What to do when they are sick?

[JessEvasMum]

I have worked from home since before my daughter was born but it looks like I am going to have to go back into the office soon. She is currently in reception and catches every little bug that runs through the school. Most of the time it's just a sniffle and she is fine to go in. However today for example she has been sick, vomiting, and running a fever so I've kept her home. What do Mums working outside of the house do? I'm not sure how I am going to handle days like today when I am back in the office.

My Mother in law seems uninterested in helping out. Rather than answering me when I asked if she would be able to help me out on days like today, as she isn't working, she just responded by guilting me about going back into the office. She told me how I would struggle to cope, that my daughter is too young for me to be working outside of the home, and how I will miss all her breaks and not be there for her. To be honest that just left me in tears. Not working isn't an option.

It's harder if you're f/t or in a service type job that requires presence on specific days. I'm p/t and my first preference is to switch my working days around. Failing that, DH is self employed so we can usually cobble it together with a bit of half-a-day each, and WFH as much as you can. Sometimes a daytime agency babysitter is handy (we use Sitters) if the kid is no longer actually ill and just being kept at home for 48hr exclusion -- if you needed someone to do crafts at the kitchen table with them while you worked upstairs for example.

Also it does get easier! They get so many bugs in the first year. A vomiting reception child needs constant cuddles. A year 2 with a sore throat is a bit more compliant for sitting quietly on the sofa watching cbbc with grapes so hang in there.

If your child is sick, once you are back at work, and your partner works as well, then you just have to take unpaid leave to stay home with your child, taking it in turns, so it doesn’t end up just you taking the time off, and not your husband. It’s shit, but that’s the only way you can do it, if no one else is around to help you.

We both rearrange things and wfh so we can take in turns to do work and be with dc. Both tell work we’re doing that so may not respond as quickly as usual to things.

Call the office and say you'll have to reschedule the meeting as your toddler is vomiting.

Oh wait, that wasn't me, that was my male boss who is the senior manager.

The world didn't end, it's just part of life and having working parents.

Since Covid and hybrid working, we've either split the day if we're both WFH or whoever is WFH that day does the childcare. Luckily have flexible employers who care more about the work being done than working set hours. But ours are 4 and 6 now so we can more easily work whilst they watch TV/play if they're well enough.

Before Covid, they were both at nursery and we were both in the office full time and we would take turns to take the day off as emergency carers' leave where the first day was paid. I used to only work three days a week then so we never had to use unpaid leave, but that would have been the next option.

We don't have family support, but even if we did, it wouldn't have been fair to subject them to sickness bugs or major contagious illness, which is pretty much the reasons they would have been off anyway!

You take annual leave or a dependants day

It depends on your job. In my job it wasn't possible to take time off at short notice, not could sick leave be used for childcare, so I had to employ a nanny.

Annual leave, TOIl, unpaid emergency leave for dependents.

You and DH both need to check your company policies on carers leave.
My DH and I have always taken it turns to take time off. We're lucky that we both get paid carers days, I get 3 he gets 2 a year.

Other than that it would be unpaid carers day, annual leave or you tell your boss you have a sick child and you'll work from home.