To not want my children in wraparound care?

[doyouhaveanything]

There’s no way to avoid it of course unless I give up work until my youngest is leaving primary but does anyone else hate the thought of wraparound care? The school day is long enough for little ones and I feel guilty. I know I wouldn’t have liked it.

Given the OP probably doesn't have access to the extensive support network you do, I can't imagine you're helping her in any way.

I feel like people get a bit dramatic about approx 2 hours a day.

If kids are picked up straight from school, they tend to either go to activities (not very different to doing activities at after school club) or watch telly or play with friends (also not very different to after school club)

Is it such a horrifying thing for them to spend a couple of hours playing with their friends at after school club?

Unaware of any posts saying she has to put her kids in childcare and work full time ?

We only had to use after school as dh flexed his hours to do the drop off, but ds loved after school. It was a chance to have a snack with and play with friends after school.

Can you reframe the idea of afterschool as a play date with friends after school?

DS is in reception and goes to after school club twice a week. He really enjoys it and they have a nice range of activities. He goes to a small school and he's made lots of the older children which he's loved.

I worked pt for this very reason, 9.30-2.30. Financially it was better too, and in holidays I could use the play scheme which ran 6 hours a day rather than full day camp

When my 3 year old went to preschool I was trying to get a part time job but she told me she wanted to go to after school club and breakfast club! She has gone to wraparound since until she got too old

My daughter gets cross when she's not going tbh. They have so much fun. Probably more fun than me being home with her.

It’s great for their confidence with older children. DD idolised one of the older girls because she could do amazing hair plaits!

If you need wraparound from September you might need to secure your place asap.

We're fortunate to be able to adjust working hours so that DH can do drop off and I can do pickup but if that wasn't possible wraparound would be our only option, as it is for many people.

My son doesn't like it . It's the nursery he went to until he was four and he loved the nursery. But the last couple years he's stopped wanting to go. I pay for it but if anyone can pick him up I arrange it. I also don't send him in hols anymore.

My daughter loves after school club. We used to collect her as early as we could (4:30ish) and she asked us to pick her up later because she was always having to leave before her friends! She also requested to do breakfast club, so she goes one morning a week just for fun?!

We're very lucky to have it!

I felt guilty at the thought of it. Reduced my hours at work so I didn't have to send them and they both wanted to go!

You can't win.

One of my children liked wraparound. My autistic one couldn't manage it.

I used to run wraparound. Most children liked it. It wasn't school, no learning. Nice quieter areas, choice of activities and friends to play with. A snack too..

Mine get dropped at 8:15 and picked up usually by 16:30, occasionally closer to 5pm if I need to work late. They do it three days a week, and I'm glad that I am able to work PT so they don't have to go into wraparound every day.

That said they enjoy themselves there, they have lots of friends who also go, so never short of things to do/kids to play with. They also get to choose to do different after school clubs each term (if they want), so that gives them some control/say in what they do.

The only alternative for us would be the bus but that would be an even longer day for them and they'd have to get on the bus at 07:45. As we only live 3ish miles from the school that would be ridiculous.

I assume you homeschooled yours from 4-18 then? If not, why not? Didn’t you love them enough?

My kids loved afterschool club. It was basically 2 hours of ‘playing out’ with friends like we used to do in the 80s. If I’d picked them up from school they would’ve come home and watched TV.

I was a childminder - my Ds was always disappointed I picked him up every day 🤷‍♂️.. you can’t win

We were worried about it too. Started off not sending DD to after school club at all, then she started asking to go as most of her friends were going and she felt like she was missing out. Started sending her 2 days a week and she loved it, asked to go every day!

When her best friend stopped going (due to her mum going on mat leave) then it lost the appeal, although we did find she made some new friends there which was positive.

See how it goes, consider different options that might be available but don't worry too much in advance - you can't really predict what will happen.

Wish I had the option - the after school club here closed, and the few childminders have waiting lists years long.

I still manage to work 30 hours per week though (with zero family support). Easy to say when you already have a flexible job though, I appreciate.

My older children used to go 2-3 times a week. They mainly enjoyed it. Sometimes I’d go early to pick them up and they’d be annoyed that they couldn’t stay later! My youngest doesn’t have to go because I work 9-3 and he’s been asking to go! 😂

Mine loved it for most of primary even though very few of his immediate friends went- he made friends across lots of years. He had definitely grown out of it by P7 though, and we allowed him to go home alone and veg on his own for an hour or two if one of us would be finishing work reasonably early.

We don't need to use it very often, but my kids ask to go. I might feel differently if I I had to use it and they hated it!