What does your secondary school aged child do after school? (As in, childcare...)

[edamsavestheday]

Bit befuddled. ds goes up to secondary in Sept. Childminders and after school clubs don't take children past primary - yet dh and I both work full time with long commutes, so can't get home until 6.30 at the very earliest. Ds's school chucks out at 3.20 - three hours is just too long to leave him.

What do you do with your children past primary? (NB we don't have a spare room for an au pair.)

When my eldest started, he carried on going to the childminder for September, just whilst he was getting used to all the differences, then after that he was always too busy at after school clubs or going to friends houses,playing footie in the park, or, occasionally coming home on his own.
Different though, as I'd be home by about 5.15
I agree that almost 3 hours home on his own every night might be a bit long initially.
What about a 6th former 'being there' - cheaper than getting a housekeeper type person, but just 'another person' being in the house to chat to sometimes, or to set a good example over starting homework etc.
The Head of 6th Form might have made enquiries for you - but a bit late in the term now maybe? Unless there's someone you know.

I leave work, pick them up, take them home. DD(15) is picked up from the golf club near her school, as DS (14) is in school in the next town, whereas I work in the town of DD's school. Leave work at 3:20, get to DS's school, pick him up at 3:40, pick DD up at 3:55-ish.

Thanks Back and mumto. He goes to after school club now but although they have said they'd still have him, he's already grown out of it really and I think would be horrified at the idea of going when he's in secondary!

I've found a youth club that runs three days a week - called after school chill - which he's going to investigate on Tuesday. Apparently they always have plenty of Year 7s at the start of the year. At least it's somewhere to go and hang out, has air hockey and x boxes and a tuck shop so he's interested (and it would be a handy location to meet up with his best buddy who is going to a different school). And I hopehe will take up some school clubs and activities. Plus the library is open until five.

And we may use the money left over from not paying for after school club to get a cleaner in a couple of days - not to look after ds, but a. do the cleaning and b. just be an adult in the building. NOT expecting them to supervise ds, but I'd feel happier if there was someone here, at least part of the time.

Finding a teenager who can drop in is probably a good thing too. I'll ask around.

The Youth Club sounds good - I'd forgotten, ds used to go to a youth club a couple of nights a week, straight from school when he was in Yrs 7 - part way thru Yr9

Mine come home and are at hom until I get here but

aargh sorry.

Mine are at home until I get home but that is at 4.30 latest (I work in a school). So that's fine esp as DS1 is 15 now (gasp). They also have clubs now and then till 4.30 etc. Sometimes they go out to their own clubs eg DS2 has cricket from 4pm one night.

Is there any way you can come home earlier and work from home? Even an hour? Failing that can he use the school library after school (you can where I work) for an hour? Go to a mate's house (tho this is easier if you can do a quid pro quo).

Sadly my employers are not family friendly. They turned down a colleague's request to start half an hour later, ffs. This is an office job, not brain surgery or bus driving! There is NO working from home ever, apart from the chief executive, even when the entire rail network was down the half dozen of us who couldn't get in all had to take annual leave.

I've been wracking my brains trying to think of a way to change my hours, but it's such a long journey to work I'd have to leave home at ridiculous o'clock to finish by 4.30 - and early mornings are not great for me (for medical reasons, I need my sleep!). dh has an equally long commute - he currently leaves home before me so he can get back before me, in time to pick ds up from after school club at 6.30.

Anyway, moan moan whinge whinge, thanks for listening and there are some good ideas here.

DD4 (now 12) has walked home (30 mins) for the last two years, and then had to have her homework finished before I got home (6ish) plus the dishwasher emptied. She did two sports last school year, requiring getting back to the school for 4.30 practices twice a week with all her gear in her bag. On snowy or wet days she had to organise a lift for herself. Some nights she had games that started before I got home and she organised those lifts too. DD3 was sometimes home and sometimes not as she had school activities after 3pm some days too.

We are too far from DD4's school for anyone to be bothered hiking all the way home with DD4 even for the purposes of mischief.

Can you have 2-3 afternoons blocked off with activities? If you live in/near a university area you could have a uni student be an after school nanny for you.