to wonder how people manage the school holidays

[Kafri]

as in, childcare wise.

DS is still in nursery but I quite often wonder how the heck I'll cover the school holidays once he gets to school.

Obviously dh and I can try to book holidays from work to cover as many as possible but what do you all do for the weeks you can't book as leave etc.

I know IABU to worry about this right now but I can't seem to help it.

We always struggled to get adequate holiday care because some of the holiday schemes shut down for part of August. We have 9 weeks summer holidays and it was a juggling act.

They are older now and don't need childcare but do need entertaining out of the house, especially as DH and I both work from home (he has his own business and I telework for an employer). This year they both did 2 weeks away - DD at a hugely expensive music camp and DS at his best friend's - and DH has taken the whole month of August off to travel with them. The holidays have seemed blessedly short this year :)

It is really hard. We are lucky in that DH and I both have fairly flexible employers, and I only work 3 days/week.

For 2 weeks of summer - I've taken a day's leave, DH has worked from home one day and I've paid a uni student girlfriend of the son of someone I know for the other day.

For 2 weeks - DH has worked from home one day, paid uni student one day and holiday activity club one day.

Last 2 weeks - I am off. DH is working one and then we all have one week off together away.

We have no family help at all so it's v expensive and stressful. I've been able to splurge leave as I have mat leave coming up. Next year's holidays will be covered by mat leave and after that I hope the older 2 will be old enough to enjoy more structured activities etc and the baby will be in year-round care.

My long term plan is to get a school based job or become a cm - the drop in Income will be more than offset by not having to fork out £££ every holiday and there's the added bonus of relaxing with the children hopefully instead of planning for school holidays with military precision!

I work full time with a commute. I pay for 5 weeks holiday club plus an au pair for pick up and drop off.

DD is a teen but we used a soft play holiday programme for years ($50 per day) child swapping with good mates of mine. Sometimes I would pay my niece to babysit. I worked ft and DH worked night shifts so DD normally got at least one day at home. We had no family help either.

When she got to secondary, I had my own office so she could do those sport clubs from 10am-3pm she would come to work with me and just annoy me sit at the end of my desk drawing etc.

I'm not working at the moment, so this summer holiday has been blissfully simple compared to previous years.

We're lucky that the school holiday club is sensible hours of 8-6, also can do half days if needed. We did mix of holiday club, DH and I taking turns with annual leave, plus DC went to stay with my parents for a week (which was lovely but a 6 hr round trip to drop them off! )

I'm freelance all year in one job (translation) and do 2 days a week teaching EFL during term. I can't translate with the kids around so need childcare in the holidays. Where we live (abroad) they are off school from 23rd June to 10th Spetember and it's really hard juggling it. They do the village summer school all July 9-2. DH was working locally in the mornings but his contract finished so he's unemployed and that's the only way we have covered August (I hae projects until the end of the week). If he's working next summer I don't know how we'll manage to cover the holidays. Before I only taught so was free all August and the beginning of sept but it's not enough money while DH not fully employed (bad economic situation here) so i need to translate too.

I suppose if he were working they'd have to do more summer school, all July and part of August and then I'd take some holiday before term time job started again.

I stopped working when my eldest started school. I never expected it to be that way round!

I wonder how people manage as well, luckily I work from home as I'm self employed so I take on less work in the holidays or do it in the evenings/early mornings.

I looked at the local sports camps and they are from half nine until half three so they don't really fit in with working hours. Mine are thankfully now old enough to entertain themselves on the whole.

No family here except MIL who would love to look after them but at 83 really isn't up to it.
The holidays here are just waaaaaaaay to long. If it were een only all July and August but not the last week of June and the first fortnight of septmeber it would be easier.
I think the only way to cope here is masses of family or become a teacher myself, a route that is not really open to me as a foreigner (and I wouldn't want to do it anyway)

Holiday clubs are much cheaper than nursery or childminder - around £20-£25 a day compared to £50-£60.

ghosty I smiled ruefullt when I read your response.

It's very similar to mine

7 weeks holiday = 5 weeks are down to me + 2 weeks down to their dad

I don't think it's even crossed his mind to wonder how I'm juggling

Fortunately the holiday clubs where I am (usually operated by after school clubs) are open 8/8.30-5.30/6. There are also sports-type activity clubs that do 9/10-3ish.

All parents are entitled to 18 weeks unpaid leave per child to be taken before they are 18 Parental Leave. I'm going to request 2 weeks unpaid per year on top of my current leave , I'm lucky to get 46 days including bank hols, then should only need to have a couple of weeks in holiday club/hopefully family. It's tough though. Leave requirements and school holidays should match.

Sorry leave entitlements.

Week 1 DM here to help as DH overseas
Week 2 DH looked after them plus 3 days of free local activities
Week 3 family holiday
Week 4 leave
Week 5 DH looking after (he is self employed so more flexible but would prefer not to do any childcare.....My hours are only part time so not all bad)
Week 6&7 with their DGPs, with me joining them for week 7.

It had actually worked out OK!

Sorry that should have also read eligible patents as you need to be employed etc

Once DS2 hit secondary school I felt free of school holiday worry!
I work shifts so have a mixture of days off in the week, late or early starts which presented another set of problems. Ie childminders didn't want half day or just to look after for a couple of hours. I was also limited to the time I can take off inn school holidays (youth worker type job so I needed to be at work when children weren't in school.

The first week was a play scheme that operated Monday to Friday. Getting picked up at 8.00 finishing at 5.00pm
The second week was a similer play scheme but in the next town!
3rd week was PGL holiday (bloody expensive)
4th week I would take leave
5thweek me and DH would take leave
6th week DH would be on leave.

Thank god all that's over. Saying that DS still talks about the PGL holidays and made some good friends on the play scheme that he is in contact now through FB.

Once they are at School wont you need wrap around childcare anyways? If so, a CM could probably arrange wrap around for term time and all day for school holidays. Mine does this, and she has a fortnight off at the end of the Summer which we mirror and two weeks at Christmas which we mirror, then our total bil gets split 12months.

Cumber are you suggesting that parents should be entitled to more annual leave than childfree workers?

No I think that everyone should be entitled to more leave, we work too much in the country, but im aware busnesses cant afford it, or reduce length of school hols, but again not really good for schools. I suppose the being allowed to take unpaid is helpful, but you should be able to request to take as much as is needed to cover hols each year I.e 8 weeks unpaid or whatever it is.

cucumber that's all fine until you find yourself in a job where you have to work out of term hours.

I didn't choose my job, I got redeployed into it. It was that or redundancy!

Its tricky. I only do 2 4 hour shifts but even that has been tricky. I booked 2 weeks off and so did dh but his were rejected. My dad watched the kids for me a couple of times but I felt bad doing this as he's meant to be taking it easy.