Why do schools need to go back to get the workforce back?

[Pitaramus]

I keep hearing talk of the “need” to send kids back to school so that their parents can get back to work. I’ve never really seen school as sufficient childcare to enable someone to actually go to work. My youngest child’s nursery is 8-6 and open about 51 weeks a year. That is childcare. School is 9-3 and is shut for 3 months of the year anyway.

Surely one parent in each family unit (assuming the family has two parents) could go back to work without schools going back. A certain percentage of families of primary aged kids have one stay at home parent anyway because of the cost of the wrap around care they’d otherwise need. And all parents whose children are 13 plus could also go back to work.

I just don’t see the schools being shut as being a massive barrier to a lot of the work force returning, particularly given that they are only open 9-3 anyway and they are due off for may half term and then the summer hols which means you’d be getting 9-3 “childcare” for 12 weeks between now and September.

Of course there will be some who can’t work without school and the after school and breakfast clubs that some schools offer but these people must be in the minority if you’re looking at the workforce as a whole. I know in my workplace I’m one of three people out of about 40 with primary aged kids where both parents work. Luckily I’m managing to work from home as I have quite a flexible job.

If the cost of the furlough is the problem (which I’m sure it is) why not furlough one parent in each family with young kids where both parents work and then everyone else can go back as and when it’s safe to do so.

Fair enough...I apologise for that. I mis-read.
However, I stand by everything else.
I've spent my career studying, researching and working in roles supporting womens career development. Your comments make me despair and angry in equal measure.

I'm a key worker as is my husband. My sister is a doctor as is her husband. My brother is a pharmacist as is his wife. We all have kids.....

You absolutely have said you don't understand why a woman would choose to work when she has children if she doesn't need to.

Your very first comment on this post spoke volumes. You specifically reference mother's not parents

However, I stand by everything else.
I've spent my career studying, researching and working in roles supporting womens career development. Your comments make me despair and angry in equal measure

Thats great. Sounds like an interesting and very worthy career. A much needed service and I make no judgement about you for choosing that path or your opinions on child rearing

However. I too have an opinion and its about day care, especially for children under 3. I made a choice not to put my children in day care because of my own personal opinion on it. I decided to be a SAHM for most of the period my children where pre school age. As a woman, that's my choice too.

If it upsets you I'm sorry about that, but it is what it is. My personal choice.

There are 8.8 million school children in the U.K.

Of that 4.7 are primary aged or younger.

If that 4.7 there will be some single parent families. But also some families with stay at home parents too.

There are 32.4 million working adults in the U.K. So most of the work force could go back without schools opening.

In fact, because workplaces are going to be required to social distance they aren’t going to need the same volume of staff in full time. So there is more scope for working parents to apply for home working if they can or sympathetic shift patterns.

Keeping schools open only to those who really, really need them keeps the overall infection rate down and allows us to stay out of lockdown (when that eventually comes).

You absolutely have said you don't understand why a woman would choose to work when she has children if she doesn't need to.

Cant remember exactly but I believe I said why would a woman/mother? WANT to go back to work/use day care? when their children are very young. I think I asked why? It was a question. Because I genuinely don't understand why

Some women who work might ask SAHM why would they WANT to be at home all the time. It's a fair question as well, if maybe they dont understand that.

Not sure what all the big fuss is about

I then pointed out that want is not the same as need (in reply to a mortgage comment)

Your choice doesn't upset me. It's a valid choice. It's possible to make those choices without judging others for making different choices.

When I returned to work after having DS I worked at the same place as my DH. I lost count of the amount of people who told me how awful it was that I had to return full time. Not one person asked my DH that question. The inherent, deep rooted sexism made me quite angry.

Anyway, it wasn't awful and I didn't have to. I chose to and that doesn't make me a bad person or a bad parent. I know the research surrounding early years and childcare and I'm confident our choice was beneficial for DS - childcare isn't harmful. The issue is with low quality childcare. High quality childcare is actually beneficial but that's another thread. .....

People assume working full time means you never get to see your kids. That's not necessarily true and certainly isn't in our case.

I wanted to go back to work because I've invested a lot of time and money in my career, I love my job, it's a huge part of my identity, I don't want to be financially dependant on my DH, I enjoy working, being a SAHM doesn't appeal to me.... surely those reasons aren't difficult to understand? It even think up yourself??

When schools do go back, its not likely that they will off-roll anyone who is staying at home for safety related reasons - so if you are shielding, or high risk, and don't want your child to go to school, you will be able to keep them off. I can't see there being an appetite to enforce attendance until the risk is gone.

Cant remember exactly but I believe I said why would a woman/mother? WANT to go back to work/use day care? when their children are very young. I think I asked why? It was a question. Because I genuinely don't understand why

Are you in the UK?

I couldn't care less if someone wants to stay at home. It's not my choice but I understand why some would want too.

I believe in choice, plenty of women would like to work but can't because childcare costs are too high or there is zero flexibility.

tontie that's my experience. Lots of women would love to work but either struggle to find flexible jobs or have husband's who can't/won't pull their weight when it comes to childcare. Throw in societal expectation around childcare, the gender pay gap and the fact men in these relationships are often older and further along in their career journey then you can see why its difficult for some women to maintain a career.

Are you in the UK?

Yes

I believe in choice

Me too. I might not understand why some women make the choices they do but I believe women should have that choice

As I said before. Society and work is not set up for the advantage of women. Work hours, not being able to work from home, and being a SAHM is undervalued i think too. it isnt fair for women, which ever choice we make

@Flaxmeadow

Why don't you start your own thread on what you are waffling on about rather than derail this one like a self-absorbed twat? All your points have very little to do with the OP and is really tedious to read.

daycare isn't really a UK term hence why I asked

Why don't you start your own thread on what you are waffling on about rather than derail this one like a self-absorbed twat

Yay sisterhood! and listening to each others womens opinions without judgement

@starlightgazers has a point so this will be my final point.

The vast majority of my female friends work. We can wfh if needed, we have flexi hours & are either tto or have lots of holiday allowance. It is possible.

My DH was offered 2 jobs last year, he went for the one that was more family friendly so he wfh 1 day a week & also has flexi hours.

We are lucky to have the above but I think things are changing & more companies are promoting a better work/life balance.

daycare isn't really a UK term hence why I asked

Yes I can understand why you thought that.

Day care is very popular in the USA because women, especially single parents, of very young children are often forced into the workplace. Something i fundamentally disagree with for the mothers of pre school age children .

But I use it because it's a catch all term

What a nasty post overall women telling others what they should or shouldn’t do with their life.

Hi Flax. You ask why a woman would want to work with pre-school children. I can answer from my own perspective. My OH and I both went part-time in order to do child care when our kids were little. My work is interesting to me and did not stop being interesting when I had kids though obviously was a much lower priority! I also wanted my OH to have a solid and fulfilling relationship with the kids as did he. My not working and him not working as never an option as we could not afford the bills and I don't believe in claiming benefits as a choice (this is not benefits bashing, I think most people on benefits don't have a meaningful choice). I also do not believe that there is any evidence which solidly shows that children are necessarily negatively affected by childcare so we were not worried about the two mornings a week our kids spent at nursery. The loved nursery and were excited to go. They are well balanced and rounded teens/ pre-teen now and thus far it appears that the choices we made have served us well though time will tell of course.

I think you need to think about how you worded that question btw as it sounded like a real dig at people and not a genuine exploration. That's why you have received such a back lash. If you make it sound like you're sitting on a moral high horse you're always going to have trouble.