Unexpectedly laid off- what to do about childcare? Has anyone been through this?
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Anonymous
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I was laid off once, and we kept our daycare spot for 1 kid & aftercare spot for 1 kid. I was really stressed to not ruining kids routines and looking for jobs behind their backs. Daycare/aftercare spots costed $2,900/month & kid's private classes of $700. I took the first job offer after I got laid off for 1.5 months. I could go on to other company interviews for much more better pay but I was so stressed even though my career seemed to be in high demand. A few companies interested in me, but I hated going to job interviews.
If it is my DH, he will relax at home for a few months doing nothing and take his sweet time looking for next job. |
Anonymous
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Not in DMV. Corporate restructuring occurred the month I returned from extended FMLA for 2nd baby (6 months total leave, 4 months unpaid). I was also blindsided. Laid off the day I returned to work during the Great Recession.
I had 5 day/week care lined up for a toddler and infant at a stand-alone church daycare. I believe I cut it back to 3 days per week for both kids. It took me 3 months to get some freelance work and 7 months to find a new corporate job. Then I went back to full-time care. I was always uncomfortable about hiring a nanny for a variety of reasons. The center-based care allowed more flexibility and was cheaper. There were some downsides but overall I think I made a good choice. My kids have turned out fine and they respect what a working mom has to do to get by. I know it is a horrible experience to have this happen by surprise. My sympathies to you, OP. Do what you have to do, and eventually everything will fall back into place. |
Anonymous
Don't you think she should ask the nanny how she feel about this? |
Anonymous
Oh God no. I can't be 24/7 with my kids |
Anonymous
If the OP is the same poster on JOBS thread, No she didn’t get severance |
Anonymous
Do you live in the real world? OP lost her job, and she needs a job. Doing fun things with her kids isn't her top priority right now. OP, I don't know enough about your industry (I couldn't do consulting in mine, for example), but I would think about what you need to do to get another job, whether that's with a company or on your own, and then figure out how you can accomplish that. If you need to be going to interviews or job fairs or conferences, then you'll need to keep your childcare. If it's something you can work on 2-3 hours a day, then maybe scale back on the childcare expenses while making sure you have time cut out for the job search/development. |
Anonymous
| Find a daycare ( some take as you as 2 month old), let nanny go, take care of kids while searching for next job, then send kids to daycare after you find a job before prek starts. Depend on your new job ( full or part time) and income and work hour, you may reconsider full day or half day prek. |
Anonymous
| Young* not you |
Anonymous
How do you take care of 2 kids while needing to do phone interview and inperson interviews and networking coffees etc on other people's schedule whims. Its very self defeating to try to look for a job just to have to say "i'm sorry I can't interview any of the 3 time slots you gave you" bc you can't find someone to watch your kids |
Anonymous
Right? And if it was the husband that lost the job, would everyone be recommending that they give up childcare and he have fun with the kids while looking for a new job? I know a family where it is the DH who has been out of work for a year and both of their kids are still in daycare. I'm not sure how they are swinging it exactly, except that I know their mortgage payment is relatively low and one of the kids will go to kindergarten next fall. |
Anonymous
| Apparently. Many of you think the nanny should work for free! OP lost her job and she can't afford the nanny. |
Anonymous
I was the earlier one laid off and had to job search without childcare. You job search during naps, after bedtime, my husband was super helpful and would come home so I could interview, we became very comfortable asking for “help” (neighbors coming over to sit and play for a couple hours if my spouse couldn’t be there). Was it ideal? Of course not, like most things that suck in life you make it work. Employing a full time household member after you’ve lost 50% of your income is not something *the vast majority of people* are able to do (and you likely wouldn’t be able to either). |
Anonymous
| You don’t want to use your saving until you really have no other options. DH had been on a job for 20 years was under the pressure being laid off for 2-3 years, his company was outsourcing to low cost country and laid off 3/4 or 4/5 employees. He was lucky didn’t get laid off and finally found another job but it’s after he’s been looking for more than 4 years. He paid off our mortgage and car loans and planned for the worst situation. |
Anonymous
| Run your numbers but I’d lean towards keeping your nanny. It will help you lay some good groundwork with your job search. Let your nanny know you’ve been laid off but plan to keep her in mail she finds another fmily in the summer, or earlier if the right situation comes up. I’ve known families who have lost their long time nanny any varying points the summer before the youngest starts kindergarten. It’s not like Nannie’s all start their new jobs the day a kid starts Kindergarten. |
Anonymous
If getting severance, keep the nanny and treat job hunting as your new job, which you should be working on whenever the nanny is there. I got laid off after 19 years in my job a couple of years ago, ended up with 8 months of severance pay and had a new job within 3.5 months. It was incredibly stressful (I also thought I had my forever job), but we actually ended up financially ahead once I found a new position. No way would I want to be starting from scratch finding childcare…laying your nanny off could make it take much longer to find a new job and end up costing you more. Keep your support and seek out a fast soft landing. |