If you have 3+ children and work

[SendTheOwl]

What do you do for a living?

How do you afford childcare?

Not a rant just curious, I work part time and want to go back to work full time.

I’m self employed garden designer and gardener 🌱

I teach part time. 2 children use school wrap around care, and 1 at nursery.

And artist but the income is unreliable at best

I'm a nurse but DH is a TA working in the same school as dd's 3&4 so we don't need childcare. He has applied for a different job which would include school holidays so will have to muddle through with dd1 and great grandparents helping if he gets it.

I work shifts. Mine are all at school and sometimes go to before and after school clubs, which I pay for using childcare vouchers. Husband's work is quite flexible so he picks them up as much as I do. If I'm on a late shift, I drop them off and he collects. We somehow juggle it and both work f/t. But it only works as neither of us does a 9-5 office job.

Civil servant.

Structural engineer. All at school now and use wraparound care, but for many years my childminder fees were equal to my salary. We pushed through and it is now worth it, but it was many years of working for very little. But I wouldn't have the senior role I have now if I hadn't, so I'm hoping it was worth it...

To add to my answer.......

DH works in education and gets pretty much all school holidays off, and finishes early enough to do most pick-ups - I do drop-offs. Neither of us are f/t, don't think we could manage if we were.

My MIL provides free childcare (I work 3 days per week).... otherwise I couldn't afford to work.

I went back full time when my youngest was 3. I was a web designer working for a large corporate company. Started back on US$55k I think. Plus health insurance, pension etc. I probably didn't make all that much take home income initially but I got payrises, and I put a fair bit into my pension, and after 5 years I left and used the experience and contacts to go freelance.

I’m a teacher. Only work PT though. We use a childminder who does wraparound for the eldest two and has the youngest one for all my working days.

TA. All kids at school. Use wraparound care - I work in a different school to the one my kids go to. Childcare v expensive even with kids at school. I sometimes wonder if it’s worth it!!

I work three days a week, I'm accountant. Eldest two go to breakfast club and grandparents pick up from school, I then pick up from the parents. Youngest goes to nursery (30 free hours) only pay for meals and extras.

Thanks for the replies! Seems a quite mixed bag.

@prettywhiteguitar you sound so creative!

@sweepthehalls I'd be interested in teaching. I'm studying at the moment but my degree doesn't come with QTS so it would be something I looked at after.

I have four kids and for the past 15 years me and dh worked around each other so I worked nights and weekends and he worked roughly 9-5 with some flexibility. Now they are all teenagers I do a full time 9-5 job.

@babyroobs this is what we do at the minute, DH is away through the week and I work nightshifts on a weekend to avoid paying childcare.

What do you do ? Which subject are you studying?

I do create a lot, but sometimes it’s not so glamorous. Planted a hedge in a boggy, clay soil this week,

I have 3 dc aged 14, 11 and 4 living at home (eldest has moved out). I’m a gp receptionist and dh is a postman. I do most school drop offs (use breakfast club for Tuesday mornings when I’m in early) and dh is home for school pickup in the afternoon. During half term we use a mix of annual leave, me picking up the later shifts so go in around lunchtime and the 14 year old babysits for the hour between me leaving and dh coming home or we use grandparents who are all retired.

2 in school, one baby. Work 3 days a week, DH does 5. My parents have gone above and beyond with all childcare duties. There’s no way I’d have the career I do now if it weren’t for them.

I have 3 and we both work full time. We both have a different day off during the week so only needed nursery for 3 days a week.

Eldest 2 are now at school but we had a good few years with 2 at nursery.

I would say for at least 4/5 years of that we really suffered money wise and 95% of my wage went on childcare, with the help of tax credits at one point and the 15 now 30 free hours that has been a godsend.

After school care is also so expensive, but luckily grandparents help out with the eldest 2 now!

Childcare - initially a mix of nursery and childminder. Once they were all at school I'd drop them at 7.30 (which is when school here used to start) and I hired an after school nanny for $12 / hr to pick them up and look after them till I got home at 6. School holidays were the hardest bit especially the 11 - 12 week summer holiday.

I work in pharmacy and DH is a bank manager. When the DC were babies and toddlers I worked evenings and weekends in. Now they are older and all at school I work during the day and no longer work weekends.
My boss was great and really went out of his way to change my hours around my kids. But I’m a hard worker and very experienced at what I do so he knew that my working part time was only temporary.

Public servant and main though not a big earner. DH Is self employed on a low income. DH covers after school child care expenses and does most pick ups.We use camps, Dad and my annual leave during school holidays. I work from home one day a week and that makes a huge difference to me.

Interested in this thread.

In my circle most women with 3+ children work part time. I would prefer to work 3/4 days rather than full time hours .

I have struggled with my situation in the past but have made my peace with it now.

I have three children. I work as an in-house lawyer at a bank. I pay my nanny £36k for a 4 day week (yes, I mean it)

TBH I had twins first so financially I was hit from the start. There really was no choice other than a nanny. I’ve lived with that reality since.

I earn just about enough to make it financially worth while.

I have 4 children and did not go back to work at all until the youngest was in Y1 at school. I have a job as a TA in the school the kids are at so never need to find childcare.

My husband works internationally/long hours and has never done pick-ups/clubs/illness cover so it's all on me. We have no family locally to help either.