Are you a SAHM with school aged children?

[Sparkler1]

Really interested to find out:-

1 - How old are your children?

2- Do you plan to go back to work in the near future?

3 - What do you do with your free time when children are at school?

4 - Do you find yourself wishing you were at work?

Reason I ask these things is because I was a SAHM for 7 years. DD2 started school last September and I now work 18 hours a week in school hours. Works well but sometimes I wish that I had waited to return to work for a couple more years and just spent some time on myself. I could have been at home pottering, decorating, having real time to browse around the shops which I haven't had time to do since becoming a mum. I could even have gone to college to learn a new career but couldn't make up my mind what I wanted to do anyway.

my mil has been a SAHM for 35 years.. she goes to church meetings, prayer groups, painting classes, computer courses and food shopping on a friday. All very regimented and ordered as to what gets done on what day etc

1 - How old are your children? almost 7,almost 6 and 15 months

2- Do you plan to go back to work in the near future? no

3 - What do you do with your free time when children are at school? look after baby,housework,mn

4 - Do you find yourself wishing you were at work? no,i enjoyed working but enjoy being here too.

kitty you're allowed as you lo is not school aged

Kitty you have a baby to look after. I always said I would stay at home until all children were at school full time then would consider going back to work. DH told me I didn't have to but I think I would have felt guilty for staying at home unnecessarily when I could be out making some extra money.

1. 5, 3 and 9 mo.

1. no

1. look after ds, a bit of housework, reading, gardening.

1. I would like - an intend to - develope a career that I can do from home once ds starts school, but I never feel the urge to work outside the home.

oh ok

kittypants - you can still stay and talk to us though! lol

cool!when ds1 was 2 i went to work.i did an evening course and got my nvq3 in childcare.i worked part time so sort of felt i had best of both worlds. i didnt go back from maternity leave.but because i got the nvq3 i could.

Mine are 13, 11 and 8.

I do a small part-time job (hours flexible and I go in when it suits me), plus voluntary work for two days a week. I also help out in DS3's class on a Friday morning. The rest of the time is me time .

Mine are 6 and 5. I don't have an office job - we're renovating the house and I'm not going back to work till at least the bathroom has been done (there's no way we could hire a nanny to work here in its current state!). Dh has no interest/skills when it comes to DIY/renovation so this all falls squarely in my lap.

Yes, I plan to return.

I don't wish I was work but I know I will have to go back (from a money perspective). I've just finished doing some continuing professional development stuff I have to do and I did do it all with a sense of impending dread !

I returned to work when dd was a baby and stopped just before ds was born so if I/when I go back this time, I need to be 100% sure I'm doing the right thing because if I start and then stop again, it will look dreadful on my CV!

My youngest will start school full-time in 2008, and after that I reckon I will look for a job that is part-time and term-time only. A friend has managed this but she took over a job that a friend of hers was leaving, so it wasn't actually advertised.

ATM I am completely baffled as to what I will do - don't want to return to my old job, have thought about teaching but it looks like a huge commitment time-wise (will have to train) have thought about SALT but all the courses are full-time only so not an option.

I want a job that is fulfilling, financially worth it, allows me time for my kids and takes nothing away from them - not sure if it's possible though.

Hi Sparkler - kids are 11 and 5. I do plan to go back to work, but once I've completed my degree and PGCE (so aiming for 2010). With my free (?) time I do all the household bits and pieces (as I like to have the weekends free to be with the kids & DH), I also try to do all my studying during the day as well as stuff for the PTA/Governors and card making. I also manage to squeeze in reading for pleasure. Oh yes, I spend time on here too probably too much time!

should also say that I was desperate to return to work when mine were younger - really desperate. Found it very hard being at home the whole time but a combination of factors (the kids' bad health, dh's work and travelling, the thought of going back to my old job and long hours/travelling, cost of a full time nanny) meant I didn't return.

Now they are at school and I have some time to actually achieve something (like sorting the house), I feel less desperate!

and also, financially, I know I will need to start earning again at some point this year and I've always known that.

My children are aged 10, 9, nearly 7 and 4, so three of them are at school and the fourth starts in September and goes to playgroup 5 mornings a week so I guess you could say he was semi school aged.

Yes, I do want to go back to work in the near future - maybe next January when ds3 has had a term to settle at school. My trouble is I have been a SAHm for 11 years so going back to work will take some courage and perhaps some re-training.

When the children are at school, I do housework, sometimes gardening, shopping, etc - all the necessary tasks for running the house. In between times, I write and read and MN.

Yes, I have missed work for about the last 10 years. But as said above, going back is not that simple. I have done some part-time work and some casual work, roughly 5 years ago, but I really want something part-time and regular, preferably allowing to spend some days a week still being a SAHM.

mine are 4 yo and 19 months. I work thurs monrning and 4 hours on a Saturday (at work now!)
In September, ds1 will be at school all day and ds2 will be at nursery for 3 mornings and I am very excited at having some child free time. Dh seems to think when I am at work, that is my time off.

Mine are 10 and 7. I went back to work about 4 years ago, but found everything too much of a struggle and am now SAHM again. If I could find a job that would work around the children (and NO, teaching isn't it!) I would probably enjoy working.

I don't find I have any more spare time now than when I was working, and still have the same huge ironing pile etc.

3

Nope

run errands, grocery shop, meet friends for coffe, sometimes I go to the days spa for a facial or something.

Nope

1 11, 19, 27, 31yo

2- No, I live abroad and can't work here.

3 - Read, crafty stuff, go to expat/school/charity things, visit British Council to read newspapers. Organise our staff and sort out the unremitting problems in our apartment with water and power and fumigation. And I spend a lot of time in the car, traffic here is awful.

4 - No. After 30+ years as a mum, I'm enjoying some me time!

ds2 went to school in Sept.

I have applied for 1 P/T job since then - didn't even get an acknowledgment of my application

I do stuff

I would like to do something vaguely interesting that would fit in with school hours and paid enough to cover childcare for 2 in the hols.

So far I have seen 1 job since Sept that met those criteria - see above.

In Sep 2009

1 - How old are your children? 12, 7, 6,4

2- Do you plan to go back to work in the near future? undecided

3 - What do you do with your free time when children are at school? do all the stuff I currently do in the evening as I'm thinking I'll be busy being a taxi service from 3.30pm onwards......

4 - Do you find yourself wishing you were at work?

I keep thinking that partly the idea is when they go to school we will have an improved quality of life as I can get stuff done during the day so dh will need to help less in the evenings but also our evenings are going to be very busy being a taxi service. Not going to be much better off working as get assistend ctc so is it going to be worth working???????

1. 16,14,12,4,2 and one on way!!

2. Back to work?.. I assume you mean paid employment? This is no holiday!!

3)watch tv..about half an hour between school runs in an afternoon. I manage neighbours and loose women if I am ironing!

4)only so I can have a lunch break!

6 and 8
Funnily enough worked right up until DS2 went to school and then realised I had school days and holidays to think about so had to give up my job. I have always worked since leaving school at 16 so giving up was such a worry and I must admit I did turn my nose up at SAHM's with school age children . Not going to work in near future as love being at home.
I meet a friend twice a week for a 5 mile run. Go to the gym and tap dance class. In between I do the boring housework, ironing and other domestic chores. Then I pick up the kids.
Sometimes I feel guilty and think I should be working but with shorter days and term time only my choices are limited. I can think of so many excuses why that job is not for me.

Kids are 8 and 7 and no i don't want to go to work yet as i have no one to have them in the summer holidays and half terms. I will go to work when they go to secondary school. I'm not on benefits and am lucky enough to be able to sah.

Suedonim, DD2 can't be 11! In my mind, she'll always be 6 - but don't tell her that 'cos she'll take it as an insult.....