Secondary school aged children - if you get back from work at 630/7, what age were your children when you stopped childcare?

[Foxinsocks]

Just thinking ahead to a time when we may not need childcare - how old were your children before you left them by themselves after school pre you returning from work?

I would like to know this too.

Woman on our road has 1 child and stopped childcare when he was 12 but after 6 months has started it again as he wasn't managing well. It's a difficult one.

Dd would be fine but I have a younger ds. I'm anticipating when they are yrs 7 and 9. At the moment they are yrs 5 and 7.

Yes I think it's a big difference (every afternoon vs every now and then)

When I was at secondary school (so donkeys years ago ), loads of my friends had no parents at home after school but I don't particularly like the idea.

Childcare is not great for that age group (and costly!).

I mean I don't particularly like the idea of it every day when they are too young for it

We stopped when ds started Yr 7, that seemed to be about the norm here. Dd did go to the childminder a bit longer but mainly because she is intermittently disabled and found it difficult to manoeuver wheelchair into the house on her own.

I'm going to stop when dd1 goes to high school

school bus doesn't get back until just after 5 and I get home at 6 so it will only be an hour

only option for childcare is after school club at the primary school which she will have to make her own way to and would only be there about half an hour before I pick up so don't see the point

I'm thinking somewhere beween year 7 and year 8. I hope to be working nearer home by then.