Anonymous wrote:Working parents (without extra help) choose different programs that are not closed as much.

Exactly this. It's one of the first questions I asked of each place "what is your holiday/day off schedule?"

Our daycare had preschool and only closed when fed govt was closed.

In the summer we put our child in camp - there are a few starting at age 3. During the year, we were fortunate to have flexible schedules to work from home or take the day off. If you don't have that flexibility, I would look into daycare.

School is not child care

Working parents (without extra help) choose different programs that are not closed as much.

Anonymous wrote:We choose daycares with a preschool component. Rarely have days off. Unless your school’s days off coincide with things like the local public school, it’s nearly impossible to find child care except through a very expensive service.

Yup, us too.

It’s called daycare. Change programs.

We chose a preschool which is daycare with a preschool piece. They don't close for vacation.

Anonymous wrote:Most people using " preschools" are SAHM or have Nannies. Preschools are not for working parents to have childcare. If you are using a daycare with a preschool component I am surprised they are closed that often.

PP here who uses a program like that and i would add We have a lot of families where one parent has a contract type job or is self employed. That means they can kind of step back on work when they know there are breaks.

Those programs are intended for who you named-flexible workers or people that can rearrange their schedule, people with family nearby and people with backup care benefits. We use a program like that but my job lets me flex so taking off a Friday or Monday just means shuffling my schedule a little, MIL is 90 minutes away and stays with us if we need care for more than a day, and as a last resort my work does have backup care membership though I have never used it.

Most people using " preschools" are SAHM or have Nannies. Preschools are not for working parents to have childcare. If you are using a daycare with a preschool component I am surprised they are closed that often.

Our center is a daycare with a preschool program, so there are rarely days off. This year they’re closed 13 days, including a short spring break and the week of Christmas.

You use you PTO/vacation time, or find a daycare center with a preschool program.

We choose daycares with a preschool component. Rarely have days off. Unless your school’s days off coincide with things like the local public school, it’s nearly impossible to find child care except through a very expensive service.

After going through the school calendar, I just realized the pre-school we signed up for have about 2 months of closed dates out of a year, not even counting days with inclement weather. There are at least 2-3 days if not more every month that they are closed during the week. And so many professional development days.

What do working parents do especially if you don't have a "village" (grandparents) living nearby? How easy to find a sitter for a few days a month? The cost can add up fast.