Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder how you cover school holidays with no family?

274 replies

LivingMyBestLie · 04/10/2022 18:43

There are around 14 weeks of school holidays per year and I have three children (two primary school age, one 1yr old).

AIBU to think it's impossible to cover school holidays with no family childcare?!

For reference my partner gets 30 days annual leave a year, I get 15 (pro rata). I work 3 days per week.

Please tell me how you do it!?

OP posts:
AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair · 04/10/2022 18:53

LivingMyBestLie · 04/10/2022 18:50

It's obvious is it?!

I'm trying to make the figures stack up. I would earn under £30k FTE and therefore I don't even know if it would be worth it.

Obviously in the long run, but thinking about the next 5 years or so.

Show quote history

It's obvious that's what people do. You don't think everyone has family members n hand with nothing else to do, do you?

Whether you can afford it is a different question.

MinervaTerrathorn · 04/10/2022 18:53

I'm a lone parent so only have half the holiday leave of two parents.

Crazycrazylady · 04/10/2022 18:53

We get a student in to watch them.
Three sports mad boys and summer just gone we for a male sports mad student teacher !
Worked really well.

Longdistance · 04/10/2022 18:54

I work term time only in a school.
I have however worked in jobs that were ft when dds were little. That made sense 🙄 anyway, I used holiday clubs. Some schools have holiday clubs that are external so anyone can join, that’s if the school doesn’t have its own club. Occasionally we called on family to save a few pounds, but that was very far and few between.

Wardrobemalfunction22 · 04/10/2022 18:55

We pay for holiday clubs and spend hours ferrying them between the different places each week. Costs a fortune but pays for peace of mind and thr kids love them. I have colleagues who take unpaid leave for 2 months in summer.

CMOTDibbler · 04/10/2022 18:55

Its totally doable - holiday club in the summer as many weeks as you can get- then he does the half term days, and split Easter and Christmas. You might be able to get holiday club for a bit of Easter and Christmas as well which will let you have more time off together

Pearfacebanana · 04/10/2022 18:55

Pay. Use time off in hols only.

Ponderingwindow · 04/10/2022 18:55

We spent years paying exorbitant amounts of money to holiday clubs. DH and I shifted our days early and late to be able to share drop-off and pick-up.

StillTryingtoBuy · 04/10/2022 18:56

If you can work remotely you have the option of going to stay with family, if your family are happy to provide childcare, so you can work from there and your family can help out.

EvilRingahBitch · 04/10/2022 18:56

Childcare swaps with their school friends can work very well, . DC entertain each other when you have a houseful and it's free.

I don't know whether you've literally got no family or just not nearby, but we occasionally shipped the DC off to grandparents at the other side of the country for a week.

Wishyfishy · 04/10/2022 18:57

Hm so holidays are a MASSIVE issue for most working parents I know however in your case, where you work 3 days a week I’d have thought you were mostly ok?
So your DH has 30 holiday days - more than most! - that’s 10 weeks of covering your 3 days a week, and then your holidays can cover the other 3. No? I understand obviously you’ll want some overlapping days to take a family holiday etc but simplistically, you are covered.

MuggleMe · 04/10/2022 18:57

You get 1 maybe 2 weeks at the same time as DH and each cover childcare with the rest, some reciprocal childcare with friends if you can manage it, and pay for the rest. My 8yo is self sufficient enough to stay at home while I'm WFH and DH and I stagger lunch time so she gets 90mins with us in the middle.

Itshotoutthere · 04/10/2022 18:58

Even with term time working in a school. You' may still have to pay breakfast and after-school care unless you work in the same school as your dc

GoldenGorilla · 04/10/2022 18:59

Holiday clubs. Hire a temp nanny. Swap childcare with other parents.

Original poster
LivingMyBestLie · 04/10/2022 18:59

I'm thinking out loud here...

So say a typical 9-3 club in the SE is £25/pp.

For me, that would be £50+£60(childminder for 1yr old). £110 per day.

Say our annual leave covers around 35 days (assuming we want a week or so together during the year), we'd have to find childcare for 35 days. So that would be £3850 a year on school holiday childcare (plus my toddlers normal term time childminder).

Blimey. It's so depressing!

AIBU to think school holidays should shorter?! 😂😩

OP posts:
Comedycook · 04/10/2022 19:01

Yes school holidays should be shorter and I say that as a sahm 😂

Original poster
LivingMyBestLie · 04/10/2022 19:02

Wishyfishy · 04/10/2022 18:57

Hm so holidays are a MASSIVE issue for most working parents I know however in your case, where you work 3 days a week I’d have thought you were mostly ok?
So your DH has 30 holiday days - more than most! - that’s 10 weeks of covering your 3 days a week, and then your holidays can cover the other 3. No? I understand obviously you’ll want some overlapping days to take a family holiday etc but simplistically, you are covered.

You're right, I hadn't factored in that I only need 3 days of the holidays covered - doh!

So yes it doesn't seem too bad?

OP posts:
YumYummy · 04/10/2022 19:03

You may not make much profit now but by the time your DC are older you won’t need as much childcare and may be earning more. Plus you’ll be paying into a pension if you take the job.

properdoughnut · 04/10/2022 19:03

Condensed hours so you only do 9/10 or 8/10 Would that help?

Look into unpaid parental leave. You’re entitled to 18 weeks’ leave for each child and adopted child, up to their 18th birthday. I think there's a max how many weeks you can use in one year though.

SeptemberSon · 04/10/2022 19:03

You don't get time off together. That's the rub unfortunately. DH does one day, I do one day, two days in holiday club and wing it on a Friday when it's a bit more relaxed at work. This is the schedule every week of every school holiday.

MsPincher · 04/10/2022 19:03

Holiday clubs obv.

properdoughnut · 04/10/2022 19:03

LivingMyBestLie · 04/10/2022 19:02

You're right, I hadn't factored in that I only need 3 days of the holidays covered - doh!

So yes it doesn't seem too bad?

Show quote history

You can't guarantee you'll be able to take your leave when you want it though. Which is shit.

Original poster
LivingMyBestLie · 04/10/2022 19:04

LivingMyBestLie · 04/10/2022 18:59

I'm thinking out loud here...

So say a typical 9-3 club in the SE is £25/pp.

For me, that would be £50+£60(childminder for 1yr old). £110 per day.

Say our annual leave covers around 35 days (assuming we want a week or so together during the year), we'd have to find childcare for 35 days. So that would be £3850 a year on school holiday childcare (plus my toddlers normal term time childminder).

Blimey. It's so depressing!

AIBU to think school holidays should shorter?! 😂😩

I calculated this wrong, I forgot to take out the days of the holidays that I would have off, so 28 of those days I'd be off anyway...

OP posts:
BattenburgDonkey · 04/10/2022 19:04

LivingMyBestLie · 04/10/2022 18:59

I'm thinking out loud here...

So say a typical 9-3 club in the SE is £25/pp.

For me, that would be £50+£60(childminder for 1yr old). £110 per day.

Say our annual leave covers around 35 days (assuming we want a week or so together during the year), we'd have to find childcare for 35 days. So that would be £3850 a year on school holiday childcare (plus my toddlers normal term time childminder).

Blimey. It's so depressing!

AIBU to think school holidays should shorter?! 😂😩

You can use tax free childcare if you use an ofstead registered holiday club which I think covers 20%. It’s not depressing it’s just a normal cost of having kids, you just have to get on with it.

BrokenCopper · 04/10/2022 19:04

Combination of taking annual leave between me and my husband, we both work FT. Childminder and holiday club.

We have three kids, childcare costed more than my hourly rate at one point as I paid 3 x 10hrs a day during holidays.

They are older now and we both wfh most days and stopped paying childcare since youngest was 6.