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Original poster

Be honest. Who worked from home while also having their DC their over Easter hols?

218 replies

Whatsgoingonwithmyhead · 15/04/2024 08:34

Less of DC’s classmates at camps and a lot of the parents very vague about their plans.

Just wondering how common it is for people to WFH whilst also looking after their kids in the school hols these days ?

Did you do this? How old are your DC and did you get a proper days work done?

I used a mixture of camps & grandparents. Appreciate I’m fortunate to have local, helpful grandparents and I earn enough to pay for camps. I also took some annual leave. My DC is 5 and super active so no way could I work with her there!

Just interested. Not judging anyone. School holidays are long, money is tight and not everyone has family help so appreciate covering school holidays is a huge headache for lots of families

Edited to say I note the typo in the title before someone leaps on me about it!

OP posts:
ingenvillvetavardukoptdintroja · 15/04/2024 11:51

1 week in holiday club - £150 for 2 kids for 5 days
The other week shared as holiday between us. My work involves a lot of face to face meetings.
Sometimes work with them at home if they're sick but it's hard without telly on constantly, they want your attention.

Whatifthehokeycokey · 15/04/2024 11:53

Plenty of parents with laptops at soft play.

K0OLA1D · 15/04/2024 12:28

MoominPyjamas · 15/04/2024 11:45

This is going to lead to some very big problems for HR further along the line. Many people could work with their nine year old at home, but I couldn't as mine has additional needs. Same as it's easier to wfh if you have a partner who is also wfh, so it's unfair on single parents. I also think those with only children are at a disadvantage...
the only way it will be fair is if employers say that no one can wfh with children under 14 unless there is another adult there to supervise

That's ridiculous. My 12 and 10 year old stop at home on their own!

They pose me no problems when I am actually in with them working

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Families
SnapdragonToadflax · 15/04/2024 12:49

AmyandPhilipfan · 15/04/2024 10:36

I knew someone who claimed she and her husband, at the same time, did 10 hour wfh shifts all of lockdown with two children at home. At the start of the first lockdown they were just turned 1 and coming up to 3. I just didn't know how it was possible. Either her work or her children must have been suffering, surely?

Yes, in my case both and it was hell. I completely burnt out and don't think I've really recovered even now. Mine was just turned 1. I'm grateful he wasn't 3 because at least he napped.

evilharpy · 15/04/2024 12:55

I took one week off and WFH the other week. My daughter (only child) is 9 and happy pottering about entertaining herself, doing her art and reading, or playing with the neighbouring kids outside or in one of our houses. She makes herself a sandwich for lunch. My manager was fully aware and it wasn't an issue at all. If there was any sort of emergency I'd have just made the time up later.

During the first lockdown I WFH while looking after and trying to homeschool a 5 year old. That was a total shitshow. During lockdown mkII I took unpaid leave for my own sanity.

CharlotteBog · 15/04/2024 12:59

I don't cope well at all. Mine is 15 and I've been doing this all alone since he was 8. I work full time from home (have done for years).

When he was younger he'd go to sport camps.
These days he's just at home while I work. He obviously doesn't need looking after as such, but he does have needs. We live rurally with a crappy bus service. Most of his friends live rurally, too.
While I have enormous flexibility with my work I find it very disruptive to need to collect him from town or run him to a friend's house.

Today I got a text to say his hair cut appointment had been changed. Just a text from the app. I couldn't accommodate the change in time so had to sort that out. When I went to collect him I found the fucking park app needed to be updated and then didn't recognise me...etc etc. Small things, but add them up day after day, week after week, year after year and it gets wearying.

I don't know many other lone parents working full time so I can feel quite isolated.

Hoplolly · 15/04/2024 13:07

Me. I work from home all through school holidays. Completely agreed with my employer.

Needanewname42 · 15/04/2024 13:11

SnapdragonToadflax · 15/04/2024 10:22

No thanks, I did enough of that in lockdown. I have a five year old so it's not really possible, even though I WFH. The only exception was a couple of days where holiday club ended early (3.30pm) so I collected him then carried on working while he watched a film. But I wouldn't have wanted to do that every day, it was distracting.

We did a mix of two holiday clubs, annual leave and grandparent. I'm finding it a real slog having no days off work for myself because I have to save it all for school holidays - dreading summer as there just isn't the provision you expect there to be. I think we've got 4/6 weeks covered now, although not every day.

Our local council holiday clubs (sports-based) are only open 9am-1pm! Wtf is the point of that?

I'm guessing 9-1pm is 4 hours so they don't need to pay the staff for a break. But useless for working parents

ChorizoDog · 15/04/2024 13:19

I took a week off, her dad took the next week off. I have her home today (she's 10) for inset day.

She is basically on a screen all day today, but playing online games with her friend, so I don't mind that so much and she's had a very active break.

Grumblebees · 15/04/2024 13:26

DH and I both work from home permanently, DH full time and me 3 days a week. Of the 9 working days in the holidays, I had my normal 3 off, DH took 2 as A/L and my two boys (5 and 8) were booked into holiday clubs the other 4 days. Youngest picked up norovirus end of the first week which older brother then caught, meaning he couldn't go to the last day of holiday club as was within 48 hours of being ill so that was the only time we were working at home whilst looking after a child. He literally sat playing on his tablet or watching the TV the entire day as DH and I both busy doing work! There is absolutely no way I'd do that for more than a day, I felt awful about it as he'd had zero physical or social stimulation. Luckily youngest was ok to go to holiday club and had a great time.

I have friends who've never used a days holiday club in their life and just block out their calendars so calls aren't added etc, send a few emails here and there but productivity must be through the floor.

Twilightstarbright · 15/04/2024 13:37

@MoominPyjamas I work in HR and it’s a nightmare. I’m at a large finance company and it’s just leading to us having to bring in rules about it and mandate office days still apply in the holidays. Shame as it ruins the bit of flex some people need- me included!

DS is still off today so I took a/l this morning and he’s watching a film now and I’m about to log on. Grandma will be here by 3pm to look after him. My manager knows and I’ll make up the hours if needed tonight but it’s definitely a one off and wouldn’t fly for the whole of the holiday.

I’m lucky that:
a) we have a lot of very good holiday clubs which do 8-6
b) DS loves going
c) only one child to pay for and I can afford it

Managers complain to me all the time that people in their teams aren’t really working in the holidays. The big bosses will enforce full time office working eventually.

reluctantbrit · 15/04/2024 13:44

Our company rule says that you can't wfh if you have an otherwise unsupervised child under 10. Obviously a child off school and the other parent off work/SAHP may mean you hear the child (my team leader's DD is often to be heard on our calls).

As I have to be 2-3 days in the office each week we would have to use clubs if DD would have been younger.

Now she barricaded herself in her room with food, drinks, laptop and workbooks and did revision.

Meadowfinch · 15/04/2024 13:51

Me - all Easter. 🙁

My DS is supposed to be revising for his GCSEs. I make sure there is readily available food, and then retreat to my office at 8.30. Come out at 1 and organise lunch. Leave him to it again until 5.30, then if sunny drag him out to get some sunshine and exercise.

I'm flat out so my employer would know immediately if I was bunking off.

Ds is back to school on Wednesday.

Colinfromaccounts24 · 15/04/2024 13:52

I have one 9 year old. I took annual leave for the first week and she was with grandparents for the second week. My husband and I both permanently WFH. We too had the hell of having a 5 year old at home while trying to work during covid. So the thought of trying to work around her makes me shudder. She is autistic so needs more attention than most. She normally goes to holiday clubs but we were very lucky with her going on a holiday to the grandparents this time.

RemarkablyBrightCreature · 15/04/2024 13:53

LauderSyme · 15/04/2024 08:41

Your language is rather odd. Why would this be a parent's guilty secret?

Shock horror, person with child rearing responsibilities needs to earn money. You perplex me.

Of course parents are not going to shout about it if they’re looking after young children when they’re being paid to work 🙄

RemarkablyBrightCreature · 15/04/2024 13:55

Meadowfinch · 15/04/2024 13:51

Me - all Easter. 🙁

My DS is supposed to be revising for his GCSEs. I make sure there is readily available food, and then retreat to my office at 8.30. Come out at 1 and organise lunch. Leave him to it again until 5.30, then if sunny drag him out to get some sunshine and exercise.

I'm flat out so my employer would know immediately if I was bunking off.

Ds is back to school on Wednesday.

Edited

I don’t think anyone would count secondary age kids - especially not Y11s! They’re more than capable of looking after themselves.

FlabMonsterIsDietingAgain · 15/04/2024 13:55

Only for 1 day, could have done as many as I like as work have no problem with it but I can't give her any attention and she'll just spend the day watching telly so I prefer using holiday clubs

Bunnycat101 · 15/04/2024 13:56

My preference is to book camps for mine as they are still young (5 and 7). The odd day at home is fine but I don’t think it’s good for younger children to be totally unsupervised or on screens for days at a time. Older children are different though and I can see my eldest is already at a point where her needs are different to the younger ones and she’s much more self sufficient.

This holiday didn’t fully go to plan though as my eldest was poorly so was at home watching tv or sleeping for a week despite me having paid for camp. She didn’t disturb me at all and actually was less annoying than my husband who was poorly the week after. But… the only reason it was doable was because she felt like shit and wasn’t up for doing anything. She’d have gone crazy if she’d done that for a week under normal circumstances.

SheffieldIsntSoBad · 15/04/2024 14:00

Me! Like I do every holiday. I'm not forking out money for a stranger to look after my children 😂 There is plenty for them to do at home and when I'm working I often arrange for them to spend time with family/friends and when I have the odd day off, I repay the same.

Deathbyfluffy · 15/04/2024 14:03

Mimrr · 15/04/2024 08:52

People don’t feel guilty enough in my work. There are a couple of men who announce in meetings that they might be distracted as they have their toddler there. Then think it’s cute when the child climbs up or yells during a meeting.

Interestingly I have this problem in my team too, but it's always the same women who think it's acceptable to disappear for up to half an hour to look after their kids.

These are the same women who are being brought back into the offer FT (not my choice, I'll add) because their performance is poor.

CharlotteBog · 15/04/2024 14:06

Meadowfinch · 15/04/2024 13:51

Me - all Easter. 🙁

My DS is supposed to be revising for his GCSEs. I make sure there is readily available food, and then retreat to my office at 8.30. Come out at 1 and organise lunch. Leave him to it again until 5.30, then if sunny drag him out to get some sunshine and exercise.

I'm flat out so my employer would know immediately if I was bunking off.

Ds is back to school on Wednesday.

Edited

Same (ish).
My work may be happy to accept slightly wonky working hours over the school holidays (taking kids to camps, dropping places, emails being sent late at night etc), but there is absolutely no way they would accept less productivity and none of my colleagues would take the piss that way anyway. We have a very good boss.

diamondpony80 · 15/04/2024 14:06

I'm self employed and yes, worked over the Easter holidays (but took a long weekend off over Easter weekend to visit family). DD is 9 and just plays outside with the local kids most of the time. I check on her regularly, but at her age she prefers playing with her friends to spending time with her parents! We're lucky our area has lots of young children so there's always someone to play with and a large green just outside our house.

user1471523870 · 15/04/2024 14:07

Not me. We work from home and both of our jobs require our full attention, we are often back to back in meetings and presentations all day. We would not be able to give any attention to DS. He's 5, so he still requires at least to keep an eye on him, let alone feed and and chat etc.
We took one week off and travelled, and he went to a holiday camp on the second week.

CharlotteBog · 15/04/2024 14:07

These are the same women who are being brought back into the offer FT (not my choice, I'll add) because their performance is poor.

Good. It's nice to see a manager who has identified which staff need to be in the office.

senchildren · 15/04/2024 14:10

Before I gave up work I did it for 2.5 years after maternity leave as my dd was at that point undiagnosed but severe SEN and she wouldn’t have coped in a nursery

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