It's a working hours query

[Iwrotethissong]

I've 2 primary age dc. I've always worked 3 standard days and dc have gone to wrap around. I've now got the opportunity to work 4 shorter days to accommodate school hours, I'm torn.
The evening after school sometimes feels like a long slog in winter, and I'm glad to have the dc in wrap around that they enjoy as there's less time to fill. I also don't need to take a Monday or Friday off for long weekends etc.
The pros would be to allow the dc to have more play dates, do more after school activities etc, and I'd not have to wraparound to pay for.
WWYD, any advice?

Would you have the option to do 3 days in the school holidays?

Id stick with 3 days, for school holiday reasons.

@bookish83 potentially there'd be some flex, I also have a very generous annual leave allowance so it'd be manageable.

I think being able to do the school runs would be a real bonus financially but also depends on where your work is, commute time and costs etc

Do you do things on your two days off?

I work the multiple shorter days and it works for our family. It’s especially nice as children get older and have homework. Some kids can get that done after wraparound care, but it doesn’t work for everyone.

most summer holiday provision near me runs by the week anyway so working fewer days doesn’t save money.

My younger dc will only be starting full time in Sept, so my 2 days "off" have only ever been 2 hours, whilst I do housework and errands etc.
I can wfh for part of the week, and the commute is only 15 minutes anyway so I won't be wasting hours travelling.
I'm so torn....just thinking about 5 evenings a week to fill in the depths of January gives me the shivers!

I do 4 short days, I think I've got the short end of the stick vs my DH who works FT, those extra 2 hours gets him out of collection, cooking dinner, homework and clubs. But it saves us loads and I can do 3 days in the holidays to make the most of clubs/grandparents.

@MuggleMe that's my worry, all the heavy lifting will fall to me and he'll come home to fed, calm children whilst I've dealt with the after school chaos for 2 hours! And I find the school run a PITA.

For me I preferred 3 long days rather than 4 shorter days. But, for me, school runs would needed to have been covered anyway so easier to cover 3 than 4.

I've now gone full time but over 4 days, which really works well for me.

You need to weigh up the pros and cons for your own situation.

I think short days.

A long day at school is tiring for kids so if they don't have to do it, I wouldnt get them to do it.

My kids are older and I do a mixture of long and short days. The advantage of the short days is that I can leave them at home alone, or leave them for a couple of hours in the morning and get childcare to start from say 10am.

When mine were younger, I liked my long days because I got to miss bedtime! But you'd be home for that.