KIT days - what did you do for childcare?

[Springtimesunshinesun]

I really want to do some KIT days but PIL don’t want to have the baby and I don’t have any other childcare 😭

What did everyone else do?

DH took annual leave

I have managed several women on mat leave and all did the same

Thank you, this is what DH will have to do.

I didn’t take KIT days for this very reason

Dh takes the day off
If you have a nursery or childminder sorted for when you go back to work see if you can book them in for some ad hoc days - this may also help with settling in.

What's the plan for childcare for when you go back?

She’ll go to nursery then, but that isn’t until the end of June and she hasn’t done any settling in sessions.

Plus the main reason is to get me through the unpaid part of my maternity leave, so it would negate that benefit!

I took my baby with me.

Let dad take the days off

FWIW a lot of the dads I know really enjoyed these days - if they aren't doing shared parental leave, they don't get much time on their own with the baby often

What’s your partner doing?

Do you mean what does he do for a job?

Mine are just arranged as training days I can do from home with the baby still there.

My mum had mine, although towards the end I used the nursery settling in sessions. DH would have taken the day off if needed though.

I'm the higher earner in our household and couldn't do it without DH's support (also works full time but does his share of sick days/childcare)

My colleague who is on maternity leave is doing her KIT days either by WFH or by coming into our team meetings. She brings the baby with her to the meetings.

Your work sound as good as mine. My managers are only really concerned that I don't miss out on the full days pay so are making sure I 'take' mine in the easiest way possible.

I booked the childminder they were going to when I went back to work as it was a good way of getting them used to it and DH took annual leave.

I didn't do any and I had two maternity leaves. I'm not sure what you actually do on KIT. If it's just a chat to the manager, then surely a teams meeting is enough? I didn't have teams meeting because both my DC were born before covid, and before the WFH days.

This is great for flexibility/pay but I used my KIT days for more than just keeping in touch - it was a test of getting dressed on time, being out of the house alone, leaving baby for extended periods...

I'm not saying it's the wrong way but, outside of remote covid meetings, I've never seen a man with a baby in a meeting.

And I EBF both mine so leaving them with DH won't work. If it's training, we never attend in person training even at work.

I arranged kit days to fit when my dh had his days off or annual leave. It was actually nice for all of us, I liked having some adult time etc and he enjoyed the one to one with the little one.

@NewYearResolutions I EBFed too but by 9 months mine were ok with DH for a short day if I fed beforehand and afterwards.

It obviously depends on your line of work - women I have managed have used them for a range of things and it's often nicer than coming back and not having a clue what's going on.

@spriots definitely depends on the person. I haven't got any problems with coming back from two maternity leaves. I was quite happy not to think about work for 12 months. I didn't even check my emails.

Well yes that's why KIT days are optional not compulsory

I only did one. DH took leave.

• I took DS in with me, work were really good about that as the days were only ~1 hour catch ups
• For the last 5 days I added them to the beginning of when I went back and DS was in nursery