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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask how parents manage after school activities when both work full time?

226 replies

Blacknailer · 25/01/2024 07:10

Loads of brilliant after school activities near us, from the essential (swimming lessons) to fun extras (theatre, coding).

But, myself and my husband both work full time and currently our primary aged kids are in the mediocre after school club until 5.30pm.

How do similar families manage to get their kids to activities? Is the only answer an after school nanny? It's going to be very expensive for someone to pick them up from school, walk with them 10 min to an activity, wait around and then walk home with them again. Or is there another solution?

I'm seeing most of their friends doing all this great stuff because they have a parent working part time, and I'm feeling bad they are missing out.

OP posts:
TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams · 01/02/2024 15:32

It used to be quite common for nannies to be offered 4 day weeks as so many women did a 4 or 3 day week. More common now I suspect with compressed hours. I often found good nannies who were looking for work to fill the other two days and really struggling.
It would be a more expensive solution than a sitter/responsible teen BUT you would have a paid all day person 2 days a week in the holidays to take them on outings; and given they are in school most of the day during term time you could try to find a nanny with own child or someone who is prepared to do some housekeeping/cleaning/errand running.

And yes, the "why did you have children if you want a career too" thing does my head in. No-one ever levels this at a man. The same posters will often complain their partners and kids take them for granted and do nothing in family life, or have been unfaithful, that they are financially abused. No child ever died because they didn't get to try out judo or tap dancing for a term. Any child that wants it badly enough will make sure it happens [while driving you demented in the process]

Lastly, a friend used to pick up a child often from matches as the school [in a similar fashion to some posters here] seem to assume that one half of the parenting is always available to collect from some random location. Our kids weren't close and in any case I don't want to fill up my weekends with playdates. So I did some free babysitting for her and reciprocated in kind. People often don't mind if a) it's a limited time commitment that they can get out off and b) you don't take the piss.

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