If you have school age DC and increased working hours did you regret it?

[rosybell]

Has anyone who was p/t with school age DC’s regretted increasing working hours? My situation is I currently work 18 hours a week, both primary DC’s who I can take to school every day and pick up 3 days a week. They have asked if I will consider going to .9 (4.5 days) which I have worked out I can do by working 2 long days and 3 shorter days which will mean I can still collect the DC’s 3 days a week. So the impact on them wont be huge – just breakfast club 2 days per week.

The biggest change will be that I will have no time at all to myself. I usually spend days off doing housework/exercise/food shopping/cooking, so this will have to be squeezed in elsewhere.

DH works full time but is a teacher so luckily no childcare holiday concerns.

Im just considering how much I will miss my days off and if I will regret it. The extra money will allow us to have nicer holidays, maybe do home improvements (new kitchen!) sooner etc. We are not struggling at the mo (although we don’t save much each month). I am just weighing everything up and finding it hard to decide. My job is office based and sedentary – I would really miss my morning runs after I drop off the kids. But sometimes the slog of housework means I don’t absolutely LOVE my days off. Would love to hear from people who increased working hours and finding out how much you miss having that time to yourself when the kids are at school? How hectic did life get?

I went from 3 days to 4 (0.8), no regrets at all, although it helps that I WFH 1 day as well. My DC are also now both at secondary school near my work, so they get their homework done, and at the end of my day, I collect them (lifts the other days from lift shares).

In terms of exercise, I tend to do it in the evenings now (2 classes a week, but we also have a treadmill at home which DH and I both use), and weekends. I fit it in because I want to. I also try and get some fresh air at lunchtime.

BUT, having 1 full day off is great - it's usually my busiest day, as I'm fitting in hair-cuts, a gym session, catching up with friends (many of whom also have the same day off), washing, tidying, general life admin, dentists, opticians, doctors, whatever. Would your employers consider a compromise to 0.8?

Thanks for your reply. Really useful to hear others experiences. Unfortunately there is no compromising on the hours, but there is complete flexibility as to when I do the hours. So I could do compressed hours over 4 days and have one day off but that would mean the DC's in after school club for 4 days rather then 2 - I think I would rather spread the hours over 5 days and be able to collect them but that obviously means sacrificing 'my' time!

I went from 3 days to full time when dc's were all at school (just over a year ago) and so far it's been great.
Housework has suffered a bit but dh and I split it a lot more we actually feel a lot more like a team than when I was a sahm and he worked, we keep a diary with ongoing jobs and whoever is able to that day ticks off as they go. The older kids as well have more jobs to do but I'm hoping this is just giving them more responsibility and will help them as adults.

We tend to just do mini food shops and buy 3 days worth of food as both our shifts change a lot so it sometimes is too much to think about to try and plan further. Means we waste a lot less now anyway.

I miss the friend meet ups I used to have but actually quite a lot of my friends have upped their hours now no nursery fees to pay so we meet when we can/in the evenings.

The best bonus is the pay and being able to do more and say yes to the kids more often. I still feel pride when I open my payslip every month. I went away last year on my own with a friend, took the kids away without dh, get regular beauty treatments and buy smarter clothes that I can now justify. I even have savings!
The only thing I haven't managed yet to get over the guilt is a cleaner. But everyone I know who has one says they're absolutely worth it. Maybe this year!

Thanks - I guess that's what I wanted to hear. This is a non-reversible decision so I want to make the right one! Ultimately doing my current 18 hours per week doesnt seem like a lot at all so I do want to take on more hours eventually but this feels like a big jump.
I actually wonder if I will be less stressed about the housework if I am at home less?

It would be great to have more spontaneous trips away with the kids and replace the 70's carpet on our stairs too! I currently dont think I could financially justify a weekend away with one of my friends (we have been trying to organise one for ages) but working extra hours does open up these possibilities..

Hi OP. I went from 3 days to 3.5 when both kids were at school. This meant my extra day could be fit around school hours so no extra childcare. I wouldn’t go up to full time as my day ‘off’ is jam packed with jobs - housework, shopping, admin, trips to tip/charity shop etc etc! Mind you I’m a single parent so there’s no one to share the load with, if you know what I mean! Shame you can’t just go up
To 4 days as that would probably work well for you!

I went from 2 to 4 but really don’t want to do any more.
I worry that an extra day means they can’t have friends over after school or things like appointments that I do on my day off will have to have time off for etc. My youngest is home with me that day so no time for myself but still helpful.

Yes 4 days would be ideal but it would mean after school club 4 days a week for the DC's so I think do 5 days and being able to collect them for 3 days (for reasons like playdates /swimming lessons) etc would be best. The sacrifice is loosing that time to myself. I do love dropping them off at school and coming home to a quiet (although messy) house.

I went from 17.5 hours to full time when DS was in Year 6.
It's been tough, and fitting everything in is hard, but I manage.
I think it helps that DS is involved. Now at high school he can sort himself out, do his homework, pack his bag, makes his lunch and he cleans his own room, changes his bed etc. He has jobs so washes the pots on alternate days and he has one night a week when he is responsible for cooking.

I still REALLY miss my day off (I worked short hours over 4 days and used my day off to shop and clean so weekends were free). I even sat down and watched daytime TV!

What sort of commute do you have? Would WfH make any difference to you?

I certainly didn't regret increasing my working hours - like you I started off doing 15-18 hours a week but job was better when I worked longer.
Housework wasn't a problem because I paid someone to do a couple of hours.

I have a lovely commute - 15 minute walk across fields . I dont think I could WFH too often either as I work in a University and need to be available to students.

Good to hear others experiences..

I'd go for it, if I were you, but be absolutely up front with your DH about the change to the household tasks etc. And I would look to book myself a day off every month to spend alone at home!

It's quite a while ago now but I didn't regret going full time. I enjoyed my work but also enjoyed my time off, weekends etc. Husband worked a nine day fortnight, it all seemed to work out quite well but that wasn't when my offspring was little - I worked part time then and had help.