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.

Presumably they are off with you in the school holidays though? That is different to doing wraparound full time and then holiday clubs as well. My two usually have to do clubs in May half term and the first couple of weeks in August, they are shattered by the time we go on holiday.

OP plenty of dc do wraparound full time but if you (shared with DH) can at least do drop off it will give you an opportunity to speak to the teacher and make it a bit less full on for dc. The other option is doing a few less hours a week - not a big impact for the employer but you can do one pickup, DH does the other one and now you are only looking at 3 days after school.

ds' school had no breakfast club, but five out of the seventeen in his year were in ASC five afternoons a week., so just under a third.

He loved it. As an only child, it gave him two and a half hours to tear around, burning off energy with his little 'tribe'.

So just under a third.

None of mine got the chance our school doesn't offer it! No childminders either I must be in some sort of vortex where everyone has grandparents that do pick up and drop off and clearly all the summer holidays 🫠

Every child is different you can only try and see what your little one can cope with/if they like it. My 7 year old would struggle everyday with added school time out the house however my three year old and 10 year old would absolutely love it.

I genuinely don't know how parents are suppose to manage now with the COL too. It's not adding up the working hours and childcare options. Something needs to change.

@anothertwix a lot of babies are in nursery full time from 6~12 months old onwards.
Thats not different.
Its fine.

Mine went to breakfast club most days and after school club 3 days I think. On school holidays she would go to various clubs.

She liked breakfast but not after school club but needs must. She enjoyed most of the school holiday clubs.

Its hard but try not to feel guilty.

Mine have been either at a Childminders or at after school club 4 days since reception. No breakfast club though.

My DC has never been. Both DH and I have always worked FT but very flexibly so I start early and DC goes to after school club for 30 mins but never before care. When younger had a nanny. Will have an after school nanny in the fall. If I’m honest, I don’t love the idea of DC going to before and aftercare. I think the programs are fine but often kind of chaotic and low staff numbers which wouldn’t be great for our DC. Most of my friends have DC in wraparound care unless they have Nannies/au pairs. We are pretty high income though and well aware we’re extremely lucky to have had the choice. I think if DC had always been in a formal childcare setting (nanny when little) then I probs wouldn’t think twice about it.

Mine went every day. Hasn’t done any harm, both happy kids, academic high achievers, don’t hold any grudges for being in childcare (nursery, wrap around, holiday clubs).

Why do you need to speak to teacher? That’s what parent evenings are for.

This - I didn’t have a choice. She loved it and got a nice meal every day as that school had ‘hot snack’ eg beans on toast or bacon and sausages and beans !

My youngest DC is due to start reception and we're planning to put them in after school club so 8:30 to 5:45 every day. It does seem like a lot but they've been in nursery for 4 days a week for similar hours since they were 1.

OP it's really hard to juggle children and work these days so don't be too hard on yourself. I would do shorter days to avoid after school club if I didn't think it was working for my child so I'm still thinking of that as a possibility.

Why? Mine has a great time at breakfast and after school club, they are the best bits of his day! Plus he has energy for 3 activities after 3 nights a week! 😂

That’s an interesting comment because it goes against all the studies done around wrap around care. Which shows that it actually helps children by providing a routine, helps social development.

Theres really no reason to try and make mothers (note mothers, it’s never fathers is it?) feel guilty about working full time.

Personally, I’d stick with three days at least until they’ve had a few terms in Reception. Once they’re older, I’d say after school club is probably more fun for them than coming straight home so work whatever hours you prefer. But when starting school, I’d avoid it being (almost) every day if I could.

It’s one of those parenting situations where plenty of kids do it and the kid will certainly be fine. But I want better than fine for my kids if I can make it happen.

It will vary school but school. Here hardly anyone uses it, certainly not every day. Everyone is either a SAHP or WFH, so numbers have actually dropped to the point school are struggling to justify keeping it.

I taught Reception for almost a decade, and some children found it very tiring, some fell asleep during storyline and were definitely ready to go straight home to chill.

You know your own children best and what their energy/stamina levels are like, also how introverted/extroverted they are. Some thrive off increased social interaction, some need more downtime. So it’s really a personal decision for you based on the needs of your own children.

My DD is an only child, and loves the extra free play time with friends . We don't use breakfast club though, as that works out as paying twice effectively. So my husband drops off at school start and we pick up at 5.30pm. my DD was used to longer days at nursery before covid brought in WFH. So she was fine with after school club. She gets an extra hour of outdoor play as well from it, good for physical health when school involves so much sitting around once they move on from reception. Remember a generation or two back, 6 year olds would have been out playing on the street anyway until tea time.

I was in full-time childcare from the day mum went back to work - breakfast club, after-school club and school holiday clubs.

Honestly, it's not something I would choose for my own children. I felt like I spent too much time at school and never got quality time with my parents during the week. I was often overwhelmed, exhausted and grumpy at the end of the day.

However I have recently been diagnosed with autism, which probably goes a long way to explain why I struggled so much.

Having fun playing with your friends in after school club is better than fine imo. Many children go home after school and spend their time on electronics or in front of the tv rather than running around, playing organised games, doing crafts, baking- all with their friends of different ages.

Absolutely. We so much prefer also swapping play dates after school in our own homes. I love that my children have time to go to play at their friends homes and have got to know their parents and siblings. I similarly prefer collecting their friends, taking them to the park and cooking for them all here. No screens- we play board games, garden games, I love how well I personally know all of my children’s friends 😊 loads goes on after school in our local community too, we all collect then go to Lego clubs, seasonal events, different parks, I love the sense of community where we live 😊I

Not all kids enjoy that kind of busy environment though - I know it works really well for some, but it's not for everyone.

I went to a very busy after-school club and absolutely hated it - there was no peace and quiet and the last thing I wanted to do was play and do crafts after a long day at school.

But that about you agd what you enjoy.
In the child's pov? They’ll have a playdate with friends everyday after school. 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Absolute rubbish. And spreading this negative crap is no help to anyone.

A playdate in your own home with a few select friends is very different to after school club.

Exactly! Mine also do after range of sports activities arranged as part of after school enrichment as well as swimming and scouts so they aren’t missing out.

I know some kids need more “down time” and get tired or frazzled at the end of a school day so it’s not for every child but it’s never bothered mine. Some days they are at after school club until 5:30, then swimming, then cubs until 8:30 and they’re fine. We tend to have chilled weekends so they get rest then..