How do people work full time with kids

[Uklady23]

I have been really lucky since having my children I haven't had to go back to work. My eldest is turning 5 shortly my youngest is 3.

I have been toying with going back to work for a while, it would be nice to earn my own money and to be honest a break from just being a mum. (This probably sounds awful but the thought of actually speaking with adults and having an actual dinner break is really appealing)

In the last few days I have started searching for jobs and in my particular field the only ones coming up are full time Mon-Fri, this scares me. I was hoping for part time. I don't no how people do it does anybody have any positive experiences or advice on this. As it stands now I do all school run/pickups. My husband job is pretty flexible.

Thanks for reading.

Breakfast clubs, after school clubs and childminders. One does drop off the other does pick up. If kids are sick you share days off between the two of you.

As pp said, wraparound care. I think part time is a nice balance and means kids aren’t having really long days out the house every day

Pay for childcare. We’ll have spent well over £200k by the time we’re finished with wrap around over the course of a 15 years!

Childcare. And partners who aren't shit.

DH and I both work FT. When they were preschool we had a shared nanny, now they are both in primary we use a combination of after-school nanny, after-school club and staggering our hours. We share dropoffs and pickups equally and always have.

Wrap around care and holiday clubs (13 weeks of holidays to cover). Also, a little help from grandparents. Annual leave, too. Dh works shifts, so it works some weekends to be off in the week. That helps a bit, too

I think a lot of jobs say full time but are far more flexible now, especially in shortage areas. I have been in my current role 16 months, when I applied I made it clear I only wanted part time 3-4 days.

When I interviewed they asked me how much I would like to work. I said ideally 3 days (24 hours per week) but would consider 4 if needed. They offered me a 3 day a week job and have so far been excellent employers. I think as long as you are clear on your application there is no harm applying for a full time role but asking if could be part time in terms of hours per day or days per week x

Wrap around care and sharing annual leave with DH. An amazing manager who understood that life happens got me through the primary school infant years when sickness is rife and assemblies are often

Wrap around care where needed and your husband needs to do 50% of the pick ups/drop off etc. It doesn't all fall to you

Excellent childcare
Supportive partner
flexible employer

Pay a lot of money for childcare.

DH and I both work full-time but the kids don't go to wraparound care. I do most drop offs, while pick-ups.are.shared between DH and grandparents. On DH pick-up days, he will spend a bit of time with them when they get home, then they entertain themselves by playing in the yard or with their toys while he works (from home).

Full time is tough. I'm stuck in the same job I was in before having DS(8) because it is very flexible and I have a 30 hour week that really is 30 hours. Every time I look at other jobs, they are either full time or exploitative, so I will stay put for a few more years until childcare isn't an issue.

Most good schools will have wraparound care from 8-6 or 7:30 to 5:30, but many jobs are now set up to exclude parents with childcare responsibility by starting at 8 or finishing at 6.

Initially wrap around care, but now I have a flexible job where I can do pick ups and drop offs 3 days a week.

We work it around my husbands shifts, and my friend helps out where she can aswell.

But it's a mega juggling act for sure.

We both work full time, I start at 9 so have time to do the school run in the morning, then our DS goes to afterschool club til 5 when he is collected by dad. We don’t have family close by to help but to be honest the wraparound care they have at the school works for us. My employer is also very understanding when I have to have time off for child sickness etc.

When my kids were primary age I used breakfast club and after school club on my working days (I was actually part time, but I worked full days rather than school hours).

Now they're at secondary I don't need childcare any more.

I now only work part time and feel a million times better for it. When my children were younger it almost felt easier - nursery, home but as they get older there’s so much happening after school and in the evenings I just found it impossible.

Partner works nights mon-Thursday I work days mon-Fri but very luckily with remote work and flexi time.
Try and find a job with it like in your local council / fire service admin it really makes home life easier

A mixture of wraparound care on some days, WFH (not with kids there... but no commute makes it far easier to do the morning school run), grandparents picking kids up from school and doing their tea a couple of times a week and then just general sharing of drop off and pick ups between DH and me. It's surprising how quickly you find a rhythm and routine once you give it a chance.

Could your job be done in the NHS? I work on the corporate side and my office is full of people in your circumstances who do part time/ job sharing/ flexible working. It’s probably lower pay than your normal industry but can make up for it with flexibility.

A nanny, and short working days, term time only

Can't put it better than the first reply.

What do you think people do ?

If you find a role that suitable ask if they’d consider PT candidates before applying. I’ve had no issues and most say yes.

went back to work full time when DT’s were six months old. DH took them to nursery/school and I collected. We used breakfast, after school and holiday clubs. Most people at work do the same.

I've just gone back full time after 4 years of being a sahm. It's been easy to he honest, I love being back earning my own money, working on something that doesn't involve the kids. I wfh 3 days a week and drop off and pick up on them days, luckily the school is 100m from my house. After pick up, they have a snack and some downtime watching TV for an hour until I finish. 2 days a week in the office, my partner does drop off and pick up he runs his own business so can be flexible. My manager is super flexible, the company is, in general, very family friendly, lots of the staff are women (and a few men) with young chidren. It's only been 2 months, but so far, so good! So I would say look for something that promotes hybrid working and flexibility.

I'm a nutshell, paying for childcare if nursery age or if they're school age, paying for breakfast clubs and after school care. I work full time in a compressed 4 day week so have Friday off. Eldest (9) can now walk home a few days a week. To be honest my employer is very flexible so I could probably get away with not using breakfast clubs and just taking 30 mins away from desk to do school run as I work from home mainly - which in itself helps a lot with managing it all.