Blog: Some mornings my son is so beautifully adorable that I feel the worst pang of the green-eyed monster and I hate the “other woman” in our lives. Or actually I should make that the “other women”, says Tracey O’Sullivan.

Because gorgeous as he is I know I have a limited time with him – maybe just 20 minutes before it’s coat and shoes on and off to nursery.

There are many mornings when I feel like throwing a “sickie” just so it’s not the other girls in his life who get to see his smiles, hear him singing his latest favourite Thomas the Tank Engine song and see him perfect his latest gesture from a thumbs up to a circular OK sign.

Yes I miss him and terribly. Luckily he is only two and at the stage when if I get a unexpected day off (for hours owed and not a sickie) I can keep him home from nursery – the only cost is to my purse and a lost day I have to pay for.

Would it be a different story if he was at school? And would I be as honest about it as Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow who has admitted she let daughter Apple throw a “sickie” from school so she could spend some time with her, time they used to have lunch and pop to a beauty salon?

My first instinct was “why not?” I know the pull of those smiles and giggles. The feeling that the morning is all too brief and you can’t stand waving goodbye when you feel like you have only just said hello. The desperation to make the most of a childhood that really is too brief. And would a day away from school at age six really do her any harm?

Probably not, but my sympathy and support only stretches so far and I think in the case of Ms Paltrow – not quite far enough. Essentially she has choices and has recently taken to telling the rest of us working mothers on how it should be done.

It’s not that easy to take when she is among the privileged few who could easily afford to take a break and certainly cut back on work demands to ensure she has plenty of time with her children – outside school hours. I’m sure many a film project would snap her up on the same money as she is used to even if her contract was for between the hours of nine and three – how many of the rest of us could find an employer like that? And I don’t think she has helped the cause of working mothers by revealing this decision she made on a whim.

I know many a working mother torn literally in two at having to decide what is more important on any given day of the week. The days when a child is ill and women end up positively hating themselves for trying to weigh up if their little one will make it through the day at nursery without any cuddles from mum because of something crucial at work;  trying to concentrate while waiting for that “emergency call back to nursery” that confirms you are a terrible mother. And at a job which actually pays the mortgage and they couldn’t afford to lose. Never mind whipping them out of school to have fun.

Now employers will also be wondering if this is the latest thing they have to worry about and reason not to hire women – in case they throw a “sickie” to bond with their offspring.

Balance is crucial in all aspects of life and children are taken out of school to go on holiday and often the life experience is just as important as any classroom-based activities. But lunch and a manicure? I’m not so sure. And yes Miss Paltrow has at least opened up to reveal she is not necessarily super mum and doesn’t get it right all the time, but, then again, Apple is also very fortunate in that she may never have to work thanks to her parents’ wealth.

It no doubt makes it easy for Gwyneth to treat school and education in such a carefree fashion when it comes to her children. Other parents simply don’t have that luxury.