When did you return to full time work after children?

[Harriet433]

At what age did you go back to full time work after having a child?

My child is 3 turning 4 in the summer and will be starting pre school

i am currently working 3 days a week and plan to increase to 4 days when they go to preschool.

I am then thinking it makes the most sense to increase to full time once the child starts P1

does this work for most people to have both parents working full time at that age? We have flexibility to work from home at least once a week just dependent on work schedule

I went back full time when my youngest was 6. Before that i'd worked short days (10-2) in a minimum wage job and it just wasn't paying the bills

Went back full time when DS was 9 months short term, went part time again for a few years before and after having second DC. But went back full time again when eldest was 5 and youngest 20 months, and have done ever since.

Tbh for me it was mostly down to availability, I was building a career so had to take what job I could to progress, when it was possible to work part time I did.

I’ve worked in the public sector since the kids have been in school and that’s given me enough flexibility with full time work.

DS is about to go to uni. I'm still PT, was 3 days, then 5 short days and now 3 full days and 2 half days. I have no plans to ever work full time again.

I took 12 months mat leave with my first and went back full time - 3 days office / 2 days wfh. I’m on Mat leave with my second and will likely return full time when I go back. For me it’s not the work itself that is hard, it’s the days that I’m commuting. It is truly draining. I am going to see how I go when I return and may look to reduce to 4 days. I am really envious of those that can afford to go part time or have a role that allows for that but also pays enough.

Full time when DD was 3 months old. Continued to work FT until I took early retirement at 59, but am still working PT 6 years later.

When the youngest , of 3, was 5. Perhaps I could/ should ( for career) have gone back earlier but so many wonderful memories..So glad my husband's salary enabled me to be off work for so long.

I went back FT when my oldest was 9 months. After my second mat leave I went back FT when my youngest was 5 months. I've never worked PT / been a SAHP.

This will vary a lot by location - both for cost of living and for availability of wraparound.

I took about a year maternity and went back full time both times. Flexible hours so full time in 4 and a bit days. Back before Covid that meant my husband and I each worked at home for our short day and only needed 3 days wraparound. Now we have the full week at home between us (he’s in 2 days and I’m in 3 longer days) so it’s even easier to balance it all.

Honestly the nursery days were easier than when they hit primary school as the nursery was 730-630 and wraparound at our school is 8-530. Was a juggle to manage with the compressed hours. We are lucky to have flexi working and great bosses so haven’t missed much, but plenty of full time working parents never make it to sports day, assemblies, etc etc.

I live in an expensive city so know plenty of full time working parents, I wasn’t unusual. I think for me it was super important as my parents split up when I was a teenager - as my mum had never worked full time she had a huge struggle in her later years and has very little money now she’s retired. She’s still working part time to get her bills paid. It was important to me I could always pay my own way if needed.

Our wraparound care has camps during almost all the school holidays so we used that a lot when they were younger.

29 weeks after birth, 11 weeks before ... maximum allowed at the time. No holidays accrued and no parental leave.

Same. One of the few benefits to my job is the pension so l wasn’t going to let that slip away! My MIL got it into her head l was giving up work -l wasn’t and l didn’t. It would have cost me £50k+ in pension contributions up until my twins went to school which l wasn’t going to write off

I never went back full time. It was a few years ago now but only one of the mums in my daughter’s Reception class worked full time, and only a small proportion of the children went to nursery. I started working part time when she was seven bit always made sure I could do the school runs and thst one of us was home with her after school.

Mine are 13 and 18 and I still only work part time. I carry 99% of the load and life admin at home so my hubby is more than happy to be the main earner. Works for us!

SAHM until youngest was 4. Then part-time until secondary.

And what about your pension?

I was part time, 3 days a week after having DC 1, went full time when DC 2 started comp

FT at 5 months when my ML ended.

40 hours a week after 12 months MAT leave.

I worked this pattern or similar for years at 0.8 FTE and it worked so well for school runs. I am in a senior city role and only recently went up to FT, I really miss being PT. I have sacrificed some career progression for it but I’m still a high earner and have no regrets. I never missed a single school event and was able to do 2-3 pick ups a week. I plan to accelerate once DTs leave home and aim for an even bigger role, I won’t be quite 50 when they leave so hoping not too old to keep advancing.

Not till mine were at secondary school and we no longer breakfast and afterschool clubs.

I've never been part time. Went back when oldest was 12 months then about 9 months for second and third (DH took the remainder of the year as shared parental leave). Majority of people at my work have done the same, although there are also some who do 3 or 4 days/week

My son is 3 this summer and I’ve never gone back to work. He stays home with me and I’m now pregnant. I think I will start working again when they’re both grown up if I’m lucky enough to be able to wait that long.

I agree this is worth thinking about, even though it probably isn't in your mind when you have dc.

I must be a similar age to crossedlines and was VERY ready to retire that little bit earlier than the state pension allows. The fact I worked all my life until then and paid into my pension has allowed that.

Full time when DD was two months old. I was overseas and maternity leave was six weeks, so I was very lucky to have saved holiday to add on to it. Then you have to stay a year with your employer or pay the six weeks back, pro rata.

Mine are 8, 4 and 1. DH and I both work 0.8. Definitely neither of us would go back FT before youngest is in school (unless perhaps there's some huge unforeseeable issue meaning we don't have the choice). Once youngest is in school neither of us would be rushing back FT either, after a decade of little ones our house is going to need so much work doing to it by then that we will use the time off to sort that at first. But even longer term I can see us keeping current working patterns if we can.

Part time when they (twins) started reception. Still part time now and they’re in secondary.