To ask what you do when kids are at school?

[sharond101]

I work part time. Eldest is in school and youngest will go in August. Currently youngest goes to nursery 9-3, I regular collect early and play with her at home or take her out. I cook, clean, shop, paint my nails, exercise at home but otherwise have no idea what to keep myself busy with. I have been working extra hours and arranged to meet a few friends but this is not regular and feel pretty lost.

I do about an hour of housework a day. And if I have the day off then I can somehow manage to stretch it out into the whole day. I'm lazy if I don't have a deadline

I gave up work 12 years ago.
My sons had left school.
I actually do so much, I attend classes, do a lot of dressmaking (inc. 0 to 5 clothing) , bag making, Dog Walking, Lunching, cycling...along with the usual reading, audible etc...
Housework is way down on the list, lifes too short.
So glad I was able to give up work, I am never bored and don't understand the concept. There is so much out there to do.
Years ago I was a sahm, so fitted in classes around school times, so much knowledge to be had in adult education.

Single parent and work full time, so every minute my child is in school, including breakfast and after school clubs, I’m either commuting or working!

My youngest is in Reception so I'm a newbie to having time to myself.

I work part time and have 2 days off a week most of the time (I do extra hours at times)

I pretty much just do the things I've always tried to do but a bit easier and more successful.

Still not quite got myself sorted so lots of work still to be done in house.i canngo to the supermarket and not constantly have to say 'Don't touch', 'No you're not getting that' , 'Leave the trolley alone' etc.
I can pop into town and it's not stressful at all.

I've not actually caught up with any friends yet. I actual value the time to myself. It's so nice.

I may get bored at some point but I'm not quite there.

And I've still got managed to make the gym.......

I work part time. Spend days I am not working rushing about like a headless chicken.

Cleaning and other household and home related jobs inc paperwork.

Errands.

Food shopping.

Taking dc to sen appointments or medical appointments or going to appointments and support meetings in relation to this..

Taking parents to appointments or going to appointments about them.

Doing paperwork for parents.

Sorting out where parents have hidden their pills or cash or food or whatever else they have lost.

Answering my phone to my parents who call me on average 12 times a day. Usually asking me what day is it or what are they supposed to be doing today or can I get food for them or they will ring when I am at work and ask why i have not collected them to take them out!

Taking parents out so they get out house.

Shopping for parents or sometimes with them which is stressful.

Looking after nieces and nephews for free.

Filling in forms about dd or parents.

Speaking on phone to health professionals about dc or parents.

Occasionally meet a friend for coffee. Or go to town for me and dc.

I don’t get how the sahp think they’re busy. The working parents work AND do all the stuff that they do as well. Cooking, cleaning, family admin etc is all still there. Very interesting.

I go to work.

I don’t work and the twins are 9 so at school 8:30am to 3:20pm. I also have cleaners in twice a week. My days are:
*go to the gym 4 days a week for 2 hours or so, usually after school drop off
*go for coffee with school mums (which delays gym to later some days)
*meet friend/my parents for lunch
*volunteer in school and P&F
*drink endless cups of tea
*ring anyone I need silence for (elec company etc)
*think about all the reorganisation I need to do, but never start as I won’t have time to finish before school pick up
*tidy general day to day mess/clutter for people that swear they put all their stuff away
*get my hair and nails done as required
*deal with any issues with rental properties
*look for new properties
*book holidays

The best bit is being able to buy presents with no children peeking and when the shops are quieter.

Sometimes I get really bored and feel I’m wasting my life, and although I don’t financially need to work (and I love being with the children), I think my brain needs to work (but the rest of me doesn’t agree 😉).

I don’t get how the sahp think they’re busy. The working parents work AND do all the stuff that they do as well. Cooking, cleaning, family admin etc is all still there. Very interesting.

My friends who are SAHM, honestly their DH's do nothing other than work so they are actually quite busy. Whereas in my family (two working parents) we share everything that we don't outsource.

I’m on maternity leave with a baby, so not usually a SAHM but this is the first time I’ve done the school run. Housework etc sometimes takes a while but most days takes minutes. If I’m tired I go back to bed with baby, or just laze around catching up on TV. If we’re feeling energetic we go out for coffee or lunch.

The time does go quickly but it’s not busy. I notice my friends who’ve done it longer term do things like go food shopping everyday but I don’t really want to fill my day with boring stuff like that

Is there a distance learning course that you could work towards to further yourself in your job?

I'm pretty envious, in truth. I didn't have maternity leave in the UK so could only imagine six months off. I do relate to days like that though, when I need to use up holiday before the year end. Everyone is supposed to have a book inside them .... could you start writing yours? I also proof read as a sideline if I am offered work - would that interest you? Volunteering is great for giving something back if you have time - plenty of care homes for the elderly love it if you can spare a few hours a week just to chat.

I work 3 days a week so have 2 days of errands and tidying up. Even then I just manage the basics and a couple of gym sessions.

Officially I'm at work during school hours but have been given one day off a fortnight to study my OU degree. You could do that depending on what plans you have for when you do go back to work.

I guess if I was you I'd pop to the supermarket, get the slow cooker on, do the ironing, all the jobs I struggle to do normally in between work and running DD to her activities. Perhaps goto the cinema if there was something I wanted to watch on, read a book, sort the garden out.

Work most of the week but on my day off mid week I catch up on chores and do coursework for the course I’m studying. Never bored when I get time at home without the children as it’s so rare! My adult children are often about on my days off.

I don’t get how the sahp think they’re busy. The working parents work AND do all the stuff that they do as well

Yes but my dh does nothing round the house. He never ever cooks a meal, even at weekends. He never does a load of laundry. I don't mind that at all, I don't expect him to if I'm home all day without the kids, but there is actually quite a lot to do.

Six hours goes surprisingly fast. I thought I'd be a gym bunny with an immaculate home but I'm mostly treading water! So let's say, I went to the gym in morning, my day might look like this.

8.40...drop kids at school.

8.50-9.15...dash home and tidy up from breakfast, stick washing on.

9.30-10.30...exercise class

10.45-11.15...get home and shower

11.15-12.00...hang laundry up, clean bathrooms

12.30-1.00...have a quick lunch

1.00-2.00...ironing and run Hoover round

2.00-3.00...prep dinner, dash to shops to pick up milk/bread whatever

Time to pick up kids

I have one day off a week with my toddler. I’m very envious of the things people with school aged children get up to! I’ve just had to plan a military operation to go and get a hair cut 😂

@formerbabe I'm a single parent so I work and do all that too. I still don't see how people spend all day cleaning! Surely if no one is home all day but you the house can't get that messy?

Or maybe I just have low standards, I only hoover once a week

Yes but once everyone is home from school and work, no chores need to be done...so let's say two working parents get in from work and both do an hour and a half of chores and cook dinner...that's three hours worth of labour....I just do mine alone during the day.

Obviously if you're a single working parent, you have far less hours to fit everything in and I guess you just adapt your life as I was saying earlier.

Yes that's true, I tend to do housework stuff after DS is in bed. I try not to spend too much time on it though. And we are a family of 2 (just me and DS) so I only really need to do things like laundry and ironing a couple of times a week. Some people on here with bigger families do it every day!

I get one weekday off a week and I don't want to spend it doing chores, I'd rather do it on my workdays so I can relax on my day off.

Housework generally. Washing, cleaning, hoovering. Sometimes I’ll meet a friend for lunch, go to the gym or go shopping.

There’s always things that need doing, I get two days a week but they go quickly!

I'm freelance so I WFH - usually 3-4 hours a day. Otherwise I tidy/clean, do some gardening, walk the dog, meet friends for coffee, do the shopping and household admin. I also take afternoon naps. One of my dc is still at primary, so I collect them & chaffeur the dc to clubs, friends houses etc. Cook dinner.

I find that I have plenty of spare time. I marvel at my friends who work FT - I honestly don't know how they do it

I work part time and the rest of the time is spent catching up. I think part time is the worst of both worlds, actually, because you are still looked upon as a sahm, where you are still expected to do everything - plus you have less money and status and are still not financially independent.

Most couples I know who are both full time share everything 50/50 and many can afford some degree of outside help, such as cleaners. Their dhs tend to respect them more as does wider society.

A school day is not a full day, anyway- more of a long morning. A normal working day finishes at 6. I find things far more relaxed in the holidays

wax my dc's can mess up a house in the hour before school and DD can destroy it in the evening 😫.