Office fed parent - summer schedule hacks?

[Anonymous]

A huge part of switching to federal service was the flexibility with compressed days and telework. Now I'm mandated 5 days a week and full time in office. Last summer was I took a lot of leave. Couldn't think of another way to handle camp and no school. Had some babysitters but with min wage $18 was not cheap for even a high schooler. There has to be a better way. We still have situational telework and maxiflex/credit hours. Spouse travels a lot for work and also in office. Please share! What type of fed schedule works? How to maximize the remaining flexibilities?

[Anonymous]

Are your kids not in summer camp?

[Anonymous]

I actually thought summer time was the easiest time because camps go until 6.

[Anonymous]

How flexible is your schedule? Can you start early so on weeks your spouse isn't traveling you can alternate pickup and drop off?

I'd also look into the martial arts camps, as they tend to have the longer hours.

[Anonymous]

Your DH needs to make more money if he want to have a job with so much traveling. Summer is a two-man job, so you need to either afford a nanny or he needs to pick up and actually do one of the slots.

[Anonymous]

You need to find some families to do camp with and trade carpool/child wrangling duties

[Anonymous]

Summer camp

[Anonymous]

It gets easier as kids get older, OP. I remember the stress of booking back to back camps and each week had a different schedule.

Yes, leave, situational telework, and credit hours are all part of it. Carpool with another parent to help with the commute pressure and work extra on the days other parents can drive.

[Anonymous]

Maxiflex so I start at 5a and am done in time for kid pickup.

Plus acquire credit time to use a lot in the summer.

And took my pmap as AL

[Anonymous]

Camps or babysitter. What did you expect working full-time?

[Anonymous]

Not a fed, but also in 9-5 WOH type jobs here. Summer is also the hardest for us! I have an elementary schooler who is easy (he is going to camp at his old preschool), but then a middle schooler who is aging out of most summer camps and will be doing a smattering of non-all-day things, and a rising HSer who will be a JC at a camp this summer from 9-3 and also doing a half day of summer school (PE). I am just throwing money at neighborhood teens to drive the older two to their various things, but it is always so stressful to manage, and inevitably one day a week someone forgets to get someone. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

My kid is in summer camp- 8:30-3PM every day. Not exactly job friendly.

My husband and I are trading off who drops off and who leaves early to get him from camp every day.

[Anonymous]

Summer camp is also really hard for me too. I just took a lot of leave. This year my middle child is going with his best friend. Best friend's mom and I will be rotating who picks them up and keeps them until 6pm.

The worst is that my one child got selected for a camp through the school district that's two weeks and runs 8:30-12:30. Grr! I want my kids to have opportunities but nothing seems to work in my favor. Debating just teleworking a bit and getting into work at 6am. I'm drowning at work and they absolutely need me. I'm critical, much loved, and they're unable to hire right now.

[Anonymous]

We end up hiring a summer sitter for $22 or so an hour. For 2 kids it's the same as a fancy camp and the sitter stays until 5 unlike camps that end at 3.

[Anonymous]

We only did camps with before and aftercare. One parent dropped off other parent picked up.