School Hols – how to balance work etc.

With our 4yo about to start school in September and both of us working, my wife and I were discussing how our annual leave won’t cover six weeks in the summer plus all the half terms.

So, those already in this boat, what do you do/what’s to consider to manage the deficit between days off school and days of work?

One of you gives up work?
Share child-minding with other parents.
Grand parents/family.
Holiday clubs.

You’ve had at least 5 years to think about this…..

Parents
Grandparents
Holiday clubs (these work quite well if you find a good one)
Friends (sharing works, so you alternatively take time off to look after all the kids together)
I did a lot more working from home during that period
Cage under the stairs
T’Pit (you’d be amazed how hard it is to find one that employs children nowadays.)

What do you do now?

Well he’s at nursery 3 days a week and my wife doesn’t work the other two.

My wife and I have the same problem but we’re a year behind you Kryten, our in-laws are getting on a bit and probably wouldn’t enjoy having a 4yr old+ for several weeks.
Why are the school holidays so long? they should just get 2 weeks off in summer like the rest of us, teachers wouldn’t be laughing then!! (if you’re teacher I’m joking of course, I appreciate all the hard work you do and I could not do it myself so hats off to you, why don’t you put your feet up, for 6 weeks and 2 weeks at christmas and 2 weeks at easter and another week in the middle of term too, grrrrr)

Only took six posts for someone to have a pop at teachers’ holiday length. 🙂

This is one of the reasons I’ve left my career and now work part time at the weekends. Sure we have a lot less money, but I’m always there for my kids (3 and 7) and the wife loves her career so stuck with it where as I can’t stand work. Summer holidays for me means getting eldest out on her bike with me everyday, youngest is in nursery 3 days a week so the other two days we will do fun stuff.

Wouldn’t change it, I guess I’ll have to go back to work full time once the youngest is in school. I don’t know why more dads don’t do the same, finances permitting, kids are only young once and there’s nothing I like doing more than spending time with them, plus there is always someone there for school runs and holidays.

Only took six posts for someone to have a pop at teachers’ holiday length.

I was more amused that it only took one post to blame it on the OP

You’ve had at least 5 years to think about this…..

Is it the heat or have you always been a knob?

I was more amused that it only took one post to blame it on the OP

I did grin at this. Of course during the last 4 years and with kj02 as well that’s all I’ve thought about

So, a couple of weeks of holiday club and that leaves only 12 days to sort…

Well he’s at nursery 3 days a week and my wife doesn’t work the other two.

Is it not possible to continue this through holiday periods?

We were in a similar situation with Nobby Jr, albeit he was at a childminder as opposed to a nursery. We asked the question at an early stage & she agreed to still have him during holidays.

were in the same boat…

Friends (sharing works, so you alternatively take time off to look after all the kids together)

Hmmmmm good shout!

As above, holiday clubs, friends, grandparents, aunts, uncles etc etc

My wife is very good at making sure we sort this out weeks in advance, but the truth is that we simply can’t have time off together as much as we could before.

you had four years sort it out.this is what we did.my wife gave up full time work,she found a evening cleaning job 20hrs a week,we made adjustments ,basic tv ,no sky tv no foreign holidays,no iphones,etc etc,We relied on no one. at the end of the day they are your children,the amount of grandparents I speak to sayI I love having them to bits but it’s a tie and very exhausting having them everyday, that’s why women don’t have children at 65,it’s not just holidays what’s your plan when your 4yr old wakes up sick and is ill for few days, best of luck.

Completely pointless post ^^

Sickness etc is adhoc you react as you can you don’t plan it. My wife (and I) would rather she maintained her career rather than give it up.

Anyway, FWIW the grandparents work full time also, so it seems a mix of holiday clubs and time off will be the way to go.

right I’ve researched this intensively and by intensive I mean I’ve searched on google for 20 minutes. The antiquated holiday system has it’s origin in the past when kids were required to help gather crops and they finish at 3.30 to help round the house etc.

The roots of the scheduling rest in our agricultural heritage, when families required their children’s labour in the summer to pick fruit and farm the land. The reasoning behind a 3.30pm finish was largely the same: children were needed to help at home, with cleaning, cooking and laundry. Nowadays the chores consist of little more than turning on the dishwasher.

It’s time for a change I feel. This system is no longer relevant to modern life and it’s about time it was changed to favour the capitalist society in which we live, in order to assist the working family. Now who’s gonna suggest it to the teaching unions?

So your solution that kids should

1. Stay in school much longer each day than they currently do.

and

2. Get far fewer holidays than they currently do (I’m assuming that you don’t want to keep the holidays the same as this wouldn’t solve the OPs problem.)

Do you actually like children?

right I’ve researched this intensively and by intensive I mean I’ve searched on google for 20 minutes. The antiquated holiday system has it’s origin in the past when kids were required to help gather crops and they finish at 3.30 to help round the house etc.

You probably need to be doing a bit more research.

Is this ^^ all going to happen before next August?

yup that sounds about right gofish. I love my little girl but I wouldn’t see her any less because I am at work. I finish work at 6 most days and get home at half past, if she finishes school at 3.30 or 6 I’ll still see her the same amount of time. Likewise in the school holidays, whether she gets 2 weeks off or 6 I only get a limited amount of days so won’t be with her any more or any less, but it would mean we wouldn’t have to inconvenience the in-laws.

. I love my little girl but I wouldn’t see her any less because I am at work.

I have to say I was thinking more about her than you. I can see how these changes wouldn’t impact you but I can see how they would have a huge and negative impact on your daughter.

I’d love to tell a lofty story of principled and stoic self-sacrifice, while still remaining humble enough not to get preachy about it. Like the one above. However I can’t. I just make sure the DVD player and Wii are switched on, leave them enough pop and crisps to get through the day, then go to work.

We’ve got neighbours with kids the same age, so if they really get in trouble they can go and impose themselves on them for a bit. Usually around lunchtime

oh I see, well perhaps school doesn’t need to have so much time spent on education if they’re in there for longer.

Who was it who had somebody’s kid knocking at his door all day? Maybe his parents are taking the binbins approach. 😀

Reading the press this week, apparently the schools will get the power to decide their own holiday. So if you have one kid at primary and one at secondary potentially you may have more than 6 weeks to cover.

I wish I could put my feet up in the holidays… Loads of work to do, parents to ring etc etc.

Best to think of it as time the kids aren’t at school rather than holiday in the usual sense.

GB

Make friends with a couple of teachers and have them coordinate their holidays to make sure you can off load junior on to one of them for the duration 😉

Cheers,
Jamie

Hmmm, perhaps a chain of “summer training workshops” in textile production could be the answer. How young is too young for operating a sewing machine or steam press? 😉

It’s time for a change I feel. This system is no longer relevant to modern life and it’s about time it was changed to favour the capitalist society in which we live, in order to assist the working family. Now who’s gonna suggest it to the teaching unions?

Yeah, if there’s one thing wrong with schooling it’s that it’s not capitalist enough. 😕

You or your wife should go into teaching. Loads of holidays and a short working day. Sorted. *

*Only joking, my Mrs is a teacher, so I know the reality.

First year for us with my son at primary school

Some holiday taken by us
Mrs Clubber works 3 or 4 days a week so covers the other days
grand parents (staying with us for some of the holidays)
grand parents v2 (Kids stay with them for a few days)
Son looked after by his friends’ parents (and we return the favour)
Summer camps (sports/activity camp type things for a few days)

The main thing we’ve found is just to get it planned in advance so that you know what’s covered and what’s not – we then take holiday for any gaps.

Why are the school holidays so long?

Kids need the rest

So that they can work in the fields collecting the harvest. Maybe…

johndoh – Member
You’ve had at least 5 years to think about this…..

Is it the heat or have you always been a knob?

Shame on me for thinking that the OP might have considered all the implications of havings kids. It’s not like long summer holidays are a complete surprise.

Anyway, do you have anything constructive to add to this thread or is personal abuse as much as you can manage (well, after self abuse I guess)

scotroutes – do you have any kids, and if so, did you spend the first four years planning out their little lives to the nth degree?

Or did you go through a manci change management phase like the rest of us and sometimes have to deal with these kind of issue. You might not however if you read my OP properly, I am giving myself a year to deal with this, I humbly considered that to be enough….

Well you could have done what I did.
I finished work yesterday until the 1st week of September.
Even better no kids!
Even better I am a teacher.
Best of all a supply teacher no nothing to do over the summer.
Smug git goes off for another bike ride after a morning with the chainsaw 😆

Kryton – yes and we did consider pretty major stuff like childcare arrangements and costs thanks. Like I said, it’s hardly news and that’s why I offered some suggestions iny first post.

Well, well done on being so organised. I have to admit to considering most things before birth, just not the activity / work life balance in the school holiday period 5 years hence.