to think some retired people completely forget what it’s like to be working full time?

it's VERY rare that someone does their paid full time job while looking after their kids at the same time.

If you need to employ someone, anyone to do childcare while you are at work, then clearly it's a full time job.

This is a very cunty thread

It’s not a full time job 🤣 some people have three or more children AND work. That would mean they have two full jobs which is impossible!

OP, there are people who have busy working lives but you are obviously not one of them. You make a bad argument and do the hardworking ones a disservice.

No, sorry I can’t see the difference.
It takes the same time to go through posts and respond as it does to do other things. In your case, you do it because you do it while you are sitting at you desk and you may get found out if you leave your desk. If you can do all this reading/posting in a day then you are not busy working.

I think one of the things to think about given some of the comments is to have some idea of a plan for retirement. I'm not thinking about the financial side. So your life is not so little that you have time to make some of the comments that have been mentioned.

Going from five days at work, wherever it is and whatever it is, to none at all is a large step, even if you planned your retirement date years in advance.

I am not long off retirement and did the work online course about planning for it. Judging by some of the comments, what seemed self evident and even patronising in part of the course, might not be the case given how little some people have planned for it.

A few years ago DH and I both worked from home. His parents took that to mean we were at home for visitors so would just randomly show up at our house in the middle of the day for one of their cups of tea and stay for 6 hours visits.

They were most put out when we told them to stop coming during the week because we were at work. They never came round our house again, which frankly was a result!. But told all the relatives we worked ‘weird hours’ (we didn’t) and that they never saw us (they did). I guess they just forgot work was work and that we couldn’t just take the day off to entertain them.

Not we don’t all. I know that my children work very hard and so do their OH’s
However, some people exaggerate how busy they are. Why would you spent time on here if you are too busy?
Some people take on far more than they need. I am thinking about taking on pets that need exercising and looking after when you are already busy.
In the same way some people don’t appreciate that older people need more time to do things and that some of us also have a social life.

Really everyone is different.

To balance this up though neither of my grandmothers worked , my mum did 10 hours a week right up to me being an adult, very few of my friends mothers worked more than 12 hours a week - if at all - and I’m from a midlands mining town - and am 64 - my MIL did odd bits of part time and 2 years of full time when my H was 15 - some women did work FT yes, but far less I think , especially if not in a ‘career’- I myself ( now 64) was back at work full time with a 13 week old and a childminder and not out of choice

You carnt answer his calls but you can read and respond to this thread that you created all afternoon while working. I think your df has a point

In fairness to them when I finally get there I fully intend to completely forget what it’s like to be working full time :)

It always amazes me that people think female retired people didn't work. My grandma who would gave turned 105 this year worked, as did her sister's, their husband's worked and they raised their children as well. I remember my grandma telling me that her mother worked My mother worked when I was a child in the 70s and 80s. Women working is not a new thing that only today's generation deal with .

It was your opening stand-alone paragraph.

Yeah my mum winds me up with this. She’s literally sat at home all day available for contact any time but I work, have kids, caring responsibilities, travel around a lot, manage a house etc

Yeah, I always wonder that. My Mum worked FT. My Grandma worked FT. My Grandma that didn't officially work FT was a farmer's wife, which was basically working FT. When were all these women supposed to be not working?

No-one said that. You are exaggerating- but could you not organise your time better so have more you time. Why be such a martyr? Could u afford help with the house or the kids?

Welll yes it is

There are other posts besides your original post you know....

What is it with the 'I'm so busy as a parent' thing these days? I genuinely don't get it. We've got family members who both work part time from home, get maternity, paternity and parental leave (rightly so, that's great), but constantly tell us how busy they are. Others who do work full time but can work from home so no commute and there's wrap around care. Activities for children after school are a choice, if it feels too much, don't do them. And as for 'life admin ', it's so much easier now, we don't even have to leave our chairs.

I'm mid 60s. I battled sexism, under-pay, incredibly long hours and a complete absence of health and safety in the work place which has left my body permanently damaged.

In my first A/L year in the NHS, there was no annual leave, not a single day. In the second year, I got 10 days as I hadn't started work until the September, so only got half a year's allowance the next year - a total of 10 days annual leave in 18 months. The basic week was 42½ hours plus a 70 hour week of nights every 7 weeks, plus every other weekend, plus on calls, plus sleeping in. I'd arrive at work on the Friday and was there until Monday afternoon. Then back on Tuesday for the rest of the week. No days off other than 2 days after nights and 3 weekends in 7. That was it. It was normal.

When I was pregnant I got made redundant. No maternity leave. I had to go back to a new role (part time at first) a month after the baby was born.

If I fancy taking it easy now, I absolutely will (apart from all the childcare we do for nothing of course).