Single mum

[Crazyblondie]

Hey guys,im a single mum to two no father or family close by for help.i am sole carer and do all the schools runs etc they solely rely on me for eveything.
I recieve uc and uc rent/housing payments.
I know I will need to start thinking about work soon and know its a very limited amount of hours I can do before I loose my uc housing allowance.I am very aware I have no help close by with school holidays ....which they seem to have alot of from school. Few people have mentioned working in a school for the hours and mainly school holidays off.someone has mentioned working in a nursery and an apprentship at the same time ,again for school hours.

I used to work with animals and thought maybe I could look at doing an animal care course and offer walking and pet care services..long term I know this probably isnt financially the best jobs and also if I had the boys off school or ill etc I will still need to take care of the animals with them in tow....i was looking into this as I wanted to do somthing I enjoyed thats flexible around my boys but long term it concerns me financially dog walkers seem to charge a minimum wage. Working in a school setting..it almost feels like im going to have to do it knowing I probably won't enjoy it ,but may have do it while my boys rely on me so much. Anybody else in the same boat ? Any advice or suggestions would be amazing.feeling very lost with it all. Thankyou

Hi OP, a school does seem like the best option, especially for the holidays, I would check there are breakfast and afterschool clubs available at your children's schools as its likely even working in a school you won’t be able to drop and pick them up as you’ll need to be at work.

Research as much as you can about dog walking as essentially you’ll be self employed so will need to look into I’m guessing some kind of insurance and you’ll still have to pay tax and work out a pension for your self.

Do you have space in your home where you can offer boarding for dogs or cats for when owners go on holiday this could provide more income.

You could also maybe look at training in nails, eyelashes etc if thats an interest for you if you wanted to be self employed at home.

If you did need to work full time childminders are a great option and as you are on UC you can get help towards childcare.

I was a single mum for many years and worked full time and it is really hard however I had family help and I did use a childminder also, best of luck x

I don’t think anyone should work with children unless they want to. Recipe for disaster. Could McDonalds or a local supermarket give you the hours you want? Some of them will consider it as they tend to have plenty of students who only want weekends so they like having weekday staff to make up hours. Others are utterly crap and will make you work a saturday or sunday every week.

if you don’t want to work in a school, very few other jobs require school hours only, so you need to look at how you extend the hours the kids are in childcare for to give you at least some flexibility. Universal credit will cover the cost of childcare if you’re in work (or the vast majority of it), as an additional element.

Does the school have wraparound care?
or are there child minders near you?

Make sure your children's school has a breakfast club and after achool club. From next year UC claimants will get breakfast club for free then you will get an 85% rebate on any additional childcare you use.

I actually find it less stressful and more cost effective to use holiday clubs and annual leave than to work term time but that's a personal decision I suppose.

I was a single mum of twins from the time they were 4 months old until DH and I met when they were 6 and moved in together when they were 8. Their father has had no involvement and I have no family, so I fully understand how daunting it is when you’re truly alone and how even something as simple as a nursery closure day can cause so much stress. But you can do this. If you can cope with your current situation you really can.

I was luckier than you because I had a decent job with a fab boss and only took maternity leave rather than having to start again. He was incredibly understanding and we’re still in touch now. However, I did retrain when the DC started school and I could afford it and started a new career when they were 6 (which is how I met DH). And I’ve learned a few things through all these stages.

I’m not going to lie - the first 4 years nearly broke me. Because I had a job and a mortgage I didn’t qualify for any benefits other than a contribution towards childcare (which I could not have survived without) and I ran at a loss for those four years, selling off everything I could of value and accumulating debt. Child care costs crippled me. When the DC started school, it got easier financially but the same challenges applies practically - inset days and holidays were a nightmare, etc. I relied on friends. I always felt i was just treading water rather than really living. Hence the decision to retrain.

i don’t know what, if any, plans you have for your future, but if retraining exists anywhere, my advice would be plan on that rather than a job when your DC start school. Long term it will pay dividends and in the short term it is far more compatible with being a single parent. Plus you get a lot more support financially as a single parent than you will at any other time.

The other piece of advice I’d give, whatever your plans, is cultivate your friendships. I have three amazing friends (all single mums when I met them) that I really could not have coped without. I love those women like family.

Good luck! Single mums get a lot of stick but I like to point that they are the parents who stayed around for their kids and raised them, on their own. Most are strong women.