What do people who work anti social hours do for childcare?

[Whatdotheydo]

This doesn’t affect me but wondering.

Doctors, nurses, midwives, all emergency services, retail staff, catering, the list is endless. Do you just have to work around your partner (if you both work anti social hours)?

Yes you just work it around your partner.

My partner and I both work in ‘24 hour’ professions - we did rely on family for about a year after we had our first child, but now with two children plus school runs, it’s too much to ask the grandparents to do.

Now I work 8.30-5.30 which is the hours of available wraparound care - luckily I was able to negotiate these (my partner’s job wouldn’t accommodate any flexible working whatsoever) and my job allows me to work my weekends around my husband’s shifts - sometimes we barely see each other for days at a time! In an ideal world career progression-wise, I would work longer hours/weekends/nights, but we don’t earn enough for a nanny which is the only real way that would happen.

Our little one is in nursery from 7.15am, if DH needs to leave before then we have one family member who comes to the house to get little one up and take them to nursery. They’re in nursery till 5pm, either family member or DH collects them. I leave at 6am and get home about 10.30pm.

I only work 1-3 days a week and that includes some weekend shifts. It’s not perfect, and I’ve had to use annual leave when family member couldn’t help out. But for the most part it work.

I worked antisocial hours as a single parent. My mum did a lot of childcare. I'm very lucky.

Rely heavily on the partner that doesn't.
Or there will be others who rely on other relatives.
Others will give up their jobs / find other roles. With Nursing, for example, there are lots and lots of different roles that don't involve hospital shifts.

im a lone parent and it’s really tough. Work 7am-7.45pm, 3-4 days a week. Have my eldest who will drop the youngest to school and sometimes collect if he’s not working himself. Mainly use babysitters until I get home in the evening but that tends to cost me between £150-200 a week. Weekends I tend to not work as it costs me more to work in babysitting fees than I earn. Rarely work nights as have a sympathetic manager. Luckily I’m not working Xmas day this year as have the day off but am working New Year’s Day. Sitters want around £20 an hour. Not entitled to benefits as earn too much (B6 in NHS) yet don’t have a partner so no second income. Ironically I’d be financially better off if I didn’t work (plus less exhausted) but I’m a HCP and some days enjoy my job.

My brother and his girlfriend both work in a hospital. They have 1 in high school, 1 in primary and 1 in nursery. They are completely reliant on my mum dropping off and picking up when they can’t, and babysitting to bridge any gaps.

I work permanent night shifts, I do 5 nights in 7 and the next 7 nights off. 2 of those night I’m not working the daytime and I have DD2 with me all day, I get 2 hours sleep before shift when DP gets home before I head out. The rest of the time she is in nursery, DS6 is at breakfast club and primary school and I get to sleep (I do pick up). I’m contracted to 28 hours a week, but I work those over 7 nights, flexible working agreement, plus because I am NHS I get antisocial hours salary contributions, so I get an extra 30% on my hourly wages so I essentially earn a full time wage for a part time salary.
It dows mean that for a week DP and I are ships in the night and sometimes I hate it but sometimes I love it! Plus I enjoy my job role. The kids are quite happy so I am too.

I managed to get to a point in my career where I'm now a non clinical midwife in a managerial role so work 4 days a week 8-6, and my husband works x3 12hr shifts either nights or days, a week. We work our childcare round him with a mix of me, husband, my parents, MIL and the hospitals on site nursery once or twice a week depending on shifts.

Ah that didn’t get typed right. Im contracted to 28 hours weekly but cos of my flexible working I work 2 weeks of shifts (5 night shifts) in a week, 2 on, 2 off, 3 on.

With my dbro pissed off and left, nurse, SIL with a 2 year old she was lucky to have family who were local, able and willing to help as childcare would have been financially challenging.

Her mum/dad and my mum/dad were all retired and supported her through the week having dniece overnight and as she got older tidy also dropped and picked her up from school.

My Dsis and I both didn't have our own families yet so were free to have her overnight and spolied her rotten had some nice days out with her at weekends when needed.

We both work full time. My job is generally Monday to Friday but probably twice a month I'm away overnight and I have international travel around 4/5 times a year. DP works every Saturday, most Sundays and a couple of evenings a week. We just never see each other and rarely have family time.
DP was hoping to look for a different job but we need to see what the mortgage payment is looking like when our fixed term ends in March.
Its crap tbh - we don't feel like a family much less a couple. We last had a day off altogether about 4 weeks ago and our next one is Christmas day. We co exist in the same house, that's about it.