If you work FT ish and you do all the school runs and cooking, what is your typical day like?

[FreddiesIce]

I do all school runs and cooking during the weekdays.

I currently work 9 till 2.30 with 3 days in the office. This works fine as I can drop off Ds to school and pick him up for 3.

However, I have been offered more hours as I have been given more work due to someone leaving. To save my sanity it would mean increasing my hours which I don't mind.

My problem is planning my day. I have the option to work some of my hours of the day from home on the office days whether that's early morning or evening.

Does anyone else have similarish hours? When do you work your hours? Do you start super early in the morning or do some in the evening?

Thanks everyone. Lots to think about here.
The school doesn't have after school club and I can't afford a childminder however they do have a breakfast club which I will use. That will give me a 8.30 start at work. If I work till 2.30 that gives me 6 hrs of work. I need to squeeze in another hour in the day somewhere?

He's useless during the weekdays as he starts earlier and finishes late. He's home for 6-6.30 by which time I've cooked and the kids are starving after school. He's only useful on weekends when I get a break.

Those of you who meal prep, do you plan one week at a time or several weeks? I really need to start doing this.

Up at 6, put something in slow cooker if that’s the plan, put wash on, have shower and quiet cup of tea. Wake kids at 7 (8 and 4)
breakfast and dressed to leave for 8:20.
walk them to school, back home for 8:45 - at my desk in the office by 9 (2 mile commute 😄)
work until 5pm. Kids are collected from school by childminder £8 a day per child.
dh picks kids up around 4:45 (he works 8-4:30)
dinner is either a 20 min planned meal or whatever was in slow Cooker.
Both kids have school dinners so no lunches to pack. Tuesdays are karate and Thursday are football so quick beans on toast/freezer dinners those days.
Friday I finish early to do school pick up.

Batch cooking happens at the weekend. On busy days it needs to be something that can be taken out of the freezer served and then reheated like pasta bake.

Can your DH change his hours at all? It's worth him investigating. If he could drop off to breakfast club it would make a big difference.

Definitely breakfast club or after school. Working from home is the only other reason I manage - I'm a single mum. I'm also extremely lucky to have a flexible job. It's totally manageable now DS is a bit older (10).

I get up at 6.30, get dressed. No shower as I have a bath or shower the evening before.

Get DS up at 6.45, he has breakfast and gets dressed while I sort his lunch and shout at him to hurry up.

Walk to school 7.40-8. Walk home and start work for 8.30. Take lunch break at 2.50 for school pickup, back at my desk before 4. I work while DS does homework.

5ish, stop work, make dinner, clear up, check homework. After dinner DS will have screen time while I have a bath or shower and dry my hair. I may also do a little work if I have taken time out during the day for shopping or prepping dinner.

DS in bed by 9. In the past I'd sit drinking wine to feel like I had a bit of me time but now I'm happy to drink a herbal tea in bed with my book and be asleep by 10.

Shopping, big clean and batch cooking are done at the weekend.

Do you have a partner or is their other parent involved? Makes a big difference to how feasible it would be.

Assuming your partner can’t change his hours… pYou and your partner need to split batch cooking at weekends -

Have a meal plan that you rotate every 2 weeks, vary for winter and summer

what you eat is a mix of batch cook and instant food (omelette, fishfingers frozen peas and frozen mash).

everything can be pre-prepped - you can cut up veg and put it in Tupperware if you want to do a roast veg tray or something like that.

it’s tough working FT with young kids but all weekday cooking should be absolutely minimal.

He's useless during the weekdays as he starts earlier and finishes late.

If you work longer hours you'll have to rethink this. Men typically see their jobs as fixed and permanent. Women are forced to see their jobs as flexible and temporary. Even when they're FT and permanent.

If there any flexibility in your partner's work? WFH or mixed hours?

I teach full time. One primary DC, one early secondary. Get up 6.30/6.45. Make packed lunches. 8am leave house and take DC to school. Get home between 4.30 and 6 depending on whether I have meetings, which activities DC have on and which days DH can get home earlier to pick younger DC up from after-school club.

Have to take DC to some sort activity 3-4 times a week so I make dinner around dropping them off and picking them up. We tend to eat late - 7.30 or later. DH clears up. He also does most housework. I try to spend a but of time with DC after dinner then also have 1-2 hours schoolwork to do. I'm usually tired so sometimes fall asleep then have to get up super early and do it in the mornings. Shopping is weekly, online. I book a delivery early into the week and add to it through the week. Always have it delivered at the weekend.

Honestly, it's really hard work and I don't think we end up supporting our DC, both of whom have some mental health struggles, very well at all. Have looked at dropping hours but part-time teaching jobs are hard to find. Also have got used to the money. The DC do some quite expensive activities which seem to benefit their mental health so I don't want them to have to give those up.

If you do it and can afford things like a cleaner it is helpful. Also if you have partner/family around who can help out of DC are ill etc. That's always a big stress for us.

This is a very good point and talks of something that runs very deep.

You taking on more hours and earning more money benefits the family, even if it’s a long term benefit because it will eventually lead to promotion or a pay rise. That means it should be a family decision on how best to work around school.

Not all jobs are entirely flexible all the time in the same way - a surgeon can’t say they are only doing ops between 8-3, a fireman can’t say they’re not putting out a fire because they have to collect the kids. But there should be a conversation here. Unless there’s a damn good reason, one parent shouldn’t unilaterally take themselves out of the equation for all mornings and evenings, not unless that is a clear decision between both parents.

I say that as someone married to an emergency services worker who has at times had hardly any flexibility compared to my now relatively cushy, predominantly WFH job. There’s still be flexibility to allow us both to push as hard in our careers as possible with young children.

I do a week at a time.

I look at what I have in cupboards/freezer, decide what we're going to have then do an online shop for delivery accordingly.

I cook in bigger quantities e.g. I made cottage pie today so I made three. One for tonight, two more made into pyrex dishes, wrapped and in the freezer. I do the same with lasagne. Things like bolognese, chilli, soups, curries, casseroles are made, one serving eaten that night, then the rest portioned, labelled and frozen. We have a second freezer just for batch cooked meals. Over time you build up a reasonable stock and these are the kinds of meals I stick on the meal plan for longer days at work.

I do this and find it fine but have only one DC

7 - I get up to have some time to myself
8- dc gets up (bag packed and uniform laid out)
8.20-8.30 DC eats breakfast
8.30 -8.40 DC gets dressed whilst I make beds and clear up breakfast
8.40-9 school run
9-9.45 commute in / head home
10-3 work
3-3.45 school run
3.45 - 5.30 hang with dc, do work, make dinner, help with home work, host a play date
5.30 dinner
6.30 bath
7.30 Bedtime
8-10 prep for next day, finish off any work

I feel ok on it