Office fed parent - summer schedule hacks?

[Anonymous]

You need camp, a program, or sitter.

[Anonymous]

I'm taking 3 out of my 4 weeks of annual. Also dropping them off at Camp Grandparents for a week for the first time. So that covers abut half of the full weeks this short summer.

The other weeks, they're mostly doing full day camps where we'll split pickup and drop off. One week one kid is doing a 9-2 camp, so we're going to do some combo of carpooling with friends for pickups, me shifting my work schedule later so I can drop off, and my dad visiting from out of town to hang with the younger kid. We were going to have to get a babysitter that week otherwise.

For the short weeks, there are only two days between the end of school and Juneteenth, DH will take those, and then two days before school starts on a Wednesday in August, I'll take those.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do maxiflex and work as much as I can on the days I don’t have to do drop off/ pickup. I’m divorced, so on the days the kids are with their dad I get into the office by 7 and/or leave at 5:30. I sprinkle in some of my limited situational telework, and that lets me do shorter days to accommodate pickups (and throw in an hour of leave here or there as needed). My kids do a couple weeks if sleep away camp, so I stack hours those weeks as well.

So, a pay period might look
Week one-8:30-4 camp
Monday: 9:30-5:30 (dad does pickup)
Tuesday: 7:00-2:45 (dad does drop off)
Wednesday: telework 8:45-5 (with a break for pickup around 4)
Thursday: 9:30-2:45
Friday: 9:30-5 (dad does pickup)

Week two (sleep away camp)
Work 7/7:30-5 every day.

OP here, thanks for this and everyone with else with helpful tips for the working fed schedule. We're all in this together.

[Anonymous]

I am confused. My Mom worked full time as a widow with fourkids. Her idea of summer activities was cooking, cleaning, painting, mowing lawn, laundry. And the older kids went to summer jobs on bike while one of us stayed behind to watch younger one.

My mom come home to clean house and dinner on the table. Once on a Saturday I said I was bored. She had me rotate her tires and change her oil and wash and vacum car. Boy I was never bored again.

Killed two birds one stone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am confused. My Mom worked full time as a widow with fourkids. Her idea of summer activities was cooking, cleaning, painting, mowing lawn, laundry. And the older kids went to summer jobs on bike while one of us stayed behind to watch younger one.

My mom come home to clean house and dinner on the table. Once on a Saturday I said I was bored. She had me rotate her tires and change her oil and wash and vacum car. Boy I was never bored again.

Killed two birds one stone.

Yes, an excellent solution for those of us with young elementary schoolers in 2026 🙄

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am confused. My Mom worked full time as a widow with fourkids. Her idea of summer activities was cooking, cleaning, painting, mowing lawn, laundry. And the older kids went to summer jobs on bike while one of us stayed behind to watch younger one.

My mom come home to clean house and dinner on the table. Once on a Saturday I said I was bored. She had me rotate her tires and change her oil and wash and vacum car. Boy I was never bored again.

Killed two birds one stone.

J1/J2! I can ID your writing style anywhere.

You'd have CPS called on your kids if you left kids in charge of kids. Latchkey kids are not what society wants anymore.

[Anonymous]

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

+1. Also, try to find kids’ friends to coordinate with. Easier said than done sometimes. My kids seemed to only make friends with kids who had a parent at home or was a teacher. (Not knocking that, but it meant a lot of solo camps for my kid and also they felt like they were missing out on a chill summer. Mom guilt, grrr.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Use all day camps. That’s what many of us do (and yes, it’s a large expense). Or one of you can quit your job.

If you’re working, you should have your young kids in child care. And $18 is a steal per hour for a summer babysitter.

Stop being cheap and lazy.

Stop being a jerk. A lot of camps are 9:00-4:00. Some have aftercare but personally my kids hate staying that long.
The options are split up the drop off and pick up with your spouse or another family, take leave frequently, or get a summer sitter.

Kids can't always have what they want. They can not goose a camp that ends at 4 and they have to stay till you can pick up. Maybe offer ice cream out on Fridays to make them happy

[Anonymous]

Summer is the worst. We take a lot of leave between the two of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

+1
Traveling is a luxury with kids - time to yourself. But it costs a lot at home. It's a deduction in net salary that has to be realistically considered.

[Anonymous]

You have situational telework and credit hours still?!? You're very lucky and there is no reason why you can't use those to manage camp drop off and pick ups, which can be a 9-5 camp day even with before and after care.

Crying here with just maxiflex that feels like a trap.

[Anonymous]

Summer is expensive- I sent my kids to sleep away came once they were 7. One loved it, one rebelled at 11 and begged to never make him go back again. I paid a lot of money in before and after care, and drivers. One week of camp Grandma/Grandpa. Take a vacation one or two weeks.

[Anonymous]

First, spouse needs to limit travel as much as possible and shoulder the load.

One thing I have not seen mentioned is that I'd take my kids to camps near work (I'm also in office) and pay for before and/or after care to maximize my time in the office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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?

I will forever despise Trump for killing a functioning remote / partially remote workforce that allowed workers to have work/life balance. I am so thankful i was able to work partially or fully remote while I had young kids. We had a nanny (before any of you nosy MFers ask) but I could see them during the day, no commute, I could take them to dr. visits taking minimal leave. . . .
It was a perfect situation. Then- boom- 5 days RTO for no good reason. I said FU and retired.

But I will never forgive his cruelty and stupidity, or the people who cheered it. All miserable fuxxs making everyone else miserable too.

Sorry OP. It sucks and you have my sympathy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

I will forever despise Trump for killing a functioning remote / partially remote workforce that allowed workers to have work/life balance. I am so thankful i was able to work partially or fully remote while I had young kids. We had a nanny (before any of you nosy MFers ask) but I could see them during the day, no commute, I could take them to dr. visits taking minimal leave. . . .
It was a perfect situation. Then- boom- 5 days RTO for no good reason. I said FU and retired.

But I will never forgive his cruelty and stupidity, or the people who cheered it. All miserable fuxxs making everyone else miserable too.

Sorry OP. It sucks and you have my sympathy.

Wow is watching your own kids really that horrible?