where can MS kids go if I need childcare after school
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Anonymous
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For MS kids, where can I send them if I need childcare after school hours Mon to Fri. I and DH work at office, so no one will be at home till after 6pm.
Where and what do your MS kids do after school if both parents work? |
Anonymous
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They do middle school sports & clubs
On the days they don’t have that, they stay home alone. |
Anonymous
| Why does a kid that age need childcare? I was home alone for time periods like that starting in 3rd grade. No issues. That was in 2000 btw, I’m not talking about the 70s. |
Anonymous
| A middle school-aged child is perfectly capable of coming home and watching TV for a couple hours. |
Anonymous
| The aftercare at our elementary school will take middle schoolers under special circumstances (special needs students). Most middle schoolers are going home solo. It feels weird at first when your kid hits 6th grade but quickly feels normal. |
Anonymous
| they can go home and wait for you |
Anonymous
They're also perfectly capable of doing other stuff they shouldn't be doing when they are home alone. |
Anonymous
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So, I'm assuming there is a reason you're not comfortable letting your child come home alone. Some sort of special needs, emotional turmoil, or difficult neighborhood.
You do have some choices. Your child can go to a public library and hang out in the "teen" section doing homework. There may also be a community center near you. Takoma Park has a rec center that draws a lot of MS aged kids. They can sign up for an after school club a few days a week and you can do something else the other days. |
Anonymous
| City of ROckville used to do MS afterschool programs at Thomas Farm CC and Twinbrook (?). Not sure if they still exist. We did it for social activities in 6th and 7th. It was very unstructured...use the gym, quiet room for homework, video games, go outside. have a snack. |
Anonymous
The infantalization. |
Anonymous
They go home and stay there. If they don’t need transportation, they are fine. |
Anonymous
| My kids do clubs and activities M-Th. Friday they are home for an hour alone. They call me when they arrive. Make a snack and watch a show, then I'm home. |
Anonymous
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This is op. My kid is special needs. Even though he needs minimal support at school with IEP, I don't know if I trust him walk home from school by himself. He will be fine once he is at home because he can watch screen for hours. If there are options, I want him stay at school after school clubs, but I doubt they have it available for Mon to Fri till 5:30pm or 6pm. I also don't mind if he get bused to somewhere doing activities with some supervision Mon to Fri. I don't want him randomly walking on the street or get bullied. He has no friends.
I have not given him a phone yet because I don't trust him on social media or messages. |
Anonymous
| I don’t personally know any 6th graders who come home to an empty house from 3-6:30 every day. Everyone I know has a parent who gets home early or a WFH parent or an older sibling or a younger sib (and thus a sitter/au pair). Most people are shuttling kids around to activities/practices during that time, although plenty also do after school clubs or activities. I also know a few who go and volunteer to help with a specific after school activity at their former ES. If you are not comfortable leaving your child home, don’t pay any attention to the nasty posters on here who insist they know what your family should do. |
Anonymous
I would really recommend a basic phone like a flip phone in this case. You can monitor it. |