Like most Januarys, this has been a month filled with snow days for school kids from around Sullivan County, days when they wake to the news that they can skip reading, writing and arithmetic for a day in favor of lounging in their PJs.

To call a snow day is not a decision made quickly by local superintendents as they know the — pardon the pun — snowball effect that these calls can have.

The interruption to the educational process is obvious, but there are the other, often ignored costs too, costs that cannot and will not be rectified by simply turning snow days into virtual learning days.

There are the kids who depend on breakfast and lunch from the schools who will go hungry for a day, a significant number when you consider 57 percent of Sullivan County kids were receiving free or reduced lunches at school in 2019, the most recent year for which New York State data was available to the Democrat.

Then there are the parents who suddenly have to make the tough call of calling out sick from work because their kids are home without care.

This decision can mean a day's wages lost for those working in jobs without sick days and possible loss of their job from employers who aren't happy to see their workers calling out several days in one week, even if it's through  no fault of their own.

Hiring a babysitter is an option for some but presents an unexpected cost that parents can't be expected to budget for — after all, who knows when it's going to snow or how much? And that's if they can find a babysitter in a county where parents already scramble to find placement in a short list of daycare providers. Laws limit the number of children a daycare provider can have on the premises at any one time, and while these laws are important to ensure kids' safety, they do mean providers can't suddenly accept more kids due to a snow day.

As a mother of a teenager who has worked from home the entirety of my child's career in the public school system, I realize I'm in an incredible place of privilege. So long as the storm hasn't knocked out my power or internet, I've always been able to show up for work while my child stayed home and in my care. I've been lucky too to have employers who accepted the flexibility required for a parent working at home on a snow day.

But that's just it, isn't it? I am able to work from home on a snow day.

And as we saw when the pandemic shuttered businesses all around the world, so can myriad parents ... if only their employers will allow it.

Which begs the question: Why aren't more Sullivan County employers using snow days to allow more employees the flexibility of working from home?

It's not an option for all, as we also saw during the pandemic, nor do I begrudge those who work for businesses that simply opt to close their days off. It's a nice perk in a time when more and more companies are eliminating perks.

But for businesses that keep the doors open in inclement weather, or require employees to drive in, only to send them home mid-day (often as a storm is hitting its stride), the benefits are clear.

Your parent workers are more likely to show up.

Your employees are less likely to be injured in a car accident.

You help reduce the number of cars on the road overall, making it safer for those who do have to traverse our highways.

Best of all for bosses? You show employees they're valued, increasing both workplace productivity and loyalty.