So overwhelmed by parenting + working FT from home

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That new bill Congress just passed gives you up to 6 weeks 18 weeks of paid leave. From a Washington Post article on it:

"The new law grants two weeks of paid sick leave at 100 percent of the person’s
normal salary, up to $511 per day. It would also provide up to 12 weeks of paid
family and medical leave at 67 percent of the person’s normal pay, up to $200 per
day."

We're in the same boat as you, and we're only 1 week into it and work is already slipping. We may take turns availing ourselves of this option if our employers aren't willing to cut any slack.

So if I take this, is this LWOP at my job? What happens to benefits like health insurance? I make 95k so more than $200 a day. Is the $200 taxed?

Even if I could just do a week I think it would get better. My toddlers (1 and 3) are really upset. I don't have a fenced yard so it's not like they can go outside while I'm working. My 1.5 year old was especially upset and just cried in the corner multiple times today. And we played a lot today, ate their favorite meals and did things they wanted. Mine are bad ages. My 3 year old loves her calico critters and puzzles, but the 1 year old just destroys those things and they get so upset at each other. 3 year old wants to watch movies and the 1 year old wants nothing to do with that. I think if I had even a 2 and a 3 year old I'd be okay.

[Anonymous]

I have 5, 3 and 1 year olds and a ER doctor husband who obviously isn’t teleworking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two choices: quit or hire help

NP but (a) not feasible and (b) ever heard of social distancing? I'm not hiring someone to come here and bring their contacts into my home. This is why we are in the midst of a pandemic. Because of idiots like you who don't understand why we are being asked to stay at home.

You can't have your nanny still coming! So much for social distancing! My friends who have nannies either paid them more to move in or cut them out (but still paying).

Oh please. Nanny is part of the household (even if she physically lives somewhere else). There are still parents who are going out to work.

[Anonymous]

Let the dust collect.

With a job + two young kids, you really don’t need a clean home.

Just do the dishes, empty out the trash & scrub the toilets.
And change your bedsheets.

But the rest can wait.
I promise.

[Anonymous]

Hire a high school student or college student asap.

Be thankful you still have a job.

PEOPLE, HIRE SOME HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO HELP YOU. THEY ARE AVAILABLE AND LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO.

BE THANKFUL YOU HAVE A JOB. MANY PEOPLE DON'T.

[Anonymous]

Pay a neighbor kid to come over to watch the children.

[Anonymous]

Lots of sympathy, OP. But seriously, call out sick. Take a couple days, then have your spouse take a couple days, then restart at a slower pace that allows time for rest and family. This is going to be a long term thing and you need to pace yourself. Your kids need you rested and sane.

Companies that behave like yours (delusional, inflexible) are already losing productivity as employees get sick and buildings close. If they were smarter they would be flexible now, to avoid that. If they won't be smart then you need to _take_ the flexibility you need even if that means late delivery of a work product. Negative business impacts is a pretty minor concern right now, do the bare minimum to keep your job.

[Anonymous]

OP, I get it. My husband and I are both teleworking, but neither of us can "call out sick" in any realistic way unless we legit get COVID 19. Our employers (and coworkers, and supervisors, and direct reports, etc.) all need things from us and we have so much work to get done. Plus we know we're not the only ones struggling so we're not about to dump the work on other people. And we can't exactly call in sick for 8 weeks!!

But we have two young kids at home and IT IS SO HARD. I'm exhausted, and it's only week 1. I don't have any advice. Just commiseration.

[Anonymous]

My job is actually busier because of all of this and I am trying to do it all and FAILING. We have a 1.5 and 3 year old and I blow through a day of "home preschool" activities in 2-3 hours and then resort to movies/TV.

I was venting to a neighbor from my socially distant porch and another neighbor gave me shit for letting my kid watch two movies yesterday. Glad this is bringing out the best in people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I get it. My husband and I are both teleworking, but neither of us can "call out sick" in any realistic way unless we legit get COVID 19. Our employers (and coworkers, and supervisors, and direct reports, etc.) all need things from us and we have so much work to get done. Plus we know we're not the only ones struggling so we're not about to dump the work on other people. And we can't exactly call in sick for 8 weeks!!

But we have two young kids at home and IT IS SO HARD. I'm exhausted, and it's only week 1. I don't have any advice. Just commiseration.

This is such BS. If you had the flu, if you broke your arm, if your kid was ill, you would call out for a day or more and your work would be fine. If you died, your work would figure it out. A lot of people here are addicted to the feeling of busyness. The universe is giving you an unprecedented opportunity to slow down and you won't take it.

I have a job, I manage people, I have deliverables. They can wait a few hours each day, or a day or two. They can call me if I'm offline and they desperately need an answer. It's ok to put myself first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I get it. My husband and I are both teleworking, but neither of us can "call out sick" in any realistic way unless we legit get COVID 19. Our employers (and coworkers, and supervisors, and direct reports, etc.) all need things from us and we have so much work to get done. Plus we know we're not the only ones struggling so we're not about to dump the work on other people. And we can't exactly call in sick for 8 weeks!!

But we have two young kids at home and IT IS SO HARD. I'm exhausted, and it's only week 1. I don't have any advice. Just commiseration.

This is such BS. If you had the flu, if you broke your arm, if your kid was ill, you would call out for a day or more and your work would be fine. If you died, your work would figure it out. A lot of people here are addicted to the feeling of busyness. The universe is giving you an unprecedented opportunity to slow down and you won't take it.

I have a job, I manage people, I have deliverables. They can wait a few hours each day, or a day or two. They can call me if I'm offline and they desperately need an answer. It's ok to put myself first.

This x1000. The only thing worse than SAHMartyrs is WOHMartyrs. Yes, the world can survive if you take a day off. You may think the company would go bankrupt without you, but they’re resilient, I promise.

[Anonymous]

Its so hard, so sorry OP. I would ask your nanny if she wants to stay with you and you can pay her a little extra. She may be more open to it than you realize.

[Anonymous]

Why isn’t your nanny coming? If she has kids let her bring them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two choices: quit or hire help

NP but (a) not feasible and (b) ever heard of social distancing? I'm not hiring someone to come here and bring their contacts into my home. This is why we are in the midst of a pandemic. Because of idiots like you who don't understand why we are being asked to stay at home.

You can't have your nanny still coming! So much for social distancing! My friends who have nannies either paid them more to move in or cut them out (but still paying).

Oh please. Nanny is part of the household (even if she physically lives somewhere else). There are still parents who are going out to work.

They may be part of the household, but unless they are live-in, they are living in a different household.
We are still paying our nanny, but she's staying home. She lives with her husband, who is still going out to work (grocery store). Her stepdaughter lives with them every other week. The stepdaughter's mother is also currently working out of the home, and she's married, and has a child from her current marriage. Our nanny isn't able to isolate, so she's not coming to our house.
It sucks. It's hard. I'm up until 2 AM most mornings, finishing my work. But it's what we need to do to stay healthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hire a high school student or college student asap.

Be thankful you still have a job.

PEOPLE, HIRE SOME HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO HELP YOU. THEY ARE AVAILABLE AND LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO.

BE THANKFUL YOU HAVE A JOB. MANY PEOPLE DON'T.

And bring more germs into the house?!
THIS is why the virus is spreading so fast - because people aren't willing to isolate themselves!