What will you do if schools do close?

[Furcoatgirl]

I'm really worried. Obviously if it's for the good of everyone then fine, but I'm really not sure what I'd do.

My parents are usually the ones who help out, but they're high risk, so no way would I be sending the dc there for days on end.

We do have savings if I had to take unpaid, but could only do that for so long.

What will you do?

DH & I would have to work from home but do reduced hours & split the time/childcare between us. Ie he works the morning whilst I deal with DC & I work the afternoon. Might have to do more in the evening after DC in bed but my employer is very understanding & my workload will be reduced as we hold events & they will be cancelled. We'll continue to be paid. PIL usually have DC on Mon's & Fri's but that would likely stop too as they're classed at risk due to age. I'm technically at risk due to respiratory condition.

I don't know and it's really stressing me out. I'm a single parent. I have a 6 year old. I cannot work from home. I rent, so no chance of mortgage relief. I live month to month, I have no savings to tide me over. And I have no one who can do childcare for me on a long term period.

Obviously if it will help save lives then it needs to be done. But I hope there is something in place for people like me if it happens.

Oh I am sorry waxonwaxoff I have a 4 year old so feel wfh would be impossible. Dhs job is impossible to do from home.

I wonder what measures other countries have put in.

I’m a teacher so hopefully can be at home with my dc though my head is talking about the adults still needing to come in even if school closed - in which case my dc will just have to come with me.

If I’m at home though I’ll happily support friends who can’t be off with their childcare.

DH and I would juggle. One work mornings, one afternoons, and then both of us work in the evenings.

I'm an emergency service worker so no idea what I'm going to do at all!!!

I would have to either split the time with DH or work around the kids bedtime/weekends. Any hours not completed would need to be unpaid I think.

I don’t know. I work in a minimum wage part time job. My dh has a business, that has always done well, but now he is really feeling the pinch already. It’s frightening.

I will try to increase my hours as much as I can, and I guess my dh will be home more and more as this progresses. My dd doesn’t want school to close, as she loves it. I will worry about her being at home for so long. We have no savings.

The whole situation is terrifying.

I would manage but most of the care/education of DD would fall on me.

However, it would give me a chance to spend more quality time with her.

I live in a place where schools are closed. People stepped in to help neighbours, friends etc. Places opened to offer daily emergency childcare. Teenagers are making money as they are off school too and can offer a few hours childcare to older children. It was very last minute and many are sending their children to grandparents, so it is far from ok!

Myself and dh would juggle, Myself and friends will juggle the kids between them.

*Us not them

Schools closed here today (Ireland). Local facebook groups have lots of people offering childminding.

I'm a teacher, so in theory I'm not in a bad position.

Head has said she doesn't know if we'll be paid though (academy).

Luckily, DH and I can both work from home and do so already at least once a week. Work would need to be understanding of not being able to do a solid 7.5 hours though - likely one of us would do AM work and PM childcare and swap over that way, then log back on after DD is in bed.

The thought of a nearly 2 year old inside for weeks on end is the stuff nightmares are made of though.

I'm a single parent so I'd have to try and work from home buf DD is 11 so no tv as bad as a toddler

I would work from home, I could bring an IP phone and my laptop home and access Sharepoint and ask my team to do the same.

I have been putting plans in place all week.

I’m lucky as on mat leave. DH is a teacher so would be home too.

I'm in Germany, our schools will close from Monday for five weeks. Luckily we can both work from home, DH has been ordered to work from home for the next 2 weeks anyway, they've already shut his office.

We'd be fucked. I'd have to beg friends to take DS in so we could work. I think my work would be flexible but not all the time

I feel for those affected by the floods and now CV. Imagine if you are staying in temporary accommodation and your kids are off school...

I will stay home with the dc and lose my pay as I am just a temp worker. Although I do usually work full time and we do need my pay, but I have no choices. And my dc have special needs don’t do well with change so using babysitters and sharing childcare/group play dates with friends is not easy for us to do at all. Usually the dc are ok with school and the same everyday after school club but they don’t do well in different social situations and don’t handle change well either.

Dh will hopefully continue to get shifts, his work should continue, unless absolutely everything is shut down (he works in transportation industry) and he should also be able to take on extra shifts.

But due to my expected loss of earnings because of this we are now going on a very strict budget and staying at home at all times now, apart from work and school (until of course school shuts). So distancing ourselves from others as much as possible in the meantime.

But the financial implications for our family will be difficult and if I don’t work for more than 2 months we will struggle to even just pay the rent, let alone food and bills.

We can both work remotely (very lucky). We'll split the day 6-1 then 1-8. It will be very tiring for DH who has a chronic illness. If either of us goes down with it then we'll have to take sick leave. DH is self employed so that's a bit of a headache.

I'm a ft SEN HLTA so I'd be off with my kids. I'm 29 weeks pregnant and not intending to start maternity leave until 38 weeks (can't afford to) so not sure how things would work?

I’m a student so it wouldn’t be too bad apart from finishing assignments with a bored 9 year old around although I do fear I’d end up with most of ds friends so their parents could keep working.

I won’t mind helping out when uni is wrapped up but I know I’ll be asked before then