Free Childcare

[viviswicked]

Mulling over a comment on another thread regarding WFH and thought I would see how forthcoming people would be on an anonymous forum...

Those who are working from home has this been the opportunity to now have 'free childcare' no wraparound, no childminder etc needed as you are now always in the home.

Full disclosure this does not directly affect me due to children being older, I work hybrid and it's entirely up to me when and if I go into the office. My direct team do not have young children but I am part of a large organisation, many of the staff do have children and are not using childcare.

Both of my children go to childcare. My contract states that I am not allowed to care for children whilst I work.

I am in the older teen space - so it's about some school runs when haulage is required and being transport and atm for groceries/food more than anything.

When Dd was small, we paid Creche for ft care. There is no way I could have managed Dd at home while I worked. Nor could Dh. We occasionally did when she was sick, but we juggled our days split between us and both caught up at night for the half day we couldn't do.

And wfh in our house means working. Dh arrived home from the office at 5:40 this evening, and came up to see when was I finishing at 6:40.

Neither of us got to do the binge watching box sets or learning new skills during covid. So it does get very annoying swing the expectation of WFH and minding DCs at the same time, or expecting family to do childcare for free.

When I go back after maternity I'll be WFH with two small children in the house. However I'd never try and work while looking after them - DH will be doing that. It is a nice bonus that I'll be with them at mealtimes though.

I imagine you could WFH instead of having wrap around care for an older primary aged child, but I think that's the only feasible way to use it as childcare.

I think it's awful and really sad

Women and more so mothers always get the shit end of the stick in life. So if some of them are choosing to save the equivalent of a monthly mortgage payment by having their kids at home while they work then so be it. There'll be many pious people who claim (mothers included) that women should treat working from home as though they are in the office but frankly forget them. Life is hard enough as it is without someone claiming you're worse than Rose West for putting on a wash at 11am.

It depends on the age of children if they are 9+ it's entirely possible after school for them to get on with things for an hour whilst working.

But if under 5 nope it's impossible and I would never even try unless my children were ill and I had a deadline. I had to do it enough through covid lockdowns and it was hell!!
We do both have flexible hours though so one starts early whilst the other finishes a few days a week.

Mine are with family and we work flexibly so the issue doesn't arise.

I think part of the work climate now is that the wages we get paid just don't buy people who are as willing to spend money on childcare as they used to. And obviously some of the provision that we lost during covid never returned too.

So what I mean here is that the expectations have changed and got lower due to shortage of staff in many sectors. A salary that in 2019 would've been viewed as sufficient to buy someone's full attention and time maybe isn't now. In many cases people can get away with more because employers know they need to retain the staff they have.

I work 4 days a week and do two days in the office and two days WFH. On my WFH days my youngest goes to nursery all day but I pick up my eldest from school at 3.30, then log back on for another 30 minutes before finishing work. As long as she has a snack and a screen she is generally not a bother and my employer is very flexible. I think it’s great families can now cut down on or eliminate the need for wraparound care for school-aged children when there’s someone at home. Obviously with younger children it’s different and I wouldn’t attempt this with a baby or toddler.

I wfh with my kids here, they are infants and preschool age, so does my husband. I have childcare in place for more than the hours I'm actually paid for and if I'm doing unpaid overtime while my kids are playing or watching a film then I'm not in a position to get an emergency babysitter for that.
If the kids are off with something like d&v that they are well enough for me to work around while they nap or have tv but I can't have babysitter because it's contagious, work would generally rather that I still do some work than call in and do none.

I used to know a mum who was able to do this. Her kid was 7 and she was able to pick her up from school everyday and then have her at home while she worked. All on a high 6 figure salary. Alright for some....

No, I think people who do this, esp with v young children, are shortchanging both their employer and their child.

You can’t do both at once.

I pay for wraparound (CM after school whether I’m WFH or in the office, plus breakfast club when I’m in the office) for my 8, soon to be 9 yo. Yes I’m sure he could entertain himself whilst I work for another couple of hours after school, but that’s rubbish for him.

It’s fine occasionally when he’s off sick (unless very serious), but even that I don’t see how it works with infant school or nursery aged kids.

The only person I know who wfh with a child of an age that needs looking after is someone who has a set amount of work to do and it’s not time critical so can be done 8am-2pm, or in chunks through the day or after their kid has gone to bed. As long as a set amount is done in each 24 hours their boss doesn’t care.

The only other people who have stopped using asc etc round here are those with older children.

DH will occasionally have DS (12) and DD (10) after school while he’s working if I’m out at an appointment, but they walk home from school themselves, get changed and go out to play so they don’t distract him from work.

Slightly different, but a perspective of a manager thinking WFH with a child around is fine, but us as parents disagreeing!

DH recently requested to work his contracted hours in 4 days rather than 5 so that he can have a day off with baby when I go back to work. He already works an hour later each day and then works in the evenings once older DC are in bed, so he technically has already worked his hours by a Friday anyway. His boss suggested that it wouldn't be approved as it would be too much to work the longer days, but he could have a permanent WFH day each week, so he could look after DC at the same time and then make up any lost hours in an evening. I couldn't get my head round how he thought it wouldn't be at all possible for DH to meet his contracted hours in 4 days (when he already does) and take a day off to look after DC but it would be possible to actually accomplish any work with a baby/toddler around...

I think preschoolers always need an adult available so WFH is not possible, plus it's all day rather than a few hours after school. Secondary school age kids are fine with you being around in the house but can be left to their own devices even during the school holidays, mine will even make lunch for us. Primary age kids it depends on the child but is somewhere around the divide between infants and juniors for odd days but need more structure in the holidays.

Thinking back to prepandemic I would WFH if my eldest two were poorly (they were 12 and 10 when the pandemic started) but would still take the day off work if my youngest (7 when the pandemic started) was poorly but all were at holiday clubs because WFH with them all at home was impossible and they'd get bored without adult input. For half term coming up we'll each take at least a day off to do stuff with the DC, the teenagers will no doubt socialise with their friends a lot but my youngest will do a couple of days of holiday club. If he was at home all day he'd happily spend it in front of a screen and not interfere with DH WFH but I'd rather he was doing something healthier.

I actually can have my kids here when I WFH. It's not ideal and does create stress. I need to work a little longer some days.

But it's invaluable during the school holidays and times of sickness.

My boss is very laid back.

It depends on the age of your children doesn't it. Mine (12 and 9) can now entertain themselves for several hours with no input from me but when they were 6 and under then I had to watch them all the time. Here from Y5 children are allowed to walk to and from school by themselves. The eldest hated the breakfast and afterschool club in year 6 because she was one of only a 3 Y6 kids and was surrounded by 'bratty' Y1 and reception kids (her words not mine). I am thinking of ditching the club for Y6 this time so that we don't have to listen to the moaning again.

You have many answers now OP so what is your conclusion? What are you hoping to get out of this thread?

Ahhh should had enabled some sort of voting.

Well looks like the majority have childcare in place and those with older manage just fine.

Also it really depends on your employer, mine states that you should have childcare in place but I'm not entirely sure that is the case for many. We are laid back, trust our employees to get their work done

It's perfect for free childcare! But only if your kids are old enough to make themselves a drink / grab a biscuit / piece of fruit - without having to bother you. And they should know they can't be fighting or arguing in the lounge if you sit wfh in the corner of the lounge!

How lovely at 3.30 to either quickly pick your kids up - or them to walk home alone and be able to have a cup of tea with them and a quick chat- like you would with a colleague- and then everyone go about their own thing.
It's works fabulously in my case. I've been working from home (hybrid) since my oldest was about 9 - and she's 29 now. And the youngest DSS is 13. So I do know what I'm talking about.

Exactly this, I love doing the school run and having a quick chat with the kids before starting my 4-5 daily meetings and leaving them to entertain themselves for an hour or so.

Also not acceptable in my workplace but think it would depend on the ages. Impossible for a child under 5. Above 5, they would be at school so you are talking 4-5 hours really, plus time to pick them up.

Nope no way anyone with a child under 5/6 can get any work done if they are home. I think older children can entertain themselves for a certain amount of time but it wouldn’t be great for them longer term like the 6 weeks in the summer

Not an opportunity to have free childcare but it does allow more flexibility. I pick mine up from school on a Friday at 3.15pm BUT I log-on at 6am to get a couple of hours in at the other end of the day (and then usually finish bits off after they're in bed).

My eight year old still goes to asc - otherwise his school bus would drop him off at home at 3:00 p.m. and he's have his face in a screen until I'm done with work. I really appreciate my employer's flexibility and would not abuse it, for fear of it being revoked.