To ask honestly, how many children are in wraparound every day? Especially reception

[anothertwix]

My job is a bit rubbish at the moment. I’m three days a week. I’m searching for other opportunities but they are all full time.

Eldest dc starts reception in September. If I went full time he’d be in breakfast and after school club every day except Friday (dh works from home)

It feels a lot. Wondering what others think.

YABU - look for full time
YANBU - stick at three days.

Mine went to breakfast club and after-school club from Reception and loved playing with her friends.

@ThejoyofNC

so what do you think OP should do? Give up her job?

My DCs have always been in full time nursery so did wrap around care 5 days a week. I felt really guilty but DS loves it and DD hates not going to nursery to see her friends, whenever I keep her home.

We have done 5 days a week since reception. DC love it and often moan if we pick them up early as they are enjoying time with their friends.

Far from being to their detriment I think the amount of unstructured play time they get with peers has been great and has also helped them forge friendships across year groups.

Thanks, really interesting replies. If I keep things as they are, I don’t work Wednesdays and Thursdays and DH WFH Friday so we’d only need wraparound Monday and Tuesday. That doesn’t feel too bad. But every day does feel like an awful lot. I’m also concerned I wouldn’t ever really get to speak to the teacher.

My reception DS is in breakfast club 2 days a week (going up to 3 for next year), and after school club 4 days a week - 2 days are after school club till 5.15ish and 2 days are sports until 4.30.

DD1 went to after school club 5 days a week from reception to year 3. Her school used to start at 8:30 so someone could drop her off and still get to work before 9. Then I had maternity leave for a year so it wasn’t needed then Covid happened and role became wfh. She loved it, it was run by an external company who did lots of activities with them. She’s in secondary school now and had nothing bad to say about that period.

Her sibling only goes to breakfast and ASC 2 days a week now as I work hybrid with flexibility on WFH days but there’s 2 children in her class who go to wraparound care 4 days a week and they always seem happy.

If I was looking for a new job now though, I’ll make sure it’s a job that works for me and my family especially as you’re currently in employment. Don’t stay in a job you hate but don’t rush into another one that offers no flexibility, take your time with the search

Completely agree with this. It's better if you can avoid it.

Play dates with snacks - what’s wrong with it?

theres always one on every thread 😳

I wouldn’t do it. It’s not just the wrap around. It’s all the extra curricular activities that start to rack up as they get to primary school age. So mine are offend in wrap around then straight to football or dance or whatever with only a basic tea like fishfingers managed. We can manage that a few days a week but not full time.

As they are already knackered after school maybe? Mine is in reception which she struggled hugely just with that at the beginning. She still finds it tiring now. She does attend the afterschool disco or movie night on the odd occasion they hold them but def no breakfast or afrerschool clubs. Stay part time if you can.

Maybe you shouldn't have bothered having kids then........

We use after school club every day but we pick up between 4.30 - 5pm. His closest friends are all there too and they all see it as getting a play date every day after school, which we are very grateful for.

That's an awful thing to say.

Most of the kids I know are in full time nursery and then in wraparound care of some sort 4 or 5 days a week.

The routine is very much impacted by WFH however.

Every couple I know has two parents in work though, I don’t know any stay at home parents at all.

Let me guess, your husband had a fabulously high paying job so you could be a SAHM and you wouldn’t have it any other way?

@WimbyAce

well, the population really will die out then if women are expected to give up their careers in order to have children. It’s just not feasible in a lot of cases.

Not all children are knackered after the school day! It's great that your child doesn't need wraparound care since she struggles so much, but that's not representative of all children.

Please don't try and make out that it's for the benefit of the child. Even those who use it know that's not the case.

I went back full time with my first when she was 9 weeks. I will never understand what was going through my mind because we could have coped with a longer mat break financially speaking. I don't have many regrets but that is one of them. I had much longer breaks with middle and youngest one.

It's wrong to put pressure on any mum but I know for me and my kids the best thing I could give them has always been my time.

Could you also consider a 4 day week? An extra day from what you currently do, but less than 5.

If your dh does 4 Days also like you mentioned, then that’s only 3 days care needed. And both you and dh get one day contact with teacher, or for school events if they fall on days off

No not at all, neither of us have high paying jobs whatsoever.

Ds is in year one: in reception he did ask 3 days a week, until 5 (it runs to 5:30) most weeks and was often mad if I picked him up early! He's having to temporarily go to breakfast club 2-3 days at the minute, which does give me mum guilt, but so far he's doing great.

Well I thought it was pretty awful saying neither DH or I were going to give up our careers. Just sounds so cold.

Mine did three days a week and was the only Reception child, but that was because it was mid-Covid and almost everyone else was WFH. She loved having access to activities and a play area the other Reception kids didn’t and wanted to go every day for a while! She was furious the handful of times I needed to collect early and she had to stop playing. It was also good for building relationships with different age groups.

By the time she was yr 1, the new Reception class had several children using wraparound, for at least three days a week, probably more(?).

We were warned in advance about them being tired but she’d been used to longer days in nursery so the school day was a bit too short for her liking.

We’d chosen the school partially because of the wraparound provision and it was excellent - different areas so they could do art/craft or snuggle up with books, as well as active play. I think my only criticism would be that they only did a snack rather than a meal which meant a bit of a rush when we did get home.

An observation now she’s older is that it’s harder to do outside of school stuff on a weekday if they’re in wraparound every day. So once swimming lessons and Beavers/Rainbows starts that is harder to fit in.