Career vs daycare pick up

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You made a choice.
You chose your career. You chose a job that is not going to work with your current daycare situation. Now you have to work your child and your childcare around your job. Not complicated.

BS

[Anonymous]

OP has chosen a job where most people leave at 6, but she thinks she's going to waltz out at 5.

Boss and co-workers are going to hate her from the get-go. This would not fly in my office. You wouldn't make it past your probation. OP SHOULD have ironed this out after she got the offer.

[Anonymous]

OP, I am a single WOHM and this has been tough. Some ideas:

1) Be waiting outside the door of the daycare when it opens. Mine opened at 7 AM, I was in the parking lot at 6:55 AM every day. I started my commute from there.

2) I got to work at 7:30 and was on a core schedule of 7:30 - 4 PM. I try to leave around 4 PM to be SURE I can make it to daycare pick up. Most days I made it in 30 minutes. It's unusual but there really are times that the commute, due to some horrible problem, has taken two hours to get home. I never once was late for pick up.

3) Get back online as soon as you get home

4) I don't do this but I hear it works - if you are sending a general email updating people about something, or sending out a "deliverable", post-time it for delivery to the others in your office at say, 5:15 PM. Helps reinforce your constant "presence" at work. See this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/31/upshot/the-24-7-work-cultures-toll-on-families-and-gender-equality.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0

"When women tried the same strategy, it usually didn’t work. When a man left at 5 p.m., people at the office assumed he was meeting a client, Ms. Reid said. When a woman left, they assumed she was going home to her children."

The sending of late night emails also depends on your company culture/audience:

http://smallbiztrends.com/2015/03/send-not-send-after-hours-email-question.html

[Anonymous]

PS, I also recently hired a high school junior to come to my house after school to hang out with (heaven forbid I use the word "babysitting") my 7th grader, and to be on stand by for emergency pick up for my younger child who is in an after care program. I have never had to use the emergency pick up option but it's been a great relief to have it.

She also cooks and cleans. It's been a godsend.

[Anonymous]

You haven't had this conversation with your new boss yet? Seems like an important piece of information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I am a single WOHM and this has been tough. Some ideas:

1) Be waiting outside the door of the daycare when it opens. Mine opened at 7 AM, I was in the parking lot at 6:55 AM every day. I started my commute from there.

2) I got to work at 7:30 and was on a core schedule of 7:30 - 4 PM. I try to leave around 4 PM to be SURE I can make it to daycare pick up. Most days I made it in 30 minutes. It's unusual but there really are times that the commute, due to some horrible problem, has taken two hours to get home. I never once was late for pick up.

3) Get back online as soon as you get home

4) I don't do this but I hear it works - if you are sending a general email updating people about something, or sending out a "deliverable", post-time it for delivery to the others in your office at say, 5:15 PM. Helps reinforce your constant "presence" at work. See this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/31/upshot/the-24-7-work-cultures-toll-on-families-and-gender-equality.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0

"When women tried the same strategy, it usually didn’t work. When a man left at 5 p.m., people at the office assumed he was meeting a client, Ms. Reid said. When a woman left, they assumed she was going home to her children."

I do this as I often leave at 4 and am home by 5.

The sending of late night emails also depends on your company culture/audience:

http://smallbiztrends.com/2015/03/send-not-send-after-hours-email-question.html

[Anonymous]

I do the late afternoon emails.

I also do the early morning ones.

Have to manage people's perceptions!

[Anonymous]

One thing you might want to do is make arrangements with other parents who are last minute pick upers. If someone is running late, they can text someone else in the group to get their child. It saves a lot of late fees and gives you peace of mind knowing that if you can't make it, your child won't be stranded. One of my back ups was one of the end of the say staff members. I had to pay her $10 per hour, but on that one occasion when something went really wrong (I lost my car keys), she took my child to her house and fed her dinner.

[Anonymous]

OP, you need to find a daycare that allows pickup past 530. That's really early.

However, at the same time - working an 830-5 pm schedule is a full day, and really shouldn't be an issue. That way you can aim for a 5pm departure, but if you can use a daycare place that has a 6 or 630 pm closing time - you have more of a cushion.

[Anonymous]

I just made that my routine. Every now and then I can stay later, but I just leave at 5. I means I'm often online at 8p post bedtime, but 5-8 I'm not available. Just make it your norm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You made a choice.
You chose your career. You chose a job that is not going to work with your current daycare situation. Now you have to work your child and your childcare around your job. Not complicated.

BS

What is BS? She can't be in two places at once.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing you might want to do is make arrangements with other parents who are last minute pick upers. If someone is running late, they can text someone else in the group to get their child. It saves a lot of late fees and gives you peace of mind knowing that if you can't make it, your child won't be stranded. One of my back ups was one of the end of the say staff members. I had to pay her $10 per hour, but on that one occasion when something went really wrong (I lost my car keys), she took my child to her house and fed her dinner.

how does this work with car seats? I'm expecting my first and thinking about back-up care and it seems like the need for a car seat makes it impossible for other people to pick up your kid in an emergency (assuming kid is under a certain age).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing you might want to do is make arrangements with other parents who are last minute pick upers. If someone is running late, they can text someone else in the group to get their child. It saves a lot of late fees and gives you peace of mind knowing that if you can't make it, your child won't be stranded. One of my back ups was one of the end of the say staff members. I had to pay her $10 per hour, but on that one occasion when something went really wrong (I lost my car keys), she took my child to her house and fed her dinner.

how does this work with car seats? I'm expecting my first and thinking about back-up care and it seems like the need for a car seat makes it impossible for other people to pick up your kid in an emergency (assuming kid is under a certain age).

You have to leave an extra car seat at the daycare.

[Anonymous]

Are you all insane? You fought for this life???

[Anonymous]

I haven't read everything yet, but these are expectations you need to set BEFORE you start the job. I've made it clear that I need to leave at 4:30 every day and they deal with it.