Did anyone go back to work full time and drop hours to PT when their DC was a bit older?

[firstlittlebub]

Considering this as an option. Ultimately I want to do 4 (or 3) days if finances allow, but wondered is it easier to work full time with an under 2 and then part time when they are a preschooler or the opposite to this?

I work almost full time with a 2 year old. Imagine it'll be harder to work full time when she's at school due to hours, holidays etc, so may well end up reducing my hours then.

Logically it seems a lot easier to work FT during the nursery years.

Yes I did. I was working full time at my children’s previous school and whilst my younger 2 were both nursery age. My youngest is now 6 so I dropped my hours. I’m now working in their new school and go home after the lunch rush. I take them in with me in the mornings and they go to breakfast club. It’s handy as I don’t need childcare before or after school or during the holidays.

Yes we've found it easy enough to work full time with nursery, and both feel we get more leeway with working full time to make our own hours a bit as long as we hit our targets and get the work done. So can pick them up early regularly to go to soft play or the park and work after they've gone to bed etc.

Plan is to reassess when my oldest goes to school, and maybe both drop down a bit. Either a day each, or see if we can do a shorter working day. So we're there after school a fair amount. We want to save and take some time out and travel with them when they're a bit older and make some memories.

After maternity leave I went back full time, I then got a pay rise and reduced my hours slightly so I worked 4 longer days with no effect on original salary. I’m now on maternity leave x2 and will have no option with childcare costs and school hours but to go back part time.

I’m really glad I went back full time the money made a huge difference and I just ensured the time I spent with my child was quality time so going to a park or soft play after nursery, investing in a cleaner so it took the load off meaning weekends were solely for my child and not catching up on home duties

I've gone back full time but used my accrued annual leave to take time off. We couldn't afford 5 days a week nursery so had to go for 4 (which is still almost £1500 a month) and I will go up in days and down in hours when they start school as would want to pick them up for the first few years. With an under 2 it's nice to spend the time with them on that extra day and keep in touch with mums!

Yeah my reflection now that I have a 4yo and a 2yo is that once you hit ‘pre school’ and then school you will feel much more tied to the 8.45-3 mon-fri schedule.

i am currently working 4 days and considering going down to 3.5. But 2yo will be starting pre school in sept - in the same school as my 4yo who’ll be starting reception - and getting the 30 free hours

so will make more sense to split my non working hours across the week and try to work 9-3 each day or something like that. Then that’s shorter days for them, I get to do pick ups, no need for after school club, and pre schooler is in a nice routine. Might be a tougher sell for work but am going to try.

I agree. It would have been easy to work FT when DS was in nursery (albeit I did 4 days a week out of choice). School is definitely more tricky to manage with the holidays. DS is in Reception and I've recently gone back a 100% contract although I do three longer days and two shorter days and pick DS up from school on those days which gives me a nice balance I think.

I’m planning to do this. I’m going back full time after maternity with no 1, as I wanted to get full pay if we can have another one. It makes more sense to me to reduce hours once they’re in preschool / school as it costs less and it doesn’t cover a full day so easily

If you are planning any more DC, then I'd stay full time if you can make it work, as then you will get full maternity pay again second time round rather than part time maternity pay if you drop hours.

We kept DC in full time nursery right through to Reception age rather than switching to a pre-school, to delay the time when we'd have to start worrying about short hours and school holidays.

I went back to work full time when DS was almost 8 months, and have just dropped to 4 days since he started in reception. I find with the amount of school holidays there are to cover, life just feels much less hectic with that one less day to worry about. Plus my Sunday night blues have all but vanished. There's also the added advantage of having had 4 years back at work full time to increase my salary, so I was in a far better position to drop a day now than I would have been when I first went back to work after maternity.

No experience, but this is what I'm hoping to do. I'm just about to go back to work after a year off maternity leave. I'll be using accrued leave to work a 4 day week initially but then will increase to 5 days. My ideal scenario would be to be able to go part time when my little one eventually starts school so I can do pick up and drop off

I did this OP.

I went back full time until my DD turned five, and then I dropped my hours as I really felt it was the right thing to do - she could then have little friends over for tea, I could do my own projects and chill out a bit on my own on a Friday.

I went back part time as these are the formative years and I didn't want to miss anything. If you can afford to be part time throughout I think that's a happy medium and great privilege.

Yes, went back FT after maternity leave as we were planning no 2, then went back PT after that one (3 full days). Got made redundant when the youngest was starting school and went into an even more PT role (3 school length days), then upped my hours again when they were both at secondary school, still not FT (4 days now and planning to stay that way till I retire if possible)

If you can financially do this, and your employer will let you, and you want to. DO IT! Do it now, do it hard!

i desperately want it! lol. Hope it works out.

I did and changed when DD was in Infant to 4 days, then shorter days, then to 3 days when her SN became clear, changed to 4 when she was in Y8.

I actually found that emotionally teens need their parents a lot more and it helps that I work hybrid, so I am partly there if she needs to unload.

In primary it was helpful to be able to swap days as well for trips, assemblies etc.

I did. But by later I mean when they were 11 & 7. Never regretted it! My work is flexible so I can make school events, I’m around to drive them to activities and actually get time to chat with them!

Yes, when they were tiny working was relatively easy. You drop them off and pick them up and take them home for bed.

As they get older, they have more going on in the evenings, need you to be around to facilitate school holiday activities and when they need you they need you, not granny or the CM. I went PT when mine were 7&9.

I went back 3 days when my LO started nursery. It made the mum guilt easier and I spent time with them that I cherish. Then once they started school I stretched those 3 days to 4 short days so I finish at 3pm everyday and still have 1 day off to do house chores / errands etc. Makes the school hours easier with homework etc and the holidays easier

I’ve done a version of this, we were super happy with the nursery so both stayed full time in crazy jobs with long hours. Nursery provided wrap around for reception (as much as they went - thanks covid!) and yr 1 so we didn’t need to make any changes. Yr 2 DH tweaked his hours so less wraparound would be needed (new provider) which worked but we were starting to struggle with clubs, playdates, etc so I found a new job that was a big drop in hours (still technically full time!), much more flexible with WFH so I can be around more. My experience has been that DC have needed me more as they’ve got older and I’m glad we’ve done it this way