If you work, how many hours a day do you spend with your children?

[oliveoil]

For me it's 45 mins in the morning and 2 hours at night, which is probably about average.

Which are usually a frenzy of feeding/bathing/cajoling and whinging.

[northerner]

I work 3 days and on these days I spend about 1 hour in the morning and 2 hours in the evening.

[colditz]

About 6 hours in the morning, and 15 mins at night.

[ninah]

an hour in the morning and two hours in the evening.

[oliveoil]

6 hours colditz! Do you get up at 2am???!!!

[Mum2girls]

Between 1 and a half, and 2 hrs in morning and the same in the evening

[PooPooGirl]

Roughly 45mins in morning (including car journey) then about 1 to 2 hours in the evening.. not much is it

[expatinscotland]

Not enough.

[oliveoil]

ppg - why sad? Do you work f/time?

[throckenholt]

on the 3 days I work away from the house I maybe have 1/2 in the morning and 3-4 hours in the afternoon/evening. Which usually include the getting up, evening meal and bedtime stuff - so not totally quality time.

[Marina]

About 2 hours in the mornings and 2 in the evenings.

Me too PooPooGirl I work full-time outside the home. If I did not accumulate good flexitime to get most of the holidays off I'd feel quite suicidal about it tbh.

Luckily with school and nursery so close to home (10 mins walk to the further of the two) most of our morning and evening time is quite jolly and family-oriented. We do manage time to play and read as well as all eating together every night.

[PooPooGirl]

yes. somedays if she's tired it's 30mins in morning, 30mins in evening and she sees her dad some weekends. Time together is treasured though

Only sad a bit as last night on way home she told me she didn't want it to be nursery day tomorrow she wanted it to be mummy day and had a little sob

[oliveoil]

Sorry you feel this way. I am lucky in that I work 3 days and this is fab for me. BUT my friend works f/time and loves it too, her son has been in f/time nursery since 4 months. Like you this would make me depressed but it works for her (but then I didn't have a career to give up!).

Can you reduce your hours to get a better balance that works for you?

[PooPooGirl]

Please don't think I'm really upset about it. It does get to me sometimes but on the whole it works for us both and as I'm not much of a socialite it gives dd a chance to be with children her own age. As much as I would love to work 3 days, we get by with me working 5!

[oliveoil]

I shall change it to a then.

I am just being nosy really on how much time everyone spends. Sometimes in the morning it seems I blink and they are off to grannies , but some days I think 'praise the lord, civilisation here I come'.

xx

[northerner]

OLive you are so lucky having a hands on granny. My parents live too far away and my MIL's head is too far up her own arse to even realise she has grandchildren.

[oliveoil]

Yes but I moved from a nice area to a crappo one to be near MIL and would love to be back in my nice one .

[oliveoil]

lol at MIL's head up bum

[Blu]

About 2 hours in the morning, same at night - maybe 2.5 at night. It depends, DP and i operate a kind of staggered relay system so sometimes much more, sometimes less. We both operate flexi so that we each have week one day at home with him every two weeks. He goes to nursery 9.30-5 4 days a week. We both work f/t.

[QueenFlounce]

OO - Same with me. 45mins in the morning ( I leave the house at 7.15am). And 2 or 3 hours of an evening.
Thankfully I now only work 4 days a week!

[bobbybob]

All morning and most of the afternoon and then I work in the late afternoon and evening whilst dh takes over. So I spend very little time with dh, but heaps with ds.

[colditz]

LOL Olive oil, no way, I get up at 9 with ds, go to work at 3, get back at 9, then he goes to bed!

[Tortington]

well, i get from 4-10pm thats 6 whole hours. then i work from home wink wink about once a month AND ther is a local office round the cornerwith no one in it but a computer and printer so i take liberties with that once a week.

i get tons of time. in fact two of mine are off school today - one has finished mocks and allowed home the other isn't feeling well becuase shes gone all softy southern.
am i speaking to either of them? no! they ar watching tracy beaker and will bark when they want food.

[Lio]

Say 1h morning and 1h in the evening - used to be longer but we've moved to where we can afford a garden. dh can now walk to work but it's taking me an extra half an hour each way now so I'm losing time with ds. dh and I both work 4 days a week, ds is in a nursery 2 days a week, grandparents come to us 1 day a week.

[Enid]

2 hours in morning

4/5 hours in afternoon/evening

[janinlondon]

Days vary according to my working routine - Monday (worst day) 3hrs
Tuesday 4-5hrs
Wednesday 5-6 hrs
Thursday 4-5 hrs
Friday 7-8 hrs.
Plus weekends - 24 hours!!