Help! No childcare...

[Nochildcare]

First time posting!

I really need some suggestions with what people do for childcare over the school holidays.

Half my childcare plans for the school holidays has fell through. There's no after school service and I work 8-6 three days a week.

I'm at a loss I don't know what to do for childcare. My dm will take my dc half the school holidays. My holidays only cover 3 weeks and I've already used them for school holidays.

I can't go term time in work or work from home. Holiday clubs are £££ a week! And pay childcare for younger dc so I can't afford it.

Anyone have suggestions?

Tia x

If he’s self employed he can take time off when he needs to surely, ie in half term. I mean that’s one of his necessary overheads.

You need to start saving for it now then…get dh to do a few more hours a week to earn more if possible? Whatever works. I’m so glad you still get your two week holiday though…🙄

Can you share with a friend? So have their DC on a day you don't work and then they have yours.

The holiday was already booked before childcare fell through. We have been saving for a year to do this trip to see other grandparents

If your DH is self employed, can he rejig work days to cover your 3 days? Or stat saving now so that he can reduce his work during the holidays l?

Up to 85% does not mean you will only get 15% back...

Maybe reduce it to one week to save a week for later? If dh can take 2 weeks off for that hol can he take more in the summer too?

I’m self-employed and I just have to take the time off. Or work in the evenings if I have a project on or get offered something. I can’t just shrug at DP and leave him to do it all. We also pay a fortune in holiday clubs but we book early to get a discount, book the shortest day possible and try to work opposite hours those days (ie a club that does 8.30-4 is cheaper than an 8-6 club, just takes a bit of shuffling), use TFC.

Will you get money back if you cancel so you can put it towards holiday clubs instead? That’s should be your priority now the situation with childcare has changed.

You need to budget for childcare year round. So don't just view it as "very expensive" during school holidays - think about it split out across 12 months. If you've already got half the school holidays covered, you have 3 weeks (that sounds low?) and your DH has another week, then that can't really leave you very much left to sort out.

We roughly get 15% back from nursery costs

Wow, you have a self employed partner (a benefit of this is flexible working, surely) and you only work 3 days. On top of that you get 'up to' 85% of the costs paid... But you are still complaining?

DH will have to take the time off.

You need to figure out the plan for the year in advance, make sure you and DH split up your annual leave and be smart about it - for instance if your DH works 5 days a week and can book AL by the day, he doesn't book a full week but only the days you're working. Full weeks annual leave are a luxury you can't afford 😬

Do you have parents you can trade off days with? So you take their kids one day and they take yours on another?

Holiday clubs aren't too bad if you work it out in advance and put aside money for them every month.

You'll get shitty answers on here op because too many people won't read properly and see that you had childcare arranged that's fallen through after a family trip was booked and paid for. If you're in receipt of uc already then you will get the 85% of the extra childcare paid for, they say up to because people who only qualify because of childcare don't always get the full 85% actually paid to them. It does still mean you'll have 15% to find, but that's more manageable than the full amount. As has been suggested would either you or partner have the chance of overtime to try and save some of the shortfall? Or would the other grandparents take at least one of them for an extra day? Good luck

Dh self employed work is busier over the summer months

The only real options are paying for holiday care (clubs, childminders) or taking unpaid parental leave.

So can you start saving now? It’s only January, it’s not like it’s last minute

You are going to have to mix it up.

I'd suggest that you do one holiday care day a week. Can DH do extra work now to pay for it?

Is there any way you can organise your work to cover one of the other days per week? Is your job one where you could work a bit flexibly? So do some extra hours during school time and get more time off during the holidays? Or do work in the evening during the holidays?

If DH is not full time right now can he provide care for friends kids and they provide care for yours during the holidays?

Like other people have said, just have to sit down with the calendar and work it out. I’m in the same situation - all through primary, I work 3 days and DH self employed, a few days holiday club, neighbours and parents. Every day marked on the calendar and worked out. If DH could earn more that day than holiday club cost, then that’s what we did, if he had enough jobs in that week he could take a day off and not book clients that day. I know in this case some plans fell through, but it still has to be worked out now, and the next 6 years or so 😖

Why do your holidays only cover 3 weeks? You should be getting 5.6 weeks holiday as a minimum.

Because she’s taking two weeks holidays at Easter

Others parents. I would take them.

We all need to help each other out. If a local mum asked here, the mums would pool together and organise something.

It might not be childminders. But if you have the capacity to help them out occasionally in an emergency or whatever, it goes both ways.

I only get 3 weeks holiday as I work 3 days a week calculating to something like 16.4 holidays. I then have to keep some for new year (the one just gone) so that's 2 days. Then off easter that's 6. Then off summer that's another 3 and then xmas that's 5.

The options are either unpaid time off (for both of you), or paying for childcare. No one is going to be able to magic up another solution for you. I know it's hard for many but that's just the reality, there are no other options.

You're spectacularly lucky to have as much grandparent help as you can. We cover all nine weeks with annual leave and paid clubs, that's the norm. At least you have plenty of notice.