If you have primary aged children, how many days a week do you work?

[masm]

Trying to gauge what would work best.

DS(4) starts school this September. I am actually reducing my hours from three days a week to two. Just wondering what the sort of ‘norm’ is, not that there is a norm.

5 days. I’ve never ever been part time. It was hard at the start when I went back when he was 9 months old but now he’s 6 and I’m used to it

Everyone I know works 4 or 5 days a week.

Being able to do two days so you can accommodate the school run, gym and hobbies is unusual nowadays IMO.

I do 4 days but over 5 so that I finish in time each day to collect my DC. My husband does drops offs each day.

I work 4 days (28hrs)

It's 16 at ours - and I have two children. I guess id you have more than two children and earn very little, it can be a cost thing.

I earn a lot more than £32 a day so not an issue for me

I do 25.5 hours across 4 days (2 full days, 2 half days) and then I am studying for a masters on my 'day off'. I love it!

5 days a week full time. But that's fully remote and semi-flexible so I can do school pick ups twice a week and take DD to sports matches etc (I just take my laptop with me). And we moved away from London to DH's home town (mine are abroad) before she started pre-school; MIL does school pick up 3 days a week and looks after her those days. However in DD's school before and after school club seems incredibly popular so I highly doubt we're the only ones that work full time.

Full time.
We use wrap around care 4 days a week which DS LOVES!
One of us always WFH on a Friday so we don't need it then.

Ive always worked full time but when the kids were younger I was lucky enough to be able to work term time only

5 days, full time. My current job is very flexible so I can do pick ups and drop offs, generally speaking.

My previous job was much less so and required more planning. The full time hours there were also more than I work now.

3 dc at primary school (ks1) and I work 3 days. I
love it. A lot of the parents at dc’s school seem to
work part time or flexibly.

But surely you’re earning significantly more than that for a days work? It’s hardly a reason to not work, it’s a relatively small cost.

Both of us were five, but I WFH virtually full time; I blocked my diary 3-3.30 for 5 years until they could walk home. Usually, if I need to be away from home, my wife can work from home or come home early, so we have used after-school clubs about 3 times since covid. Have a cleaning lady one morning.

Until now I have done 4 days a week in the office, but am about to go up to 5 days. However the new role is home-based so should be able to collect DD from school at 3.30 a couple of times a week.

Single mum work 30 hours over 5 days within school hours but do use breakfast club. I don't earn enough to make wrap around care worth it but earn too much for help. When DS is old enough to walk to and from school will go back to full time

We both did 30 hours, three full days and two short days each. The one doing the long day did the school drop off, the one doing the short day did the pick up and made dinner, etc. On the day we both worked a long day, grandparents picked up or they went to after school club.

In the holidays, we each booked our short days off, so it cut less into our leave and we were lucky to have their grandparents look after them again one day a week.

We went up to 33 hours when the kids went to senior school, we didn't need to do the school run any more, but most days we were here after school (or shortly after) for them. When they were teens they did disappear to their rooms, but I know they were glad we were here when they'd had a bad day, or just wanted a chat.

This worked really well for us, we shared the load, were there for the kids and weren't too far off full time. In fact, I still only work 33 hours, even though our two are young adults now, I am used to the salary and appreciate the extra time for myself.

We both work 5 days a week.

5 approx. 30 hrs per week so I can do drop off (sometimes early for breakfast club) and pick up, sometimes later as they have after school sports clubs.

There is no norm. Some parents work full time with wrap around care, some are SAHP. Anything goes and luckily at our school there seems to be none of the judgement you get on Mn whatever arrangements you make.

I worked 3-3.5 days when mine were in primary (lone parent). As for the faux confusion of a PP on WHY a mother might reduce hours when they go to school… 13 weeks a year school holidays? Lack of wraparound care? I had young children before the WFH revolution so luckily there were more holiday clubs ( much fewer now) but I was able to do 3 days in school holidays, and during term time could pick up from school 2 days a week. I tried full time for a while but even with my mum helping both the kids and me were exhausted. I liked being able to have their friends for tea/ time to get everything done.
And as for filling the time- it gets filled no bother, how little imagination must people have to not be able to think what they would do!
Been f/t since year 8 and been promoted a few times so making up for the time.

Me and dp both work 5 full days, both professional jobs, but with flexibility. He drops off to school (year 1) and nursery, I pick up from school - then sometimes work in the same room as ds, sometimes no work, depends on my workload. Hence the full time nursery!

I'd bluntly recommend working as little as possible that you can afford, and around school hours where possible. Your kids are tiny, they need you. We now have 2 after school clubs for ds, but they've been picked up to his likes (football and a special choir) rather than just 'the childcare club.' Part time also means you can get on top of your home, keep life less stressful for you all. I'd do it in a heartbeat if we could afford it!

Do what works for your family, no one else matters.

5 (FT), but I have a very flexible job and a lot of AL

But DH does 4 (he did 3.5 over 4 days in younger primary years)

I do 5 days, so full-time. Anything less and I'd effectively be trying to squeeze 5 days work into x days with an accompanying pay cut for doing more work. No thanks!

Never worked less than full time. Did do a 9 day fortnight for a bit but that was pre-DD.

We both work five days, full time. Until recently DH did WFH full time and I flex my hours, so we haven't had to use wraparound care.

I worked 4 days (0.8 FTE) from when I went back to work after having my eldest until he was in year 6 and younger son was in year 1 when I started a new job and went back to 5 days (FT) but I work flexibly from home on Fridays so I can still do drop off and pick up so it is the same for my youngest.