Oh FGS!

[2kidsintow]

Work are going to be asking me to do full time (instead of 3 and a half days a week) for a fixed term after Christmas to fill in for a member of staff who will be away. I have a lovely routine with my 2 primary DDs but I can see that one school term of full time will be fine to do full time. I can tick the weeks off as they go and it would give me a good boost to my finances without giving up my lovely hours.

Problem is....it is all my kids know. Mum takes them and gets them from school on a Friday every week. My y2 DD looks forward to it.
I've just asked her whether she'd prefer to go to my lovely childminder or whether she'd like to try after school club so I'd still be collecting her from school.

She's upstairs sobbing. My older DD isn't so bothered, and is trying to console her.

No pressure then! It will be a pain to not have my nice hours for a term but the money would be nice and it would make my job at work an awful lot simpler if it is just me covering the extra hours.

Your younger DD has got some time to get used to the idea, luckily. Whenever I've had big changes to make to things like that, I tend to go less for the 'how would you feel about X' route (too many opportunities for guilt-tripping and back-tracking) and more 'I need your help for something very important I need to do...' Seems to galvanise him into cooperation!!

AGree with Cognito about telling not asking. 6/7 is probably too young to make a childminder/ after school club decision.

But tbh, I'd just let it go til nearly the start of next term and present it as a fait accompli. There weeks and weeks to go (for a small person!) so I wouldn't even mention it again.

As the mum of a 7 yr old I'd second the telling not asking. I have to travel on business, go out in the evenings etc so ds has to stay with his grandma. I never ask as it isn't something he has a choice about.

They weren't given a choice about the hours and the sobbing was about missing me picking them up rather than the choice of who would look after them. I was telling/asking them now as I have to tell the boss later in the week what my decision is and wanted to know that I had things in place before committing myself and to give them a bit of time to get used to the idea too.

I don't know why I asked, really. The typical thing when I ask both of mine a question is that they both choose the opposite anyway!

In my head I thought they would prefer to be able to go to after school club (in the past my DD1 has asked to go but it hasn't been as convenient as the CM) as I rationalled it as my still picking them up from school, just a bit later than normal. I'm glad I did ask as my DD2 was able to tell me that none of her friends go on the days I'd have been considering so that is now out.

Actually, it is all a moot point as a friend has offered to have them instead. Her DD is friends with my DD and her DS and my older DD get on well too so that is now the plan. Everyone happy all round, with the CM as backup plan for when anything goes awry.

Well,