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Original poster

How far away from your children are you when you are at work?

125 replies

Clearasmuddypuddles · 14/11/2020 07:24

I’m looking at a bee job but it is 20 miles and 35 minutes away from my children’s school and nursery. My husband is 40 minutes away in the other direction.

I think i’m probably being silly but I feel uneasy at being this far away and not being able to get to them quickly in an emergency. Would this worry anyone else? I do have form for ove thinking things!

OP posts:
calamityjam · 14/11/2020 09:06

When they were little I always worked fairly close to home. Dh was a plasterer, and could be working anywhere. Now that I'm on my own I work half an hours drive away but youngest ds is now 13. In an emergency my eldest works 10 minutes drive away from school and around the corner from a and e

SummerSazz · 14/11/2020 09:06

This was never a problem when there were no mobile phones and parents might not be tracked down for hours.....

Skyr2 · 14/11/2020 09:20

When mine were babies until they were mid primary I worked 1hr45 min /2 hrs away - that’s if a train was due .

The only times I ever got called was from my Childminder and it was never an emergency, just a cold or temperature. I did go home as she had asked but she had to wait for 2 hrs as couldn’t do anything about that.

School have never called, and if they had/did and it was a proper emergency I would have got a taxi to be quicker.

I am now 45 mins away and can not believe I had a near 2 hr commute each way for 12 years.

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ShandlersWig · 14/11/2020 09:25

If they needed to go to hospital would the school wait for you to do it or take themselves and meet you there?
Surely if a broken leg or worse they'd call an ambulance rather than wait for you?

gradetoolisted · 14/11/2020 09:28

Both 50 minutes public transport pre COVID. No family to rely on. We made sure nursery knew this when we signed up. An NCT friend is our absolute last ditch emergency back up.

mamaoffourdc · 14/11/2020 09:32

My child goes to a school 45 minutes away from home (special school)

Zzz1234 · 14/11/2020 09:39

I work for the local authority and can be anywhere in the county as part partner my job, it's a large county and can be over 1.5 hours away in good traffic. Some days in work from home so give minutes. My husband can be anywhere in the world. School once called him when I didn't answer and he was in italy, the school quickly learnt to call my parents.(who were 5 mins away)

Sickofmysalary · 14/11/2020 09:42

30 mins drive but my mum is a 10 mins drive and is generally available if they need her.

Doesn’t concern me at all. The likelihood of their being one of these emergencies is so small surely!

LunaHardy · 14/11/2020 09:51

40 mins by car for me. Depends where DH is working that day, he could be 5 mins or 5 hours.

RosieLemonade · 14/11/2020 10:01

My classroom backs on to her playground so maybe 30 seconds?

Howmanysleepsnow · 14/11/2020 10:25

When I work nights I’m an hour ten minutes away. Days I’m 5-35 minutes away.

Marmite27 · 14/11/2020 10:27

Home is 3 minutes walk from school. 10 minutes drive from nursery.

Nursery is at the other end of the building to my office.

NeedToKnow101 · 14/11/2020 10:35

I faint think it's something you should worry about unless your DC are particularly vulnerable to needing medical care.

StoicWalrus · 14/11/2020 10:36

Son has to travel out of area to his specialist school, so even if I'm at home I'm 35-40 mins away. Longer if traffic is particularly bad.

If I was in the office then it's probably 45 minutes to get home to the car and then off. Mind you I'd probably just suck up the cost and get a taxi if it was really urgent.

superhauntedvagina · 14/11/2020 10:47

I took a pay cut and a demotion to work minutes away from the school.

DH and I were previously both working a twenty minute train journey + 15 minute walk from the school. Trains only ran every half hour. It didn't sit well with me that it would take me upwards of an hour to get to the school if DS was unwell.

A former colleague was working in a different office and her husband was in a closed meeting and uncontactable. Nursery called to say her child had chicken pox, was quite poorly and needed picking up. It took her two and a half hours to get to him. That was a turning point for me.

NeedToKnow101 · 14/11/2020 11:00

@NeedToKnow101

I faint think it's something you should worry about unless your DC are particularly vulnerable to needing medical care.
Oops! Blush... don't think it's something you should worry about. Sounds like unwarranted anxiety which you should try and combat in case it gets worse.
CatsAreAliens · 14/11/2020 11:14

42 miles and 50 minutes away

ComeOnBabyHauntMyBubble · 14/11/2020 11:24

5 minutes away on foot and I've always been able to go when I got a call. I realise how lucky I am which makes up for the low wage and other issues.

Crappyfridays7 · 14/11/2020 18:45

40 mins but longer at peak times and I couldn’t just leave straight away.
Boys dad is 25 mins away and same he can’t just walk out however we never work the same days or if there is any rare overlap my eldest is now 19 so can deal with ds4 and his meds etc if needed we’ve had a fair few trips to hospital not via school however but it is a consideration for work than someone is around for him just in case. But it wasn’t that way for my older boys someone could get to them however

OverTheRubicon · 14/11/2020 18:50

@SummerSazz

This was never a problem when there were no mobile phones and parents might not be tracked down for hours.....
Great point too. I think that expectations are really huge of working mothers these days (and let's be honest, it's always mothers, bet there aren't many dads fretting about their commute).
MintyCedric · 14/11/2020 18:52

Couple of hundred yards max ..I work at her school!

RayOfSunshine2013 · 14/11/2020 19:00

45 min in a job I can’t always answer my phone. The schools main contact is a family member 10 mins away if needed

BackforGood · 14/11/2020 19:01

Unless you always wfh or are a sahp who NEVER goes further than 10mins from home, this is going to be the case for all parents, only, for most parents, a lot more than 2 days a week.
It is just not something to worry about. If a child needed hospital treatment that urgently, they school would take them, or, more likely call an ambulance.
Lots of parents can't immediately leave their place of work anyway - for example (as you work in a school) - teachers can't just walk out until cover has been arranged for their class. But there are zillions of jobs where it would be the same.
Plus, as a pp has said, we never used to be able to contact one another instantly anyway - schools manage.

EvilEdna1 · 14/11/2020 19:02

Its more an issue when parents are non-contactable. A surprising number of parents never answer their phones. One parent has to be able to be contactable.

Giantsfallover · 14/11/2020 19:04

An hour. 45 miles. DH is, once lockdown is lifted, 2 1/2 hrs (works away during the week).

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