What do you do when your kids are sick- re work ?

[winterbuggs]

I've recently joined a new company. We have some in office days and some wfh days.

My son has thankfully not been sick, since I started. I'm 5 weeks in.

It's hit him now and I've had my husband look after him and my mother in law Monday and Tuesday but today for example, he's still sick. He can't go to nursery. I'm trying to pull favours from neighbours to look after him on a couple of internal calls I have today ( one with my boss) and I'll just do as much work as I can alongside my son being here and being ill.

I don't do project work or anything like that and don't have deadlines, so it won't be obvious. I will tell my manager that I'm working with my sick son at home today though.

How often do your kids get sick ? How do you handle it if you just can't find someone to help you ?

During the nursery years our kids got ill constantly! It was a nightmare.

Luckily both DH and I can wfh and our employers are very understanding. We tell them the situation and just do the best we can in the circumstances.

I didn’t work from home when mine were younger and we had no family nearby so we had to take AL between us. Now my team members work at home with sick child and do what they can, it’s acceptable.

How old is he? Can he spend time watching TV or something for the length of a call? Can you manage minimal work at least?

We just took it in turns but I only ever worked PT so either DH worked at home or took a day off, or I swapped my days around.

I've always been lucky to have very understandable employers (as has DH, although he has to go away more, but when he's home they're great).

Nowadays I just WFH and do the best I can, back then even though I didn't have a laptop nor even work to do from home my lovely managers just used to say "WFH, wink". Forever grateful to them, I had my kids when I was starting out in my career, my youngest was very sickly. It's a tough stage.

He's two and a half. Yeah I will be able to do some work today. But not sure if he'll stay out of the room while I'm on calls. Thankfully they're just internal with my manager - a one on one and another internal call with just three people on it. I should be able to do it.

I did it at my last company a fair bit but just feel anxious at new company.

Check the policies at the company? Ours say that you're expected to have childcare if you are wfh.
If your son is lying there watching telly, then obviously not a big deal but I'd personally not wfh if I had a toddler. They just can't really be left to their own devices.
So perhaps offer to take a day off and then see what your manager says ?

I don't have any annual leave to take I don't think ? Or maybe 1 day, as I only just started

I'm having to work from home this week as my daughter has flu (mostly better now) but my mother who lives round the corner has just come down with it too. I'm logging shorter days but thankfully the 6YO can be occupied with cbeebies etc and isn't as high need as a toddler.

At nursery age if DD was ill DH and I would compare diaries in the morning and juggle as best we could. Luckily both of us could usually work from home so we could usually do half a day or so each, both working when she napped and covering each other's critical meetings.

We don't have anyone local who can step in so it was just a case of making the best of it. If one of us had a critical work day they other would take the day off but we usually managed 50% or so of a working day each.

We don't have any family nearby to help, so when ours is sick, we either juggle the two of us looking after him him while wfh, or one of us requests last minute annual leave. I'm always upfront with my manager about what's happening and I'm very fortunate that he's understanding- he has two young children too, so he gets it.

I've worked in the same place and with the same manager for years and am very fortunate that they are flexible. It will be difficult somewhere new, but how they react to this will demonstrate if it's somewhere that you want to continue working

Tell your manager. Do what you can and say you’ll make up the hours tonight / this week if you can’t do all you should. Most people are perfectly reasonable.

And mine are now old enough to slump on the sofa but when they were little the above is what I did

Ask your company about carer's leave. I'm a nurse - used to work on the wards so couldn't wfh. If there was no one else to look after my kids I had to take time off. I was granted carer's leave when this happened (luckily not very often). I'm in a different role now so can do some of my work at home. Last time my daughter was ill I told my manager I'd wfh and she said not to and to take carer's leave instead. So speak to your manager and see what they say.

In 1 month you should have accrued more than 1 day? You can also often go into leave deficit and recoup it through the year.
I'd at least offer to take the leave then if the manager says it's fine, don't worry then you've had the conversation in advance

Ds was very sick in his early teens years (under great Ormond street) with a kidney issue that meant he could not be alone during an attack. I worked in a supermarket at the time. I used to go in for 7-10 help with the delivery. I woild then go home be with ds until 6-7 while dh worked. Then go back to work until 9. Work were OK with this as they knew how sick ds was but it was hard.

Mil who was in he late 80s at the time came to watch him twice. Odly these two days are in ds favourite memories of mil. They watched Gordon Ramsey kitchen nightmares together.

Ds had an operation and has been grand evernsince but it was a tough year.

When mine were small it was one of us staying home from work to be with them.
We did share the load where possible but DH was the higher earner and did 12 hour shifts so had usually left the house when i realised child couldn't go to day care.

Not ideal and left classes without a teacher for a day (me) but you can't magic up childcare from nowhere when they're poorly.

When mine were pre-schoolers my mum could have them. Or I took unpaid emergency leave.

Luckily both DH and I wfh so we just tag-team it. If she's really unwell and clingy to the point I know it will disrupt my work entirely, I take annual leave.

Thankfully my company have introduced 5 paid carers leave days if needed, but I haven't had to use those yet but will definitely help.

We both work outside the home so take it in turns to take (paid) emergency carers leave.
But when either of us had just started a new job, which was only once each during those younger years, the other picked up any cover for kids sickness for the first few months