aibu to work part time as youngest is 11... thinking of long summer holidays..in my view i am putting family first

[slartybartfast]

what age of your DC is it ok to work full time and let them run ferral?

i rarely go off sick, i think because i do work part time, one day off in the middle of the week and 2 days leaving at @ 3 or 4

My 2 pence in my view 11 year old is not old enough to be left for 10-13 hours a day on their own

You will have no idea what their up to or who their with ( which in my view is part of the whole issue we had with the riots)
and more than likely just wandering the streets

My son goes to a holiday club that costs £40a week 8-5.30 with tax credits the government pay 70p out of every pound

Either go pt or get some child care every council has a booklet with summer activities and child care all oftsed registered schemes will work with tax credits

Personally you can always tell the teens who parents are at work full time because at 5 o'clock their still in their school uniform hanging out by the school FFS
And i am sure their parents are saying the same thing as others on her my bobbies at home and would never get involved with anything bad

The thing is if your not around to raise you child the street always will be ready and willing

I truly believe the devil makes light work of idle hands and children who are left unsupervised on a regular basis no good ever comes of this

We don't live in the 60s or 70s any more

Just my view

rofl @ I've been here for years.

So people who work part-time, term-time who have older children are selfish, in poor taste and pander to their children? Who knew?

Maypole, I don't think you're right about those children that you see. My DSD's mum doesnt work and she is 1 of a group of 7 who go to town or the park after school every day (at least the days she is with her mum as when she is with us (we work full time) she gets the train straight here and is indoors doing homework or watching TV from 4pm until 6pm when i get home) 4 of the other kids have mums who don't work. 1 has a mum who works term time only.

My mum & dad both worked and my sister and I never hung about on the street as we knew we'd get a bollocking.

Imgoingtocounttofive not being funny but my parents would have said exactly the same as you not saying your child is ignoring you but......

Unless you have a spy camera in your house you have no clue

I used to come home half and hour before 7 when she got home turn on the tv and mess up the place a bit and she was no the wiser

Unless you have a very crafty plan you won't have a clue if she was their or not and thats the whole point if your not their you defiantly canny find out were they are

Lets not get into the shit parents who just don't give a shit who are at home but are just relived when their children don't come home

My brother also friends have parents who ring them up while at work and ask were they are but of course their at work and they say oh were just at the te shop no they were in Bristol got home at 7 parents got home at 9 no one was the wiser

It's totally what suits you, so trust your gut feeling. You're obviously lucky enough to be in a job that allows you to be part time, and there is no financial pressure. So if you're happy being part time and you can afford it, why change? I get the impression you want a concrete reason why not to go full time, but who do you need to justify yourself to?

"it's best for you which is selfish"

Yes, I suppose it boils down to that. But my happiness is a contributary factor towards the happiness of my family, my relationship. I'm not going to apologise for that. And the work I do benefits society as well (bonus !!).

maypole1, most childcare stops at end of primary. So that's a lot of 11 year olds in secondary who aren't eligible. Yes there is stuff available in the summer holidays, and some at Easter. Much less at half-terms, usually nothing at all at Christmas, bank holidays (I get different ones from my kids) or other random school days off. Arranging childcare for 11 year olds is not actually that simple.

My close friend lives 3 doors down and tells me exactly when she comes home

I don't think I want to ever work full time again if I can avoid it....

I do what suits my family best. My family includes me. I am not a martyr. I do not have fewer rights to happiness than my dh or my dc.
So I do what suits all of us best.
And ultimately it is no one elses business.

I had a vague plan to go PT once ds starts secondary, but finances aren't going to allow it.

Like Sofabitch's friends, I think teens need you to be around more than younger children.

I spent loooooonng holidays alone and it was shit.

It's personal choice. I can't abide all this "putting family first" drivel - as if parents who work full time aren't putting their families first.

It's never ok to let them run feral.

You can work full time or part time at any age. That's ok.

And it's nonsense to say 'teens need you more' as some sort of blanket statement. It depends completely on the teens, on working hours, on so many other factors.

I've just got a job which is term time only, part time. 25 hours a week, 48 weeks a year. My children are 5 and 3. I am planning on staying in this job as long as possible -as a single parent, working 4 days a week term time only is going to be a godsend.

Yes, my salary is only £10k and I get tax credits top ups, but I'm hoping as the children get older I can gradually go up to 5 days a week working term time only. And I'm lucky that I live in council housing with £75 a week rent so can afford to do this, with WTC and CTC.

Yes, I could work full time - but summer holiday childcare bills for 2 kids just 3 days a week (one for the month, one for just a fortnight as I palmed him off on as many friends and family as I could) was £700. My opinion is changing to this job means long term less tax credits from the government in childcare etc.

I have no plans to switch to full year as opposed to term time when the kids are at secondary school, being white boys from a single parent council estate house apparently statistically screws them anyway, so I'd rather keep my eye on them

*40 weeks that should say, not 48!

Iamgoingtocounttofive

well my boys are 14 and nearly 12, I work part time, term time only in a school and there is not flaming way I would give my job up for someone who "needed it"

How fucking ridiculous.

Anyone who has a choice takes the job that is best for them...

I have a teenager and a primary age child - a lot of people have said this holiday that the teenager should be looking after the younger one during the holidays.

I pay for childcare as I don't think it's fair on either child. They'd be stuck in the house 10 hours a day. Novelty will quickly wear off.

I work 30 hours a week. I am 30 years old.

My SIL is 50, has no children and works 16 hours a week.

I don't need to work full time, but do need a certain number of hours to give me the income I require.

My SIL does not need to work full time, but again has a number of hours to give the income she requires.

Flexible working should be available to all not just the privilege of parents of under 10s.

IME, it is very difficult for children whose parents are both working to achieve as much during the long summer holidays as for children who have a SAHP (or, perhaps, at a pinch, a young and dynamic SAH grandparent willing to take over). If you want your children to continue learning, albeit in a very different way to school, you need to structure and supervise what children do over summer.

The other option is to earn a lot of money and send your DC to a fab North American summer camp!

I really wouldn't want to leave kids in the house on their own all day, every day for six to eight weeks I don't think. No matter how responsible.
Even if public transport was fabulous where I lived (which it absolutely isn't) and I was prepared to give my DC money every day to do things (which I'm not) I still wouldn't feel happy.

Now a mix and match patchwork of things is s different matter, with days here and there spent unsupervised...a few weeks on holiday with parents, perhaps a few days with other relatives and friends, and some time spent alone, that can work. Indeed, my fourteen year old neice came and stayed with us this summer for four days precisely to mix things up for her (and because we live close to London where there is a very large Top Shop).

But not everyone has these options do they?

Bonsoir can you recommend any North American summer camps? my in-laws live in DC so I do think it would be a good idea when the children are a bit older.

I do think that very often teenagers need their parents at home as much as younger children.

Our dd is almost 10, my dp works from home during school hours so he can be there to take her to school and collect her, she is much happier with that arrangement ( we used to both work full time) I hope we can mantain that arrangement for a good few years yet.

I don't think we are selfish for doing that, dp negotiated the post for himself and has in effect created a second job by cutting his hours.

I teach so can be at home with my dd during the holidays, that was one of the reasons I went into teaching.

fabby..........how old are your children?

I worked full time as a single parent from when my eldest was a year old and my youngest five years later at 5 weeks old.

In another thread the '' taking dole money from someone''

you said you have been on sickness benefit for 7 years.