FT/PT working mums - what do you do about summer holiday childcare?

**Samba** · 25-05-2012, 06:56pm

Fantastic, congratulations!

I'm part-time and sort out the holidays fast n' loose just before they come up! Our summer hols last just over 6 weeks:
2 of those will be our family holiday
MIL is taking them both for one week

I will ask my Mum if she'll have them for 2 days (to cover my working week & DH doesn't work Fridays)
Then the last 2 they will spend at local council run kids clubs, its much cheaper than putting them in a nursery. They love it, its mainly sporty games n stuff.

When DS2 was still in nursery, it was so much easier as he had wrapround care.

Good kuck!

**scatterbrain** · 25-05-2012, 07:13pm

Congratulations :-)

holiday childcare...good luck! I used to do a combination of school holiday clubs, nursery (as Abi's nursery would take Elena if they had space until she was 5), sports centre activities, local church youth club holiday club week etc. No local childminders had school holiday availability that wasn't booked up well in advance. If the school holiday club had been better she may well have just gone there all the time, but she got bored & needed variety. No local family willing to help unless it's an emergency (but that's another story) & on occasion I have shared care (reciprical play dates) with friends.

Now I work flexibly for myself I book them in to clubs where I can & work until midnight most nights to catch up.

S

**Sam** · 25-05-2012, 07:26pm

Plus don't forget that at some point you will be entitled to take holidays

**Timothy's Mum** · 25-05-2012, 08:22pm

This year a week off with either parent and childminder for the rest. Last year a private nanny in our house and crippled ourselves financially so not doing that again!

**fifitrix** · 25-05-2012, 08:44pm

Originally Posted by Sam

Plus don't forget that at some point you will be entitled to take holidays

Yes! This is the bit that people forget! You will be able to work it out, it takes a little bit of planning but that's all. J loves her holiday club - its so much more fun than being at home with me

**popinjay1** · 25-05-2012, 09:00pm

The girls go into holiday club for probably 4 out of the 6 weeks. Boys are currently at the preschool there so will do the same once they start reception. I take a week off and they go to their dads one week. Half terms I usually try and use friends (and return the favour on my days off) and Christmas again me or their dad.

**Faith** · 25-05-2012, 09:15pm

There's actually quite a lot when you look into it.

Try:

Dance schools- many have "performance weeks" where you go in every day and do HSM of whatever, with a performance at the end.

Sports clubs- football, gymnastics etc, many clubs will do full "fun" days- or at least a good few hours, 9-3 is common.

Ask at school, our PE teacher runs multisport days in the holidays, a couple of weeks at each school.

Check soft play and leisure centres, there's often schemes there.

Check your council website. Our council sets up a marquee in a local park next to a secondary school, and runs multisport camps all through the holidays, using the school facilities if the weather's awful.

There's the big ones like barracudas...

Round here there's a growing number of small business mums who are running craft days from school halls- look out for flyers.

Some of the bigger nurseries do holiday schemes.

We usually managed surprisingly well

. A week gymnastics, couple of weeks at the school activity camp, my mum would come down for a week, I'd take holiday PT 6 days gave me the last two weeks. Now we've been at school a while I've got to know a few other mums who work, so I will take the kids for some days, and she'll do others. I had a colleague who this used to work really well for, she got together with another mum who worked full time and they each took a week's holiday, which covered two weeks, with the no-cost bonus.

Or you do what Dh's ex did, get divorced and expect your ex or his family to take them

**cheeky_biscuit** · 25-05-2012, 09:38pm

We have MIL nearby do that helps and DH works from home so again very flexible.
The girls go to a performing arts holiday club which they enjoy - it's also not for profit so works out very reasonably.
I think I'll have a week or 2 on leave but they only get 5wks 2days off .

**Northern Angel** · 25-05-2012, 10:06pm

I work four days per week and have flexi time and a fairly flexible diary (although a very full diary too!). I take three weeks out of six off, one at the start and two at the end. The other three weeks I ask my Mam and MIL to do extra. We generally box and cox it; DH finishes at 3pm and I can finish early as long as I am doing the work(I log on from home after the kids are in bed too). This year is the first time with two kids, so I may work 11 - 7 some days; dropping kids off at 10am and DH picking up at 4pm so its not such a long day for the grandparents.

**Bluebabe75** · 26-05-2012, 03:36pm

I work three days a week. Em is in private nursery two days a week and she will continue doing that

Our current plan is that my parents will have them for a couple of weeks (one day with both, two days with just Matthew), DH and I will take time off separately and then we are going to Menorca for a week. I'm lucky that my parents want to have them so much though.