Unhappy at aftercare

[Anonymous]

I have a kindergardener and we are in the same boat. He has been fine at aftercare the whole year, but a few weeks ago he got the flu and missed 4 days of school. When he went back to school, he suddenly was really unhappy in aftercare. I think he got used to being home with me when I am working from home. What is the going rate for a high school babysitter these days? About $15 an hour? Do any babysitters take $12?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My first grader liked his aftercare program last year but recently started complaining about it. He’s complaining about it often enough to make me think he’s actually bored and unhappy. I’ve been encouraging him to find something he likes to do etc but his moodiness about it persists. He has some friends there and I usually see him playing with kids or doing an activity when I pick him up, and sometimes he gets upset to leave before he finishes an activity. So i don’t see evidence that he miserable there but nonetheless concerned about the frequency of complaints. I can see how it would get boring after awhile and maybe the novelty of it has just worn off for him. Is this common and if so, what have you done about it? We need to use aftercare. It’s not possible to switch my hours around to get home when school ends and I don’t think we can afford a part time nanny. So how do we make the best of aftercare?

Maybe he just misses you and this is his way of expressing it? I know some kids hate after care. It's too loud or the providers aren't very nice or they are tired. The list goes on and on but "bored" is a new one for me. Can he bring books or his own games?

FWIW, my children thought aftercare was the best because they could play with friends. It didn't matter what activities were offered, if any at all. Maybe you should have some 1 on 1 playdates with other kids on occasion so he can get to know the other kids better? Or mix it up and let him go there 4 days a week and get a babysitter one day so he gets a break?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a handful of programs we can use in our area. I allowed my oldest son to do a little switching around when he got bored, so a year with the martial arts program, and a year with a more general program, so long as the space is available, transportation is provided, and the program seems safe and is affordable, I'm open to it. Other than that, it is what it is, unfortunately. The aftercare does get dull, and the women who run ours aren't crazy about going outside; seem to find any excuse to keep them inside. So, I get it but we still have to work within limits.

I'm not really interested in an afterschool babysitter because i think it would a) lead to electronics after school; and b) be much less reliable. If they are sick or quit, then what?

For what it is worth, and I'm not really trying to convince anyone, our teenage babysitters have been extremely responsible. If they have been sick or had a conflict, they always asked a friend to cover for them. There has been a bit of flux as one sitter decides to go out for tennis, or the school play, but it has never been hard to find another local teen to take over a few days a week.

Where do you live? (Honestly curious) We have not been able to find nearby high schoolers with the time or inclination to take on a regular afterschool job. We have had college age after school sitters a couple days per week in the past, but not HS kids, and no one 5 days/week. Agree that you don't have to pay as much as an adult nanny. You are competing with mall and restaurant jobs for that age group.

[Anonymous]

If his aftercare is onsite at his school, consider signing him up for some of the after school enrichment activities if your school offers those. For example, our school uses Flex Academy-but I know other schools run these programs through their PTA or use different vendors-and they offer after school classes a few days a week (ranging from Taekwando, drawing, cooking, coding, chess, drama, music and more). I've found these to be helpful in breaking up the monotony of aftercare for my daughter, as it gave her something to look forward to a few times a week and reduced the number of hours she is sitting around after care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s a long day, IMO. Especially for kids in K-2. An entire day of school plus the load, chaotic aftercare can be tough. I go in there to pick up my kid sometimes and the music is blasting, etc. Our counselors are good, but they’re also teens so they like it loud and chaotic. Plus, your kid is with some of these kids for a long time. Face it, sometimes other first graders can be annoying!

Maybe you could do a sitter part of the time? Or find out what it is that’s bugging him and offer suggestions to fix it in aftercare?

Ours lets a small group of kids who want more quiet, or to color, etc go to a separate room. And kids who want to run around can go elsewhere.

Agree. I am shocked how many parents think a 5-7yr old should be in school and aftercare for 10-11 hours a day. It is so sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a handful of programs we can use in our area. I allowed my oldest son to do a little switching around when he got bored, so a year with the martial arts program, and a year with a more general program, so long as the space is available, transportation is provided, and the program seems safe and is affordable, I'm open to it. Other than that, it is what it is, unfortunately. The aftercare does get dull, and the women who run ours aren't crazy about going outside; seem to find any excuse to keep them inside. So, I get it but we still have to work within limits.

I'm not really interested in an afterschool babysitter because i think it would a) lead to electronics after school; and b) be much less reliable. If they are sick or quit, then what?

For what it is worth, and I'm not really trying to convince anyone, our teenage babysitters have been extremely responsible. If they have been sick or had a conflict, they always asked a friend to cover for them. There has been a bit of flux as one sitter decides to go out for tennis, or the school play, but it has never been hard to find another local teen to take over a few days a week.

Where do you live? (Honestly curious) We have not been able to find nearby high schoolers with the time or inclination to take on a regular afterschool job. We have had college age after school sitters a couple days per week in the past, but not HS kids, and no one 5 days/week. Agree that you don't have to pay as much as an adult nanny. You are competing with mall and restaurant jobs for that age group.

I'm the PP and am in Takoma Park. I usually have two sitters, one from MWF and one for TuTh, which gives each of them some days when they are not working. It hasn't been an issue finding interested takers, especially because HS gets out so much earlier than ES. They have time to do their homework or whatever and still make it to the bus stop by 4:10, when my kids get off at the corner.