To think that my 10 and 8 year olds could provide limited childcare?

[RHTawneyonabus]

I’m glad the schools are off next week, our nanny is self isolating and DH and I are trying to WFH with a two year old.

I’ve suggested it will be helpful to have the older kids around as a short of short term childcare solution. I’m envisaging they could spend and hour or so playing with the train set or just generally entertaining him while I sit nearby and power through my emails.

DH has reacted as if I’ve proposed sending them down a mine, but it doesn’t seem very unreasonable to me....

I also thought you were talking about your 10 and 8 year old starting their own childminding service for random children. But you working in one room and the children playing in another is absolutely fine. If your dh has a problem with it then make sure he's the one left looking after the children and trying to WFH.

My 14 year old point blank refuses to have anything to do with my 7 year old,absolute uproar when in the same room.

Isn't that why people have more children?

Yes! My 7 yr old is so helpful with my 2 yr old it's honestly a life saver! And they have a blast playing together.

It depends on the kids. My DD1 (11 later this month) couldn't be trusted at all. (She has SEN and adoption related attachment issues. DD2 (8 1 week ago) loves entraining young children. She has a cousin, now 4, who adores her and follows her around with real devotion, and she's been attached to him since she first saw him.

It really depends on the child, so it's impossible to answer. Only you know how well your older DC will cope with it. But, as you'll be in the house, you'll know if it's going pear shaped.

As long as it isn't for too long. If it's for longer than 1/2 hours, that wouldn't be fair.

You need to do what you need to do OP, don't feel bad about it. It's just siblings playing together, it's not child labour

Give your DH a week to catch up with your thinking @RHTawneyonabus. You are already thinking practically about how the house will operate once you are all at home. He will need a few days of living it before he realises your suggestion was simply a practical solution to a problem you foresaw.

Absolutely nothing wrong with older siblings occupying younger ones for short periods of time so you can get stuff done, be it wfh or cooking the dinner- both necessary to your families life. I presume your DH isn’t planning on downing tools to occupy all 3 every minute of the day.

It's not childcare - its entertaining younger siblings

There's nothing wrong with an older sibling looking after a younger one for short periods of time, especially if a parent is within easy reach, should something unexpected occur. It's very strange to suggest otherwise, honestly! Helping to keep the younger sibling entertained is an essential part of the older sibling experience, ime.

At ten I looked after my younger sibling after school alone until our parents came in from
Work. I don’t think leaving them to play while you do emails within earshot is any different to the luxury of an audience free shit.

It is all ok to let your older children look after, and maybe entertain the youngie. It can teach them a few little lessons in life, as in helping out Mum at home, now that things are as they are right now.

My older two love helping out with their toddler sister. As long as I'm within shouting distance, I don't see a problem with that.