I got deleted so I'm posting this again - more crappy research.

[Jbr]

I read this in a newspaper. It's got to be the worst thing a so-called "expert" has ever said.

'When a child's mother dies, that is a terrible tragedy. But we impose that tragedy on every child when we leave them to go to work.'
Kathy Gyngell, Full-Time Mothers Association.

This woman should be banned.

Oh was that the quiz. I love the bit about we are rushed off our feet because we spend too much time filling in quizzes and looking at rubbish research LOL!! Me, never!

On the subject of school, I have been to France twice and the second time, one of the local schools had hours of 8am-5pm, except Wednesdays which was 8am-mid day ie 12pm). The local shops and businesses were open from 8am-11am on Wednesdays which according to my teacher was excellent for the local parents because they could get home before the kids and saved a lot of hassle(she had been jabbering on in French to one of the dads, which I was supposed to understand but I didn't.) The kids then went in Saturday mornings to make up for the lost Wednesday afternoon which helped solve the child care problems on Saturdays.

Could it work here? I really think the holidays should be split up even if the school day isn't brought in line with businesses.

One other good thing regards work this week, the 13 week rule regarding holidays is getting scrapped. In theory you should now be able to take a holiday from your first week of employment. The last place I worked ignored the 13 week rule anyway; someone took a paid day off in the second week!

The holiday entitlement will be pro rata, so I don't think anyone will have stored up much time after just one week in a job! It's a good move, though.

Jbr - all I can say to your previous posts (sorry, just got back after the weekend) is that you obviously don't know what it is like to struggle financially. Good for your friend that she was able to put some money aside so she could take a year off work, how I wish we could all do that!
My dh also works long hours for crap pay and I know it would ease our financial burden somewhat if I worked too. However, I simply cannot bear the thought of leaving dd in childcare whilst I earned a bit more money. I'm not saying that it's not right to leave her in childcare, just that I couldn't do it, everyone is different. I would leap at the chance to work p/t, but then most of my wages would be paying for her childcare and so what is the point of that?

Sometimes, the situation demands that one partner earns the money whilst the other stays at home, it's as simple as that. I work voluntary for a charity, which makes me feel useful, as well as maintain the home and raise our child as best I can. My husband earns his wages and for my 'work' I get to share this. And I do call it work, for looking after a 14month old is not easy no matter how much I love her, the nappy changes, the washing, the feeding and playing is all hard work.

I would happily trust her in my hubby's care at any time, but if the roles were reversed he would be unhappier than I am at this present time. And as for equality, I think our relationship is equal. He does his bit and I do mine, in the evenings and at the weekends we share everything, housework and childcare. I envy him during the week being able to get out of the house and talk to other adults about anything other than babies, and he envies me for getting to spend so much time with her.

Yet in all this equality, there is STILL guilt attached to whatever we do! I know that as the main child carer and housewife I am entitled to a share of his wages, but I still feel that I am spending his money, that it's not mine, if you know what I mean. Birthdays and Christmas are awful as we don't have much money to spend anyway, and I feel so damn guilty about spending his money to buy him a present! We just can't win.

I did some charity work a while ago but to get my expenses back I had to do 12 hours which they didn't tell me when I started. I claimed some money I wasn't entitled to apparantly. It was like being accused of theft so I left.

It's always a good idea if you can, nobody likes gaps in a work history. As I've said before mine looks like Swiss cheese. I know it is difficult in practice to apply ideas but to object in principle is different. Not that you do object in principle.

Jbr, Just to add my support to the quiz. keep the funnies coming!

Lisav, don't feel guilty about your choices - what is the point? If you are happy with your choice then there is nothing to feel guilty about. Don't look it as your partner's money, look at it as money for the family. Your partner deserves someone buying him a treat - the fact that it is from money in his pay packet is irrelevant. Whatever you buy him, he probably wouldn't have had the time or inclination to go and buy for himself. In this case, it really is the thought (and the time) that counts.
Also, if you really would like to work part-time don't necessarily assume that all your money would go on childcare. I work part-time, as do many of my friends and we have all found that if you only have one child, you should still have sufficient money left-over after childcare to make it worthwhile.

There were people at my ex-partner's place of work who did 2 nights a week and on night shift rate it came to £120 which is more than you can end up with going out everyday since you wouldn't have child care to pay for - something which we shouldn't have to have privately anyway!

It's not for everyone of course and some places don't pay as much. It seems nightshift is getting classes as normal hours these days along with weekend working.

Thanks guys, I will work consider part-time work, but I'll wait awhile yet until she's a little older. As for night-shifts - well how on earth would I cope looking after her during the day?! Your friend must be superwoman Jbr!!!

Lisav, you could always consider what I do, I look after children before and after school and take my son with me, it means I dont have to leave him and we have time in the day.

If anyone has seen my other postings you will know that I have been made redundant (well, after next Tuesday), and although I want to stay at home and look after my boys I would not mind working a few hours for a couple of evenings to help financially,I thought the school run work sounded quite good too, as I would not mind taking children to school in safety, this thread is proving quite interesting to me.