School Holiday Worries again

[swithers]

I know there was a very active thread about this but I'm getting really worried and am looking for some perspective on what us working parents should do.

I have 1 x 10 year old who has been on her own for weeks. She's doing OK but I worry her mental health is now suffering with the amount of time she spends on her own whilst my husband and I work.

We both work full time and my application to go part time is in consideration but they are ignoring it as it's not formal (within the time frame). They will say no as I work for the NHS even though I worked flat out in the pandemic.

Grandma is 83 and too old to look after her for more than a couple of hours at a time.

We are using some leave but it will leave us with nothing left till the end of the year.

She can go to friends but not all day every day.

The regular school summer camp is closed. All the others are filling up and I don't want to send her without her friends as I did this last year and she was bullied.

I feel like I should be able to resolve this but feel anything I do puts my daughter at the bottom of the heap.

This is so unfair on kids. So very unfair. Any suggestions or kind words welcome. I know everyone has their own sh** at this time so I'm not special but feeling fed up!

I had an e mail from Camp Beaumont just a couple of weeks ago saying they will be opening so some of them must be planning on providing cover. It's not ideal, but it's a needs must situation.

Thanks for your really helpful suggestions. Your support means loads and we are going to get a plan together at the weekend.

I'm just trying to break it up so there aren't long stretches of nothing. So far I have the teenager who does everything babysitting doing 2-3 mornings a week, a friend over for a half day and then swap, my mum for a half day, MIL same, then DH and I will take half days here and there. We're just trying to avoid whole days (or several) of alone at home (with me wfh).

I hear you OP. Can't give any advice, except maybe try to find a childminder who has other children for a few days in the a school holidays.

I'm a key worker (can work mainly from home), but DH isn't although has worked from home through out (and his salary pays the mortgage). My DC have gone to a childminder a few days a week through out - school wouldn't take dd has they restricted to children who had 2 key worker parents but the childminder was happy to have her as she could have children who had one parent as a key worker. Although DD adores her childminder, her mental health has taken a bashing. She loves school and has struggled with the idea that she might not even go back full time in September. WhatsApp and zoom, however regular, with friends are just not cutting the mustard. Her motivation for school work is getting lower, and I practically have to shove her in to the garden to bounce on the trampoline for a few minutes just to get her moving.

It's horrendous what this lockdown has done to our children. We've already had some psychological support for her, but it's not the same on video.

And holiday clubs around here are taking minimal bookings, fewer numbers and are getting booked up quickly.

My only hope is that all the money that has been found for furlough, for the nhs, there will be some found to put in some mental health support for the the younger generation who have been absolutely failed by this government - open golf clubs, garden centres, pubs, but no consideration for children who need to run, socialise and be adequately educated.

We are already in summer holidays here. I signed my 11 year old up for a series of online camps. It’s absolutely not the same, but it gives her some structure and keeps her engaged in something more than YouTube videos. Today she spent the morning working on an engineering project for a science camp and the afternoon sculpting with found objects. There is some chit chat online while they are doing whatever game or task is at hand, not nearly enough, but some.