To wonder what working parents are meant to do in school holidays?

[StepAwayFromGoogle]

DD1 starts school in September. DP and I both work because we can't afford for either one of us to be off. I have applied for part time but my work have been spectacularly backward and refused point blank, which is a whole other thread. I am looking for another job but work in a very specific field in a very specific industry so it's not looking likely that I'll get something, much less part time.
DD1 school have a before and after school club which is over subscribed so she won't get in for the first year. We have scrabbled around and managed to cover the week with GPs and a childminder.
So on to the holidays. DD1 will have 13 weeks off school a year. Between us, me and DP will have just under 10 weeks holiday. AIBU to think that if the govt wants parents (particularly mothers) to work then there needs to be better holiday provision? I'm not blindingly sure what working parents are expected to do after 3pm every day and for the 13 weeks children are off in the year. At the moment all our holiday days will be spent covering time off school and we won't be able to have a holiday together as a family.

I think the US takes worst place in the family friendly stakes. Unpaid, short mat leave, childcare expensive and scarce, strong face time culture in many workplaces, subtle and not so subtle punishments for parents who take the paltry days they are entitled to. Schools are off for a week in spring, two weeks around Christmas, several federal and state holidays (like Bank Holidays) when schools are off but workplaces are not necessarily off, and there is a long summer vacation - late May/early June to late August in most places, maybe eleven weeks or so to work around. School's first official year is kindergarten, for 5 year olds so daycare or a nanny or family member is really the only option for many parents. Some private schools offer all day care with a few hours of classroom activities and many hours of daycare activities. My DCs' school offered all day care from 7am to 6pm but at a cost and only in the school year.

A lot of parents hire a high school student for the duration of the summer and for after school care in the children's own home, and pay minimum wage. Some kids are sent off to residential camps in summer, either for sports or the stereotypical Camp Wannagohome (all expensive) and there are day camp opportunities in most urban and suburban areas, though rarely for all day care and activities. Many parents patch together a network of relatives, friends, and paid caregivers who are of course untrained and unlicensed.

Nannies are very much a preferred option where I am.

Well a good nanny will earn at least as much as I do by the time I have paid my staff. In fact my assistant earns more per hour than I do if you break it down.

Nannies might the preferred option but they are not always the most affordable.

Depends on how many children you have, how much organisation and being on the ball you require (school run for Reception age child with twins in tow; playdate with friend of Reception age child, for example) and how flexible you need a childcare option to be. Many nurseries and CMs charge by the minute per child after 6 pm. Hiring a nanny who will take care of three children until, say, 6.40pm if you are running late is a bargain.

He has 13 weeks??! Are you in another country, or is he privately educated by any chance?

Other people I know have either hired a nanny for the school holidays, used clubs, au paired it etc, but that was for the normal 6 weeks off.

Totally missed there was a whole team of previous pages, ignore my pp.

A woman posted on another thread yesterday asking what people thought about a whole day of games consoles at holiday club - clearly there are crap clubs about.

13 weeks = 6 weeks summer, 2 Easter, 2 Christmas and 3 half terms.
As we also have 5 or so days of INSET, that's another week especially if they are mainly together (our DCs' school has nearly another whole week added to the May half term, that's just how they choose to do it).

“Holiday club” can be a euphemism for “collective babysitting”

It's not so bad if it's a cheap crap club I guess

Holding pen more like

I have a colour coded spreadsheet in our shared google drive

The day DH has a colour coded spreadsheet I'll know equality has arrived...

Does a shared Google calendar count?
(I'll suggest the colour coding to him).

We have had quite a few cancellations at holiday club this week (they had several staff off sick but DS needs 1:1 and seemed to get cancelled first, before anyone else. Bit miffed and it's been really awkward with work). We have no family locally and no babysitters so as I posted elsewhere I've been trying online babysitting agencies but it seems unless you live in the middle of a big city you can't find anyone through them either.