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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask about childcare whilst wfh

73 replies

cadburyegg · 20/10/2021 18:08

I've seen a few posters mention that since they've been working from home they haven't needed to use paid childcare so much.

Lockdowns and school closures aside, I'm just wondering (out of curiosity) as to why this is? Are your kids old enough so they can entertain themselves after school, or is it because you don't have a commute so don't need to factor that in etc etc.

I'm a single mum and wfh indefinitely by the looks of it so I'm trying to get an idea of what childcare needs I might have in the future. My dc are 6 and 3 and I use as much childcare as I did before, but I realise that people with older dc might not need to.

OP posts:

tunnocksreturns2019 · 20/10/2021 18:13

For me it’s the work commute which is 45 mins each way - I don’t use breakfast club as much now as I’m currently WFH half the time

unicornsarereal72 · 20/10/2021 18:13

I have always worked from home and had paid childcare. During in lock down my child Minder retired. And as we were home schooling and working it was a natural progression to not return to paid child care. Although I adapted my hours to 9-3 so worked around school run.

Dd is now in year 5. So I have reverted back to 4 longer days and she is now walking herself home. And will pretty much keep herself to herself.

If my child minder had not retired I would of kept paid child care in place for year 5. And stopped it at the start of year six in preparation for secondary school.

During school holidays I will pay for 2 days child care. My mum does one day and dd stays home with me working on the fourth day. This is working well at the moment.

LadyCleathStuart · 20/10/2021 18:15

Mine are 8 and 5 and both DH and I work flexi time so one of us will pick them up bring them home sort a snack, have a chat about their day then generally can get logged back on for an hour while they decompress by watching a bit of TV before dinner. Whichever one is doing pick up will have got logged on nice and early while the other gets them ready for school and does morning drop off.

StripeyBadger · 20/10/2021 18:23

For me it’s also the commute and DH also wfh so no commute for him. For my working hours though, the children are all in nursery, school or other forms of childcare.

tiggerwhocamefortea · 20/10/2021 18:25

The majority of companies have clauses in your contract that state WFH can't be used in place of childcare so even if you WFH they should be in nursery/childminder.

It's not safe or fair to WFH with a child under 4

newgossipgirlfan · 20/10/2021 18:28

Mine are old enough to veg in front of the tv for an hour or so while I finish up. They’d rather that than after school club as they were given the option to keep attending and in fact do still attend at times because I didn’t want to cancel all their days.

So I think the less childcare thing only applies to kids old enough to be left alone in another area of the house for a while.

Orangedaisy · 20/10/2021 18:29

If I work in the office I drop my kids at 7.30am and pick them up at 5.45pm from the wraparound care at school. If I wfh I can drop them at 8.15am and pick up at 4pm. So don’t need much wraparound at all. Simples.

Stompythedinosaur · 20/10/2021 18:29

I think we discovered during the various lockdowns that we could work fairly well the the dc around so now half the week they come back 4ish via school bus, get themselves a snack and watch TV or play until we finish at 5. We still use a childminder the other half the week and I book any confidential meetings in then.

They are 10 and 8 so not tiny though.

Orangedaisy · 20/10/2021 18:29

Mine are 7 and 4 so definitely don’t wfh when they are there, it’s all about the commute.

MyMabel · 20/10/2021 18:30

Mines 2 and is still really demanding so I still pay for childcare at the moment, but I think once she’s able to entertain herself a bit more and has learnt to be patient when I’m on the phone then I won’t need it so much.

mobear · 20/10/2021 18:31

My mum watches DC when I work from home. She wouldn’t feel confident doing it if I wasn’t around and I think it would make me a little nervous too, but in reality she’s fine with DC.

Eminybob · 20/10/2021 18:32

My 2 year is using just the same amount. Although he was sick today, which in olden times meant that I couldn’t go to work at all, I was able to get a reduced amount of stuff done.

I have been able to reduce the amount of wrap around care for my 7 year old, which has been a life saver.

RedskyThisNight · 20/10/2021 18:34

It's pretty much impossible to schedule a work meeting between 3 and 3.30 now because so many people are now out on the school run. So I'd definitely say a lot of people are saving on childcare because they go and pick up their primary school age children and let them amuse themselves after school

Yerroblemom1923 · 20/10/2021 18:36

I guess it depends on age, neediness of child/children and whether your wfh job needs you tied to a computer or telephone constantly for 8 hrs or whether you can leave them to play quietly by themselves, watch tv for a bit, break off every so often to check on them etc
I know some bosses have got wise to the fact that some of those wfh are not 100% committed to the job and have dragged them back into the office. If people still have to use childcare I suppose the only advantage is lack of commute and saving on fuel.

Pea22ches · 20/10/2021 18:38

@tiggerwhocamefortea

The majority of companies have clauses in your contract that state WFH can't be used in place of childcare so even if you WFH they should be in nursery/childminder.

It's not safe or fair to WFH with a child under 4

My DS is 6 and honestly I thank God I never had to work from home. There's no chance that he would sit one full day while I work. To be fair I think even kids 4+ shouldn't be expected to do that long term it isn't fair

WhatsWrongWithMyUsername · 20/10/2021 18:41

Mine are year 6 and year 7 so we’d have just about reached the end of childcare options anyway.

Morning with no commute I can do school run and get to my desk by 9. Afternoon my year 7 child can walk home, and DH picks up DC2 (no idea if he’s cleared that with work specifically, but he does more than his hours). Then they do their homework/ entertain themselves. Holidays we book in sports clubs.

But I would have proper childcare with younger children, or make a flexible working request. It would be in breach of our hybrid working or home working policy if I didn’t.

bluebeck · 20/10/2021 18:42

@tiggerwhocamefortea

The majority of companies have clauses in your contract that state WFH can't be used in place of childcare so even if you WFH they should be in nursery/childminder.

It's not safe or fair to WFH with a child under 4

I attended a TEAMS meeting today with a (male) colleague who was clearly looking after a 5 month old baby throughout the meeting. We all waved and cooed at her

Nobody could care less. So long as the work is done my employer doesn't really worry about staff looking after children whilst wfh.

Simonjt · 20/10/2021 18:44

Mines 6, I really can’t work at home with him, hes off school ill at the moment so I’m not working either. I did try, but I didn’t get more than two hours work done from 8-6.

Dixiechickonhols · 20/10/2021 18:44

Depends on job, your home office set up and child. Office type work and older junior age should be fine after school for an hour. Leave them to watch tv/screen with snack don’t disturb Mum unless really have to.

Twickerhun · 20/10/2021 18:44

@tiggerwhocamefortea

The majority of companies have clauses in your contract that state WFH can't be used in place of childcare so even if you WFH they should be in nursery/childminder.

It's not safe or fair to WFH with a child under 4

I write contracts and contractual Policies for a living and that isn’t true. It’s a good mumsnet myth. Some companies say no wfh with children around and most would disapprove of long term working with children needing care but it’s simply untrue to say it’s common to have this as a policy. Also it may well not be safe to wfh with children under 4 there, but 4 isn’t a miracle cut off age.

Gumboots29 · 20/10/2021 18:44

Mine are in the same as when I worked in the office but a very slightly shorter day. DH used to drop off at 8am (I left for work at 7am) and I picked them up at 5.54 pm (leaving work at 5pm).

Now wfh DH drops them off at 9am and I pick them up at 5 pm. So we both have the same office hours just no commute.

Absolutely couldn’t WFH without childcare/school.

HairyScaryMonster · 20/10/2021 18:47

No breakfast club as no commute, and TV nanny 2 nights a week for an hour while my DH finishes work and I take DD1 to clubs where I'd normally have to take DD2.

Wannabegreenfingers · 20/10/2021 18:47

I honestly think it's bonkers not having any provisions in place. We have people at work saying they can't come in because they don't have childcare. I say this as a single parent of 2, with childcare provisions in place.

SkankingMopoke · 20/10/2021 18:52

We are saving a bit because DH is now working from home at least 2 days a week. I didn't need to use after school club too much before as I am usually able to fit my work and other commitments around DCs, but now I have the option to either drop them home after school or he will bring them back on some of the occasions I would previously have used after school club. DCs are chucked a snack and parked in front of the TV until he's finished, which they are very happy with. It means DH is a little bit less productive for the last 2 hrs of his day, but not by a huge amount (brief school run or odd interruption). It isn't every week, and due to my work flexibility DH never needs to do morning drop offs, look after sick DCs, week day extracurricular activities etc, so I don't think his employer does too badly out of our household arrangement. DCs are 7 and 5yo.

Foolsrule · 20/10/2021 18:55

It’s the commute that meant we needed childcare sometimes. Now we’re into a routine of one working early and the other late though. I think if your employer is expecting you to work from home then they can’t really dictate who is in that home at one one point in time. It was a home first and foremost, not an office!

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