Reply to Parents of small children - how are you managing RTO?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I really want to know how other parents are managing RTO without a village.

I quit a job that paid $112K in the state government because of RTO, and we had no support network - no grandparents, friends, or family who could help with pick-up/drop-off or sick days.

My husband is gone from 4AM - 4PM in a secure, union job. I am solely responsible for school drop-off, pickup, and sick days. I was managing a full-time, supervisory position in the government, which was becoming incredibly challenging. When I looked at our finances, I could have enrolled our son in a before/after school care program or hired a nanny, which would cost us roughly $2000/month. This would mean he is at school from 7 AM - 4PM to allow for commute times. My son struggled to adjust to a full-time Kindergarten schedule from 8:30 - 3 PM, and his teacher suggested half days. (He is in an affordable private school)

My manager wanted me to come into the office for 2 days/week. This would mean I leave the house at 6:45 AM to get to work on time by 7:45 for an 8AM start. I was in a supervisory role that required me to train my staff. But we couldn't leave the office once we were there. So that meant I was there for 2 days/week, with my butt in a seat, and then had to compress my staff's training schedule to 3 other days/week. I had five staff in training who all needed extensive support.

So, I quit. I took a significant pay cut and am now making $30/hr in the private sector. I now have fewer retirement contributions but plan to return to a full-time, salaried base position when my son is old enough to stay home alone for a few hours. However, my office is home-based, and I have 2-3 hours of work meetings with clients in the field. I also make my own schedule and work 30 hours/week. My take-home pay is significantly less, but my son is happy to have me drop him off, and I can always be there for sick days. Before, I was scrambling to get everything done.

[/quote]
This was how I managed when I was a single parent multiple times while working due to married to a military person. Even when spouse was there, I was solely responsible due to his hours, for daycare/school drop-off and pick up. Daycare days were better, because their hours were more conducive to work. School not as much, but did various before and after, and my one weekend a month I had to work in addition to my Monday-Friday, I had to hire a nanny. I scrambled, sometimes had to take my own days off for childcare if nanny last minute couldn't cover. Yes, it sucked and days were long, nights were tiresome still had to cook, get ready for the next day. I used to wish grocery stores had an order ahead pickup (ha! It finally happened when I didn't even need it anymore, although now I enjoy using the service just because). Kids are now grown so RTO is different for me now. [/quote]

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