Who Is looking after your kids for the next 6 months?

[uhoh2020]

Just that really.......
Me and DH both work full time we have 3 dc. The jobs we do are restricted by opening hours etc and both unable to work from home or have much flexibility in days and shift patterns.
Our parents are in their mid/late 60s in fairly good health, active, and are also still working part time. Both sets have said they will help with dc but are we right to do this if our parents are potentially vulnerable? Also the jobs they do are working with the elderly (70s+). What other option do we have? We can't afford to live on 1 salary and neither of us want to give up a job we both work so hard to get to the position were in now?

Are you both self-employed? If not then speak to your managers and explain your situation. They may be flexible.

Don't use the DGPs for childcare - it's really clear how dangerous this virus is to older people (and yes I know no one thinks that means them, but it's just a fact that this hits harder when you're older).

I do sympathise, it's a shitty situation OP.

If you're self employed you'll have to work out the hours between you. If employed you'll have to figure out a plan with managers. You and your husband need to be doing the childcare between yourselves.

It would be really irresponsible to ask grandparents to do childcare for you.

The vast majority of families are having to work less hours to care for our children:

He is self employed but in construction so cant really work nights etc has to work when site is open. Both pretty much 5 days mon - sat 9-5 (I have a day off in the week) neither of us the option to work sundays or late nights. My company has been brilliant they're being as flexible as they can in such difficult circumstances but ultimately if were not in work were not being paid.

Our childminder is still open for now, so I'm hoping that a combination of leave between DH and I and the CM. It will cripple us financially, but we both work in keyworker roles so unfortunately can't not work or work from home.

@fatted I thought childminders had to stop looking after other people’s children?, is that not the case. My daughter was due to go to ours but not sure now. Does anyone know?

@Fatted. Sorry just re-read you are keyworkers

We are in Wales, so don't know if that's different. She is taking it day to day, she is expecting at some point to be told to close but until then she is open and we will use her. She works alone, so has small ratios anyway.

Serious question? If I quit my job and go and work in one of the many supermarkets that are advertising for immediate start, would my dc be eligible to stay in school or do both parents need to be key workers?

@monkeytapper

I believe the wording was that private nurseries and childcare providers eg Childminder's are "requested" to follow the schools closure. It's not a finite directive - my childminder is staying open - but she only has a couple of children under her care so the risk really is very low

It depends on the school - my local schools are staying BOTH parents need to be key workers but the government is recommending just one but I suspect it will depend on how many kids then are eligible and if they have the staff then to look after them

I'm probably being irrational but I'm emotional hormonal sleep deprived and anxious I'm trying to find a solution in a hopeless situation

There isn't a blanket ban on grandparents seeing children. Not all grandparents are over 70. I'm mid 60s and two of my grandsons are teenagers, I'm still seeing them all. My daughter, 40, is the one who is high risk due to health conditions.

Surely many grandparents of young children are still in their 50s.

My parents are 66/67 dh parents few years younger. All in good health very active and still working themselves.

Have you tried to find a nanny or babysitter?

As is always the case, as we live far from family, DH and I are. DD is now 14, so can manage on her own, but we are both WFH either FT (DH) or PT (me) for the foreseeable future. Both our jobs are normally office based though, so I need to go in and out a bit, and DH will do the odd visit to a local office but all meetings are cancelled and also all travel.

But it has always been down to us whenever DD was sick or any other reason for being out of school or FT childcare. We juggled our work, one doing mornings, the other afternoons and both catching up at night (and usually, the morning would start early, afternoon would run late, so we'd get almost a full day's work done over the course of the day in general).

I am in a country already in Quarantine. Construction workers are all at home. The only construction workers out are for one government company if its for emergency new constructions of say hospitals. You don't get to choose if you work or not, you will simply be told to stay home.
I'm not sure what your job is, but unless it is in emergency sector etc, by next week if UK in lockdown you also cannot choose to go to work, if it isn't compulsory you will be staying home.
And yes, thousands of people here are now out of jobs.

@Caspianberg I fully expect lock down will be upon us shortly and that's not an issue I'm prepared for that. It's going forward from that I'm worried about as our schools have been closed indefinitely unless your a key worker (which I'm not) then your children can still attend

I'm unsure about this too - my child's grandparents are in 50s/early 60s so think it is still ok to see them sometimes.

My parents will be helping out with our toddler while we navigate having a newborn as well. My mum is high risk but once we’ve isolated for 14 days between us and no-ones gone anywhere or seen anyone & no symptoms then I’m perfectly happy the virus isn’t getting in from anywhere! We’ll just be socialising with each other in our houses. Food is being delivered and left at the door..

Obviously, if any of us do need to come into contact with others, then we’ll start the self isolation all over again! We’ll have to go for newborn jabs etc, so it’ll be a long old process but better than nothing!