Working- do you? How do you manage it around your childs needs?

[survivingsummer]

I've been working short, flexible hours around my DD who is at school but this contract work is now coming to an end

I now have to make a decision about applying for another part time role or becoming a SAHM again. Problem is, we have no family locally and no after school provision so I would need to find childcare - which would be a huge issue for my DD who has physical difficulties, fatigues easily and severe separation anxiety. We do get some DLA and could just about scrape by on that (DH is also working but not a high earner).

Am quite isolated from other parents who have children with SN and wondered how others do it? My career has suffered since having DD and I would be on a lower grade even if I do find employment partly because I don't want any additional responsibility at work.

Is a WWYD/WDYD kind of question really!

I find it hard. I work four days per week and am soon to start new full time job. I am about to look for a carer to look after my two. It will be v expensive and has the added hassle of being an employer myself. I sometimes find myself having to let down my employer because childcare fails or the children are ill and I have no back up because their needs are so severe. Having said all that I need to work to fund the mortgage so keep juggling all this. If I didnt have to work I wouldnt. i enjoy my job but it is exhausting and stressful to cope with alongside the full on caring that goes with my two children.

Polter - DH works a 4 day week but I would still need childcare on other days around that before and after school and there's the problem!

Cansu - that's hard going full time. Hope it works out for you..

I work during school hours, I dont earn a huge amount but it is the only way we could manage.

I couldnt use child care when Dd3 was younger and now she just needs to come home after school.

Both DH and I work flexitime. I go to work very early and he drops ds and I always do the pick up. One day a week is the other way round so I can stay at work late until I make up my 30 hours a week.
We use a childminder for school holidays.
For days when ds is sick we take it in turns. One of us goes to work in the morning and the other one in the afternoon.

Thanks! Would love to continue working around school hours but so hard to find a job/employer where this is possible. I've found employers are accommodating to a point and then they start to get difficult about working shorter hours. I think they assume it will get easier for me as DD gets older
The school holidays are a big problem for us too as in my role I'm expected to cover holidays and staff leave where possible. Is such a juggling act and sometimes I think it would be better and easier for us just to stay poor!

Gave up plans to return to work when we got bluechick's diagnosis. It just isn't an option for us at the moment. I'd like to return to work in the future though but no idea how childcare will work.

There was a thing on Woman's Hour today about this very issue. It was depressing.

I work four days a week in a corporate job but as I was full time I have managed to get hours 7-2pm so dh does the drop off and I pick up. Toddler is at a childminders. Having a baby in a few months so not sure i can offord two in childcare and cope with the stress. I might have a career break.

Both of us work full time in the city and its hard. We use babysitters to cover.

Would you be able to find students looking for careers in similar domain who might want to babysit/provide therapy to your child while you are at work?

My DH and I run a business. We started it because it was the only way of getting the flexibility we needed to look after my DS1 and it gave us the option of working at home. At the moment, DH is shouldering most of the work and I fit in hours whenever I can (which isn't much at present, as neither of my children are at school). My MIL comes to babysit occasionally when we both need to go to work for a long time, but she's in her 80s so we don't like to ask her too much.

Full-time work is out of the question, I'm afraid.

We are both self employed. There is no way we could be employed. We'd get fired.
The number of times i have to drop everything and rush to school, all the appts to attend, the fact bog stanard childcare would never have coped etc etc.

Yeah, we'd be fired too.

Another self employed here. Wasn't a planned thing as such but I was made redundant when pregnant with DD1. So set up freelance for a lack of any other option. And then after she was born and was diagnosed shortly afterwards I realised that was it. I really don't see how I could have a 'proper job' and fit in her appointments etc, not to mention the longggggggg school holidays with no childcare.

It's not easy - all my waking hours are either with the kids or working - there is nothing else - but it's more workable for me than the alternative of an employer.