Working from home with a 1 year old?

[Janedoe95]

Is it possible? Or completely unrealistic.

I work a 9-5 but I’m lucky that my job is more task based I’ve only been back to work a week but have managed to get all my work done using nap time, bedtime and sending the odd email whilst DS is distracted.

is it unrealistic to think I can survive like this for maybe 6 more months hopefully by the time DS is 18 months or even two it will be easier?

im only in my office two days a week so was initially planning for DS to be in nursery 3 days but the prices have just gone up and it’s so expensive!

I'm on almost 28K which I thought was a fair salary to have a baby on but 5 days a week would cost me nearly £2000 a month! Which is obviously more than I earn.

i think I’d probably be better off on benefits staying at home with my baby whilst my partner works but I’d be completely reliant on my partner and then have no pension too.

(my work do know my baby is around when I work from home some days as I breastfeed but they also don’t expect me to be looking after him and working so “legally he’s being watched by someone else”)

I really don’t know how other women do it especially single mums the I’m 26 and the majority of mums I know my age don’t work and others are having babies mid to late 30s and 40s

The impact cannot be under estimated. For every one lucky toddler who thrived on the extra parental input offered by lockdown, there must be scores damaged by being palmed off with screens while parents worked at home or desperately tried to home-school older siblings. The effects will last throughout childhood.

DS2 has speech delay. It has improved considerably since starting school this year but it's still noticeable. He turned 2 just before the first lockdown was announced. H and I were trying to work from home whilst looking after him and home schooling DS1. H and I split up the same year and my mental health was horrendous. DS2 went back to preschool as soon as he was able but he spent a lot of time on his tablet during this period. much more than is recommended for his age. I'm willing to admit this may have contributed to the delay. The speech therapist we've seen said they are seeing a lot of referrals in children his age who will get there eventually but aren't quite there yet.

It's also not like your circumstances are identical.

Shop around for childcare. Where are you??

I'm in London and even here a full time place is significantly under £2k/month. Look at childminders and nurseries in cheaper areas.

As above, working with a 1 year old is not safe or practical. It will get worse when they become a full on rampaging toddler.

You are being paid to work, not look after your child, who should be at some form of day care

people like you really annoy me, and I bet you annoy your colleagues. How on earth can you concentrate with the child in the house

so either find childcare or become a stay at home parent

Very unfair to your child.

I’ve worked from home for 5 years now and my kids are teens - at this stage it’s absolutely fine, as long as they have wifi and access to the kitchen but a one year old needs and deserves undivided attention.

1. Don't fall for it. Just another MN fantasist.

1. Hardly any customer service roles are still home based. Whatever bee in your bonnet you have about CS, you can't pin it on home working.

Whether it can be done depends on the type of work you're doing, and your child.

Whether it should be done is a clear no as you're lying to your employer about it.

I wonder what sort of job that is.
If her role doesn't require much work- why employ her at all?

In my experience no, it doesn’t work long-term without you ending up doing a bad job for your employer/colleagues or for your child. Yes, some roles are better suited to trying this sort of juggling act, but unless you can do it with the full knowledge and approval of your employer it’s not a good move.

People like you are ruining working from home for others. I work from home. I pay for childcare same as I would if I was in the office. Your colleagues will get pissed off.

You cannot do this, and it’s really bad, neglectful parenting, frankly.

Children that age need attention and stimulation- you can’t give that while you’re working. Pay for nursery or a good childminder like everyone else has to.

Your lo is getting the early help which will make a massive difference. It's great he's now in the system most sadly are not because it's overwhelmed. Best of luck to you all X

If a child had parents able and willing to spend the time lockdown had many positives, however for those with parents having to full.time WFH it had major disadvantages with parents having no choices....situations like one computer needing to be used to WFH,and simultaneously clock 2 school children into lessons whilst caring for a toddler. Toddlers Infront of screens, babies kept in car seats or how the chairs next to working parent, rather than free to move..many children given no access to messy play or next step skills ..I think you also have to think most parents are not on forums and a very high proportion if not all neglectful parents won't be.

Oh god, it’s “CherylCrows”, in FMCG Martech, from the last thread on this topic.

Your DD was 18 months a few weeks ago, how is she already 2.5?

Thread: www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4669682-wfh-with-children?page=9

Fantasy children age at different rates from real ones.

Every company is servicing a 'customer', whether it's a client, customer or business. Someone must be providing your company with business??

😁

they also don’t expect me to be looking after him and working so “legally he’s being watched by someone else”)

This is the crucial bit. Nobody else’s experience is as relevant as the fact that your employer doesn’t allow this, and you’re doing it anyway by deceiving them.

You have a cushy job which pays an alright wage. Childcare may be expensive, but if you lose your job it’s hardly going to be better for your family.

If you genuinely think you can do this with no effect on your work, then you should be able to convince your employer to authorise it.

(I also highly doubt this, by the way. Every one of my colleagues who is doing this is reliant on those of us without kids to cover their slack. They just don’t see that as being the case.)

There’s always one person on these threads who gets paid £100k a year for doing barely any work and spending half the day at toddler groups or the park, advising the OP and everyone else as if most jobs are like that. I just don’t buy it. I earn half that and I work 55 hours a week.

It was teenagers in August when she was working 4 hours a day as PollyPockets the very important Martech senior manager

I don't think you understand that it's dated and old-fashioned to have children who age in a linear way. Martech senior managers are way more important to be bound by these things

Yeah probably not the best person to be taking childcare advice from.

she doesn’t seem to be able to keep track of her children!

No, it’s not fair to your child or employer. Your partner and you should split childcare costs depending your relative incomes - not all on you.