students have been using for many years. Although one might not wish to be sick, it works well, especially if you have proof from the doctor.
If there is no evidence, you can still use it to tell the teacher that the appointment was spoilt by the juice in your backpack. I would advise you to pour some juice with some paper in the bag just to ensure that the excuse looks legit.
We all know that children are innocent and cannot be able to differentiate between important documents and rough drafts. Telling your teacher that the homework was torn apart by your younger one can be a perfect excuse. You should also tell the teacher that you share your bedroom with your sibling.
Another hw excuse is to tell the teacher that the dog ate your homework. This one sounds funny but might save you. It turns out that most dogs like chewing papers and teachers who have dogs know this. However, for you to convince the teacher, it is important to show him/her what scraps remain. This will enable you to buy more time so that you can work on the homework and submit it in time.
This is another perfect excuse. In most cases, the teacher will probably not start an investigation to find out who stole your back. You will say that you lost your bag while skateboarding with other students.
This is one the most honest homework that you can use to get a time extension. You can always tell your teacher that you did not get the concept very well in class, and that is why you could not do the assignment.
It is a good excuse for math, chemistry, statistics, and other related sciences. However, it might not work well with essays because there are no calculations.
Computers are man-made machines and are prone to failure. Teachers know that a computer can crash anytime. However, I would advise that you have some handwritten work to show that you had started working on the homework before the computer crashed. This will show that you are smart enough and resilient. This one works well with both essays and calculations.
Here, you will tell the teacher that you were working on your homework while you were on a ride with your mum. Then, the teacher will understand that your mum can’t leave work duties to bring your bag to school.
You can use this excuse whenever stranded. For example, you can say that you were in the washroom when the assignment was given. I would advise you to use it as the last option since the teacher can just ask other students if you were in class.
When ladies are at that time of the month, most of them find it difficult to concentrate in class due to pain. This could be a good one to get away with homework, but it only works for ladies.
Sometimes you get too much work from your teacher or from other courses that you are taking. Telling your teacher that you had too much work might be a good excuse, especially if the lecturer understands.
All these homework excuses can be great to use when your homework is late.
It is vital to tell lies as an excuse for not doing homework, but it is also more important, to be honest. Most teachers will appreciate that you said what made you not complete the assignment.
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Executive functions go berserk trying to keep up with homework assignments, deadlines, and problem sets. lighten your child’s load by using the after-school homework routine that teaches scheduling and prioritization skills..
If your child has ADHD or a learning disability, you may have gotten used to being the one who decides what he does, when he does it, and squashing any excuses for not doing homework. At some point, however, your child must learn to maintain his own schedule and set his own priorities. If he reaches high school without knowing these skills, he’ll have big trouble keeping up with assignments and extracurricular activities.
What does it take to get your child to assume control of his schedule? Create an ADHD school organization plan.
Step one is to get him into the habit of using a daily planner. Have him sit down with it after breakfast every morning, to review how his time will be spent that day, and which tasks he needs to accomplish. Make sure the planner accompanies your child to school, and that he writes down all test dates, due dates, assignments, and so on in it.
When your child gets home from school , sit down with him and his updated planner. Together, review the homework assignments for the evening. You may be tempted to tell him what to do and when. Don’t. Instead, pose a series of questions to help him set priorities. You might ask, “Do you think you should start with those math problems? Or would it be better to do your math after you finish outlining that chapter in your science book?”
Feel free to make a helpful observation or two: “Last week you chose to work on your math first because you like it, and it’s easy for you. But I’ve noticed that you’re better at tuning in to details when you’re freshest, so you may want to make proofreading your book report the first priority today.”
[ Get This Free Download: Solve Your Child’s Homework Problems ]
There is no hard and fast rule about prioritizing. For some children, the best approach is to get the hard stuff out of the way first. For others, breezing through something easy is a confidence-booster that helps motivate them to plow through harder assignments.
Make sure your child understands the difference between urgent tasks (those which must be completed by the following day, for example), and tasks that are important but not urgent. As he gains more experience setting homework priorities, let him assume more control.
Some children have trouble gauging how long each assignment will take. If your child does, take him step by step through each assignment.
For example, maybe your child thinks he’ll need only 10 minutes to look up the definitions of 10 words and write a sentence using each — but you know it will take at least four times that long. Point out that it could take one minute to look up each word, and up to three minutes to write each sentence. If he doubts you, time him as he completes the assignment, and show him how long the assignment actually took.
At first, your child may resist your efforts to get him to plan and prioritize. Eventually, though, he should begin to see how helpful the process can be. If he continues to put up a fight, consider handing things off to a tutor or learning specialist.
Just about any planner will do, as long as there’s enough space beside each date to pencil in activities, events, homework assignments, due dates, and so on.
Before giving the planner to your child, enter all of his regularly scheduled activities (art class, soccer practice, therapy sessions, and so on). Then teach him to pencil in activities and assignments as soon as he learns of them. That way, he can leave the “remembering” to his planner — and quit worrying about missed appointments or forgotten assignments .
[ Click for a Free Download: Homework Ideas That Work ]
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Last Updated: April 9, 2024
This article was co-authored by Alicia Oglesby . Alicia Oglesby is a Professional School Counselor and the Director of School and College Counseling at Bishop McNamara High School outside of Washington DC. With over ten years of experience in counseling, Alicia specializes in academic advising, social-emotional skills, and career counseling. Alicia holds a BS in Psychology from Howard University and a Master’s in Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology from Chestnut Hill College. She also studied Race and Mental Health at Virginia Tech. Alicia holds Professional School Counseling Certifications in both Washington DC and Pennsylvania. She has created a college counseling program in its entirety and developed five programs focused on application workshops, parent information workshops, essay writing collaborative, peer-reviewed application activities, and financial aid literacy events. This article has been viewed 99,839 times.
Homework generally isn’t that much fun. But it generally is a requirement that has a pretty decent-sized impact on your grade, so if you want (or need) to do well in a class, getting the homework done is a big deal. So what happens if you forget to do one of the assignments? You have a few options; the first and best is, of course, to not to forget to do it in the first place. But if that’s not an option, there are a few other measures you can take to try to get out of a homework scrape. Read on to find out more.
Kamora Mcdonald
Sep 26, 2016
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Do you need a good excuse to get out of something? You’re in the right place.
For the purpose of this article, we’ll assume that you want to reject someone close to you, like a friend asking you to go out or a loved one asking you to spend time with them.
However, if you carefully follow the steps below, you’ll be able to get out of anything. Plus, you can be honest, avoid hurting anyone, and feel guilt-free about it.
You can even use some of these excuses in your professional life and with acquaintances, not just friends and family. Keep reading to learn how to tailor them based on your specific circumstances.
But let’s start with the list of excuses you can use to get out of something you just don’t want to do.
1. be ready for follow-up questions..
Whichever excuse you use, be prepared for questions.
“I’m having a personal issue that I need to urgently tend to,” would probably be enough for a boss or a coworker not to ask you more about it. But if it’s a loved one, they may want to know the details. This is why some of the examples on the list include specifics to help you navigate follow-up questions.
You need to be prepared for follow-up questions, so decide how honest you want to be. For instance, saying, “I had a one-night stand, and I’m at the hospital waiting for the results because I might have an STD,” could be rephrased into, “I have to go to the doctor’s to get some test results, I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”
However, if you say this, the person will probably have follow-up questions, so you could even say, “I’m down with a cold.”
When something is a health issue, you could make it general, and people likely won’t ask you more about it.
However, be careful with using health issues if they’re not real. If you’re feeling sick every Sunday night, the person is going to realize that the issue is not about your health at all.
“I’m going through something personal that I don’t want to talk about,” is a good excuse if it’s true. So consider staying in the “honest zone” when coming up with your excuses.
Depending on how honest you want it to be, pick a general excuse or a specific one. “I don’t want to go out” can be rephrased into, “I just want to be by myself today, sorry for the late response, hope you have fun, and we’ll do it another time.”
A good excuse to not hang out might be: “I’ve just been under a lot of stress lately, and it’s getting to me, so I don’t feel like it. I’m sorry. Let me get back to you when I’m on my feet again.” The only question is, how honest do you want to be with this person?
A generic excuse, like the first one on the list above, will work a charm. However, they’re often like literally saying the words “generic excuse” to the person after they ask you to do something. So, if you frequently use generic excuses (especially if fake), the person is going to give up on asking you to do things. Therefore, consider being as honest as you can be and get specific with your loved ones, but rephrase if necessary.
“I don’t feel like getting out of bed and going out,” could be changed by saying, “To be honest, I’d rather just stay home and get cozy, life hasn’t been easy on me lately.” Or, “I just popped open a bag of chips, and there’s this show on Netflix… I know… Don’t hate me, but I just can’t, the bed is hugging me.”
So, consider using details and being honest with your loved ones. “I ran into my ex today and it tore me up emotionally, so I really need some alone time right now, hope you understand,” is a very good excuse if it’s a real one.
The problem with being specific without being honest about it is that you’d need to remember your lie and back it up later. There will also be follow-up questions, so it’s best to stay in the “honest zone.”
You could be honest by being entirely vague by saying something like “You wouldn’t believe the day I had; I can’t bring myself to see anyone right now. Let’s talk a few days from now.”
Stay in the “honest zone” by making your problem general. Is it a personal issue, your professional life, your love life, family problems, or your social life that is standing in your way? “I’m not feeling well,” could be anything in the world if you’re having a health issue that you don’t want to talk about.
Similarly, “I’m busy with work,” is a valid excuse for wanting to rest after a hard day instead of going out with your friends.
However, don’t hesitate to share something about what’s going on with you with the person you’re talking to. You could rephrase what you need to say by carefully picking the words and actually saying the truth… Just put some thought into it if you have enough time. Pick an excuse that best fits your situation from the list, or come up with one that describes what you really want to say.
How much do you want to share with this person? If you use a general excuse too often, your family or friends are likely to give up on asking you to do things, so consider making a long story short.
Maybe you don’t want to tell them that you are practically destitute, but you could say, “I wish I could, but I’m currently broke, so please be patient until I get my life in order, and we’ll hang out later.”
Open up, but close the doors to further discussions by saying that you don’t want to talk about it. Turn a long story about how you got into gambling and now are in debt into a story about how you’re currently broke.
Why are you broke? “Bad luck.” You don’t have to share things that you don’t want to, just keep your excuse close to what it really is so that you can remember it, back it up, and stick to it if needed.
Think about your long story and how you can keep it short. Then think about how to rephrase it. Maybe you don’t want them to know that you’ll be spending the night with your ex, but you could tell them that your love life is still too much of a mess and you need to deal with that.
When they ask about the details, tell them that letting go is a process and that you need to be alone for a while. Even though you’ll be with your ex. Keep that last part to yourself, just don’t go too far away from the “honest zone,” even if it means sticking to something general instead.
There are some things that people are just not going to talk about anymore when you bring them up. If you said, “I had a one-night stand, and I’m at the hospital waiting to see if I have an STD,” it would likely elicit very few follow-up questions.
Make it clear by being bold or by using a generic excuse from the list. Consider even just saying, “I’m sorry, I just really don’t want to do it right now. I’m overwhelmed with my own things; give me some time please.”
If you don’t want to be asked about it, end the discussion by making it clear that you don’t want to talk about it further. People can take a hint.
Just avoid being too honest in your professional life and with people other than your loved ones.
“I had a long day, and I really don’t feel like going anywhere,” is a good enough excuse already. Consider simply being honest about why you can’t hang out with them, and it might be enough to do the trick.
Hey, don’t forget that you just need to stay in the zone. You don’t have to be entirely honest about it. But if the person asking is your loved one, keep in mind that you most definitely can if you want to.
On the other hand, you could simply choose a fake excuse from the list, and it will be effective as long as you stick to your story. However, it’s much better to come up with your own excuse based on the examples listed above. If you tailor it, you can be at least a bit honest about it, and that will help your loved one understand you better. As a result, they will continue to ask you to do things.
In other areas of your life, such as your job, using generic excuses is usually good enough as long as there’s truth to it and you don’t overdo it.
Whether you choose to be honest about it or not, if you do want to be asked again, make sure to reschedule. As soon as you use the excuse, emphasize that you do want to do something another time, it is just this specific date that doesn’t work for you. This will ensure that your friends and family ask you again.
1. pick an excuse that best fits your situation..
Stay honest by picking an excuse from the list that best describes your real reasoning and tailoring it to your situation. Reveal something about the actual reason you don’t want to go instead of just using generic excuses.
On the other hand, if you don’t want all the follow-ups and explaining, consider something general, like being sick. It’s okay to use these excuses as long as you don’t overdo it or downright lie about it entirely. Feeling blue is kind of like being sick, so don’t forget that you can just be in the “honest zone” when not wishing to share too much about what you’re going through.
How honest and specific do you want to be? Is the person going to accept your response if you’re entirely honest with them? What if you rephrase it? While you can be as honest as you want to be, it’s not a guarantee that an honest excuse will be accepted as a good one.
So, consider what the person would accept as a valid excuse. Then you can phrase your excuse accordingly.
As already mentioned, if you don’t want them to give up on asking you to do things, make sure to point out that you want to reschedule. On the flip side, if you don’t want them asking you to do things, just use the generic excuse. This can even be considered being honest when it’s a repeated and obvious hint that you don’t want to hang out with that person anymore.
You can be honest about the real reason you can’t make it, just make it a short story instead of a long one as we mentioned in one of the earlier steps. However, consider opening up to the person entirely if they are someone you trust and care for. It is not recommended to use fake or generic excuses with people close to you that should know the truth.
As for acquaintances and coworkers, generic excuses pretty much cover everything you would really need to say. Just be sure that you’re not making it up entirely in case you need to validate your story, and make sure that you can stick to it.
As already mentioned, “I’m going through something personal that I need to tend to immediately,” should be enough for most people. Just don’t overdo it.
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This is not what i had in mind..
Dear Prudence is Slate’s advice column. Submit questions here. (It’s anonymous!)
Dear Prudence ,
My husband and I have been married for three years and been together five all together. He has a 15-year-old and an 8-year-old. We have them alternating weeks. The kids are great, but we got married during a COVID scare, so basically no wedding and honeymoon. We each get two weeks of vacation at our jobs and every hour is spent on a family vacation. This year, a college friend invited us to visit her in Germany. It would essentially be a 12-day trip where we could explore Europe. Her husband has a family that offered to host us for a night or two in Italy. It is a dream come true for us; only, the enthusiasm of my husband is circling the drain.
His kids are whining about going to their grandparents while we are going to Europe. Neither has passports and we already have tickets, but my husband has been making excuses about rescheduling for next year and having us go to the beach with the kids instead. I am absolutely livid! This is a one-time offer, I took extra shifts to save for this, and I want my honeymoon! We had a big fight where he called me “selfish” and said I wasn’t putting the kids first. I told him to find his backbone and he shouldn’t have married me if I was always going to be second place in his priorities. The kids getting their needs first is obviously important, but no kid needs a trip to Europe, and not on a honeymoon.
I am driving a 16-year-old car because we couldn’t afford an additional car payment when my stepdaughter needed more expensive braces. My parents went on trips without us kids. My sister and brother do it with their spouses. Many times, we have taken on the kids of friends because they wanted to go into the city overnight. His ex left the kids with us four times last year when she went to weddings/girl trips/Mexico, etc. I am not asking for my husband to move heaven and earth here. He is usually good at keeping boundaries with the kids on things like eating your veggies or doing their homework, but this is just so out of bounds it is in another zip code. I want to see my friend. I am going on this trip. I just don’t know what I am coming back to. Help!
—No Honey on this Honeymoon
Dear No Honey,
It’s not helpful for me to sit here now, three years into your marriage, and say you should have had an in-depth conversation, before you tied the knot, about what “the kids getting their needs first” would look like in action. Because everyone approaches parenting and time with their children differently. In fact, a recent useless internet rabbit hole that I thoroughly explored when I should have been sleeping involved the comments on a video in which a couple celebrated the fact that they could enjoy date night while their children hung out at the kids’ club on a cruise. In the responses, I saw one group responding incredulously to the idea of not wanting the most possible time with their kids on vacation, and another group proclaiming that they only saw their children at dinner while cruising and everyone loved it. I don’t think members of either camp were wrong. But they probably shouldn’t marry each other.
I don’t think your husband is somehow a boundary-challenged pushover to question whether he wants to give up an annual vacation with his kids, who he only sees half the time as it is, or to struggle with the idea of hurting their feelings. Nor are you wrong for thinking a visit to grandma sounds entirely reasonable. So don’t fight about the parenting side of this. It doesn’t matter what your parents did or what your sister and brother do. His relationship with his kids has nothing to do with those choices, and you’re not going to convince him to value their feelings or his time with them less by telling him what other people with different priorities did.
Where you might be able to move the needle is by reminding him of his commitment to you. He agreed to this trip and you planned for it, and to back out would be to seriously disappoint you and go back on his word. Framing it like this, encouraging him to think about what he owes you and how he is or isn’t nurturing your relationship (rather than what the two of you together owe his kids) might clarify for him that his children aren’t the only people in his life who have feelings and needs.
If he refuses to go, you two have a lot to talk about when you get back. But make sure it’s about his inability to show up for you, not a critique of how he chooses to be a dad.
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My husband lost his first wife and their two young daughters in a car crash before I had even met him. Right now, I’m pregnant with our first and struggling with the emotions surrounding it. My mother-in-law and sisters-in-law will bring up his late wife and her experiences in casual conversation, and it is just emotional whiplash for me. I want my first pregnancy to be a positive experience, and every time her name comes up, I am reminded that my happiness with my husband came at such a horrible cost. I don’t want to erase my husband’s past or pretend like his late wife and girls didn’t exist, but any time I try to articulate my feelings, it comes out wrong. What do I do here?
—Struggling
Dear Struggling,
This is really hard, and I want to make sure I don’t give you advice that makes it harder by causing a divide between you and your in-laws, or giving them a reason to see you as insensitive to their loss. But I also don’t want you to be in emotional distress during your pregnancy! So I think the best approach has two parts.
First, you need a short-term plan to decrease the number of upsetting comments you hear without giving them any reason to believe you want to erase the memory of your husband’s ex and children. This will mean putting a slight “It’s not you it’s me” spin on your request. I’m thinking something like this: “I’ve been so emotional while I’m pregnant. I don’t know if it’s the fact that we’re starting a family or the hormones but I just find myself crying uncontrollably when I think about Jim losing Megan and the girls. I think I have a deeper appreciation for what all of you went through and the depth of the tragedy as I imagine having my own baby.”
Then give them a chance to talk about it, at that moment. Ask questions. Offer empathy. Later, have a similar conversation with your husband and assure him that you don’t want to erase his past but are struggling to manage the sadness around this, in your vulnerable and sensitive state. Ask him if he could ask his mother and sister to give you a heads up—a trigger warning of sorts—before they bring up his late wife and kids, rather than dropping their names into casual conversation. They might receive this better coming from him, and I’m hopeful that an awareness of how the topic affects you will make them hesitate before they bring it up as often.
Second, you need a long-term plan to actually be okay with hearing these names, without having negative feelings about how your relationship came to be. I do think that when you decided to be in a relationship with a widower, part of the deal was that he (and his family) might want to talk about the people they lost—possibly forever! So obviously the healthiest way to be in this marriage is to reframe the way you think about how you and your husband got here in a way that isn’t upsetting. This is definitely therapy territory. With support, I can imagine you getting to a place where instead of thinking “This is a reminder that my happiness with my husband came at a terrible cost,” you might think something like “This is a reminder of how lucky my husband and I are to have each other, how fleeting life is, and how we really need to treasure every moment, even when our day-to-day life as parents feels tough.”
I’m trying to balance complicated family obligations. My dad planned a trip for his 70th birthday, three nights and four days, but centered around a casino and special restaurants that don’t really accept kids. I’m a single mom of a 7-year-old, and his dad is a somewhat functioning alcoholic. He has him one night a week, and mostly holds it together for him. My son isn’t aware of any of this. If his dad tries to have him two nights in a row there’s always some excuse as to why he can’t stay. It’s sort of an unspoken agreement that I’m there no matter what, and lately he’s struggling and seems depressed. He’s short tempered and fairly authoritarian in his parenting.
I initially agreed to join my parents and two sisters, but immediately began to have trepidation, as there’s no one else that can ensure my son will be safe and well cared for. We could add that I have flight anxiety but the main impact of that is that my family thinks I’m just coming up with reasons not to go. I’m super stressed and burned out, and can’t imagine feeling at ease while I’m not within driving distance of my son. My dad has health problems, and tends to put things very black and white as if this is the last possible family trip we could ever take. I don’t want to have regrets, and chances are everything could be okay if I go, but I just don’t feel comfortable. There’s also some sibling drama, they are impatient with my anxiety and also think I’m too focused on my son, etc. I won’t be supported if I’m anxious; I can’t please everyone, but I want to avoid regrets.
—No Fight Left
Dear No Fight Left,
Your son comes first. And he definitely comes before people who are impatient and unsupportive of you. Also, you are allowed to pass on things (yes, including your dad’s way-too-long, guilt trip fueled 70th birthday extravaganza) because they don’t sound good, don’t work for your lifestyle, or would make you unhappy, even if you don’t have a reason as weighty as protecting the well-being of a small child. The only apology you owe your parents and siblings is for agreeing to go and then changing your mind. The conversation could go something like this:
You: “I’m not going to be able to make the casino trip after all, because I’m not comfortable leaving Jack with his dad for more than one night. Dad, let’s get together to celebrate before or after. And let me know if I owe you any money for the flight or hotel.”
Your family: “You’re so neurotic, of course you can leave him.”/ “Why are you being so selfish?”/ “You need help!” /“Do you realize I might never have another birthday?”/ “You are breaking your father’s heart.”
You: I know we don’t see eye to eye on this but I’m going to have to put my son first. Dad, I believe you have many more happy years with us and I’m looking forward to giving you your gift. Just let me know when. And I can’t wait to see pictures from the trip. Goodbye.
Catch up on this week’s Prudie.
Over lunch the other day my brother mentioned that he had taken his 2-year-old son to buy a helmet so he can ride his tricycle outside, and that my nephew’s first choice was a yellow and pink helmet covered with cartoon flowers. My brother gently steered him toward a more “manly” helmet. This provoked a lively (amiable) discussion around the table as to whether little boys should be allowed to wear pink and flowers if they so choose. My immediate response was that they should, but I suppose I can see my brother’s point that allowing kids to wear anything they please might get them bullied. What’s your position?
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3. "We have surprised guest visitors and they stay the whole day.". 4. "Because I didn't know where to start, I'm unable to complete the homework.". 5. "There's some fixing work going on at my home, especially in my room.". 6. "I was about to do homework, but I don't understand a thing.". 7.
Blame the Parents. 41. My parents don't believe in homework and won't let me do it. There are some parents like this. If a student said this to me, I'd be on the phone to the parents. So, if you don't want your teacher to call your parents, don't use this excuse. 42. My mother said band practice was more important.
6. My bag got stolen. Having your property stolen is another one of those believable excuses for not doing your homework. If you tell your teacher that your bag was stolen and it contained your work, they will give you a pass and some additional sympathy points along the way. 7.
02 Your reputation. If you are a good student who always does homework, most teachers will give you a pass if you fail to do it once or twice. But, if you are a frequent offender, they'll have a hard time believing you. 03 How believable it is. Your excuses not to do homework must not be over the top or surreal.
Instead, try to manage your time better to avoid last-minute homework crises. If you use this excuse often, consider discussing a homework plan with your teacher in advance to accommodate potential health-related setbacks. 2. MY COMPUTER CRASHED. In today's digital age, computer problems can indeed disrupt homework.
2. Keep things short and to the point. The briefer your excuse, the easier it will be to remember. When making up an excuse for a teacher, keep your story short. Going into excessive detail can seem suspicious and you'll also be more likely to accidentally change aspects of your story.
Excuse #1: You lack the required knowledge. Let your parents and teacher know if you're taking a class and feel as if you lack the necessary skills or knowledge to complete the homework. Ask your teacher for extra guidance so you don't fall too far behind. See if your parents can find the time to help you, or you can look for a tutor.
Take short breaks and engage in physical activity or relaxation techniques to rejuvenate yourself. Ensure you have a consistent sleep schedule and aim for at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night. 7. "I didn't have enough time to finish my homework.". Success in academics depends on good time management.
3. Ask a parent to write an excuse for you. A dangerous move, you can forge a note from a parent explaining why you couldn't do your homework. If you decide to forge one, be warned that your teacher might know it's a fake. If you are caught, you face punishment from both your parents and teacher. Method 3.
Here are some of the most common excuses for not doing homework: I didn't understand the assignment. This is a common excuse, especially if you're in a class where the material is new or unfamiliar. If this is the case, don't be afraid to ask your teacher for clarification. They'll be more than happy to help you understand the ...
Too much homework from another class. Use sparingly! I was absent when you assigned the work. Best if your mates back you up. I was busy volunteering. Best if you have pictures to show, and if the volunteering was noble. I was so sick! Works well when mates back you up, or if you have a note from home. Tell the truth.
5. Too Much Homework From Another Class. This excuse would work best for college and university students. Elementary, middle, and high school teachers usually have an idea of how much homework their colleagues assign and, if they didn't, it would be a snap for them to check.
2. Look up the answers online or in the back of the book. Many textbooks have all or half of the answers listed in the back of the book (especially math books). Your teacher may have found the worksheets or questions online, too, so search for the answers online. 3. Act like you did the homework, but forgot it at home.
The Final Excuse for Not Doing Your Homework… Reason #100: "But, Miss! You said to do questions 1-10. You didn't say bring them in!" Check and mate. Thus concludes our list of the 100 funniest excuses for not doing their homework, all thanks to the countless students who skipped out on their work. Stay on guard though.
A homework excuse is a story, explanation, or alibi that a student gives the teacher or professor for not completing their homework. A learner may require an excuse for various reasons. For instance, they may need it to cover up for something else or lack a good reason to justify their inability to submit the assignment.
1. Know how gullible your teacher is. Some teachers will believe anything, especially new teachers. More experienced teachers are much more difficult to fool and more likely to be bitter and jaded. Experienced teachers have also heard most of the lame excuses you have planned. 2. Know how strict your teacher is.
Nonetheless, this excuse might not function every time as it is simple to catch out such fabricated excuses. 15. Communicate the truth. However much good these excuses sound, the best thing is, to tell the truth. Tell that truth that you were cought up with work, but you are willing to submit it within time.
29. "My maid packed food in it for a homeless guy". Make sure to state right in the beginning that your maid can't read. 'Sharing is caring' can indeed help you out and be a good excuse for skipping homework. 30. "Pen got no ink in the middle of work".
4. " I didn't do my homework because I figured I'd do it tomorrow, because I'll be older, and therefore be wiser, then.". 5. " Yesterday, I didn't have time to complete the homework because I was at the rally all day. The rally was calling for an increase to teacher pay, so I had to be there.". 6.
I did not understand the homework. This is one the most honest homework that you can use to get a time extension. You can always tell your teacher that you did not get the concept very well in class, and that is why you could not do the assignment. It is a good excuse for math, chemistry, statistics, and other related sciences.
Step one is to get him into the habit of using a daily planner. Have him sit down with it after breakfast every morning, to review how his time will be spent that day, and which tasks he needs to accomplish. Make sure the planner accompanies your child to school, and that he writes down all test dates, due dates, assignments, and so on in it.
3. Don't plead ignorance. Saying you didn't know it was due or weren't in class when it was assigned won't work, for three big reasons. First, since it's your responsibility, not theirs, to make sure you're up-to-date on assignments, this excuse is pretty much like telling the teacher that it was your own fault.
8. Simply be honest about it. "I had a long day, and I really don't feel like going anywhere," is a good enough excuse already. Consider simply being honest about why you can't hang out with them, and it might be enough to do the trick. Hey, don't forget that you just need to stay in the zone.
He is usually good at keeping boundaries with the kids on things like eating your veggies or doing their homework, but this is just so out of bounds it is in another zip code. I want to see my friend.