Academics! Quick survery: what childcare do/did you use, and how many hours?

[dontrunwithscissors]

This is partly out of interest, but also to get some ideas about what childcare options are realistic when I return to work. So....

1. What type of childcare do/did you use.
2. What hours did you cover?

Thanks, dontrun.

I have mine in nursery full time. They are there from about 7.45 to 4.15.

I try when they are young (pre 18 months ish) to keep them home one or two days a week (and work around them) but its very stressful on a FT contract. Somehow a meeting will get put on those days!

Nursery here too - universities often have very good ones (although dd is actually in an NHS one). She's there two days a week and we also have one or other grandmother two days a week. I am no longer mainstream academia though - I'm editing a journal and teaching on top of that, and I cut back quite a bit on the teaching when I had dd. Makes for a much more consistent workload which I've found easier to manage with a young baby - none of the spells of intense activity followed by more flexible fallow research periods!

Good luck, hope you work something out that makes you all happy.

Hello, I am a postdoc on a research only contract for two years, so might not be typical in that I have a massive amount of flexibility about how I manage my time. I work absolutely full time and a bit more, but it's very much like doing another Phd in terms of when I do the work. So I use a nursery, from about 8am to 5pm, five days a week. It's OK. I thought originally that I would take some time out during the week, say Friday afternoons, but that hasn't happened, too much to do and not able to make up that much time elsewhere.

We have had a variety as we had 3 children and moved cities and jobs at one point, and both DP and I switched between part time and full time work at various points when they they were babies and toddlers.

generally, the dds went to nursery 2 or 3 days a week and DP and I had a day or two days off a week each. DP was officially part time (not an academic), I was sometimes officially part time, sometime full time but taking Fridays off, but with evening and weekend work/conferences making up the hours to full time.

The best childcare was our university nursery, it was excellent and cheap, but it made for a grim commute.

what I never did was try and work without childcare with babies or toddlers. just too stressful.

With ds1 we had him at the University nursery for 4 mornings a week plus one full day. I had him at home for two afternoons per week, dp had him at home for two afternoons per week, so dp and I both were on 80% contracts. We did this from when ds1 was about 5.5 months old.

DS1 is now at school but with ds2 (2 yo) dp stays home with him as due to health problems we did not feel we could put him into nursery or with a childminder.

The only thing I would say is that if you are going to consider a University nursery and it is a good one, get your name on the waiting list early. The one at my university often has a 1 year waiting list!

I'm a lecturer. DS goes to nursery 2 days, with my Mum 2 whole days and usually also with her Friday morning or afternoon, sometimes all day (Friday is flexible depending on how much I have on, whether DH is at home etc!)
I live 15 minutes from work and nursery is 2 minutes (exactly!) from home, and I try to leave work at around 4-4.30, although I do another stint after DS has gone to bed, mainly non-thinking things like deal with e-mails, paperwork etc. (And dare I say marking too...)

But, I'm in an strange job in an odd dept for my subject area; still not on a permanent contract. I was offered a (perfect) permanent job elsewhere, but had to turn it down for the convenience and family backup I have here.

Thanks for those responses. Unfortunately, my University nursery doesn't take children until they're 2 yrs and prioritise students' children (ie it's pretty useless). I'm in a really awkward position that there aren't any decent nurseries within a reasonable travelling distance of home/work, with the exception of one that only takes children from 2 years old, meaning I can't use it for both girls. The childminder DD1 currently goes to can't take both girls every day, and doesn't do pick-ups/drop-offs for pre-school nursery anyway. The likelihood of me finding a childminder which will fit all my requirements is pretty much zero. Still with me....?

My plan at the moment is:

• Mon & Tues: DH drops both DD's with current childminder, 7.30-5.30.
• Wed & Thurs: DD1 in the nursery (above), which will satisfy a need for some type of pre-school education for her. DD2 with the childminer, 8.00-4.00.
• I'd look after them on Friday morning, and swap with DH when he gets in at 1.15pm.

Add to that working for a couple of hours on an evening, Mon-Thurs on emails etc.

This is all getting very complicated......

I'm trying to get the balance of enjoying a bit of flexibility of the job, whilst also being realistic about the amount of time I need to turn out some decent research (because I really need to turn out some publications.) I've a terrible habit of thinking I can do waaaay more than is realistic.

I am a full time lecturer in a humanities department, so lots of flexibility as to where I can work when not teaching.

My kids are with a childminder 8am to 4.15pm four days a week. DH, who does flexitime at work, does the majority of picking up and dropping off as I have the longer commute. I stay at home with the kids most Fridays. I make up the hours on Saturdays/evenings (plus, I reckon, all the work I did during my two maternity leaves!).

I did consider going part time, but discussion with other part time academics at my university suggested this was a very bad idea, as you end up getting paid less to do almost the same work.

I am just about managing to put in a decent show, publications-wise. Though I have a year of research leave in 2010-11 which will help me!

sorry that your nursery situation isn't ideal, dontrun. But it doesn't matter how complicated your arrangements sound when you try to write them down - if they work, they work! So I hope that you find that they do.

It does sound to me as though you are being fairly realistic but you can always seek more childcare (e.g. childminder on Fridays too?) if you find that you need it - I had to extend dd's two afternoons at nursery into two full days just to try to get some research done.

Research has also improved enormously since dh offered to look after her on Saturday mornings while I try to finish my book - this is working very nicely, it's amazing how much I can get done when I'm focused (and aware there's not much time), and they have a whale of a time.