Anonymous
Post 05/07/2026 10:38     Subject: Office fed parent - summer schedule hacks?
I do a summer camp with an 8 am start with a college nanny after summer camp. The nice thing about summer is there are tons of really bright, motivated college students home for the summer looking for part time works. In our experience they’ve been flexible and our kids love them.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2026 10:19     Subject: Office fed parent - summer schedule hacks?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
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?


By quitting my job, losing 2/3 of our household income and our health insurance? Yes, that's really that horrible.
LIKE spending time with my kids. I NEED to work. These policies made it harder to do both.


Ironic you had a female nanny you had in person 5 days a week no remote and you were her employer. You are a MAGA at heart


You're responding to a different poster. I've never had a nanny. Telling moms that if they work they must hate their kids is a jerk move.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2026 09:09     Subject: Office fed parent - summer schedule hacks?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If you’re allowed to work at home a couple of hours a day and have maxi flex and credit hours, how is this an issue?

Just get your butt out of bed at 6, work until 8, the. drop them off at camp. Get to work by 9:30 and leave at 3:30. Bill a credit hour later at home if you want.


Hi- we're feds. We don't have any telework whatsoever. My agency doesn't have maxi flex, nor have I ever seen a credit hour.


OP said she had maxi flex, credit hours, and situational telework. I mean, if you can’t make that work, you need to try harder.


Yes. Sorry OP, but we’ve spent $5-$8k per child each summer for extended day summer camp. It’s expensive but it’s the only way to do this with two full time working parents. That you haven’t had to do this yet is a privilege. At least for us, you need to book most popular programs by January or February at the latest. Kids are expensive. There’s no life hack for that.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2026 08:56     Subject: Office fed parent - summer schedule hacks?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If you’re allowed to work at home a couple of hours a day and have maxi flex and credit hours, how is this an issue?

Just get your butt out of bed at 6, work until 8, the. drop them off at camp. Get to work by 9:30 and leave at 3:30. Bill a credit hour later at home if you want.


Hi- we're feds. We don't have any telework whatsoever. My agency doesn't have maxi flex, nor have I ever seen a credit hour.


OP said she had maxi flex, credit hours, and situational telework. I mean, if you can’t make that work, you need to try harder.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2026 08:49     Subject: Office fed parent - summer schedule hacks?
Anonymous wrote:If you’re allowed to work at home a couple of hours a day and have maxi flex and credit hours, how is this an issue?

Just get your butt out of bed at 6, work until 8, the. drop them off at camp. Get to work by 9:30 and leave at 3:30. Bill a credit hour later at home if you want.


Hi- we're feds. We don't have any telework whatsoever. My agency doesn't have maxi flex, nor have I ever seen a credit hour.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2026 08:43     Subject: Office fed parent - summer schedule hacks?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If you’re allowed to work at home a couple of hours a day and have maxi flex and credit hours, how is this an issue?

Just get your butt out of bed at 6, work until 8, the. drop them off at camp. Get to work by 9:30 and leave at 3:30. Bill a credit hour later at home if you want.


Who can work at home a few hours a day as a fed? No one I know. I can work at home 5 days a year. They can not be broken in to parts.

And credit must be approved for a specific task and can not be routine.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2026 08:42     Subject: Office fed parent - summer schedule hacks?
Anonymous wrote:If you’re allowed to work at home a couple of hours a day and have maxi flex and credit hours, how is this an issue?

Just get your butt out of bed at 6, work until 8, the. drop them off at camp. Get to work by 9:30 and leave at 3:30. Bill a credit hour later at home if you want.


Who can work at home a few hours a day as a fed? No one I know. I can work at home 5 days a year. They can not be broken in to parts.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2026 08:39     Subject: Office fed parent - summer schedule hacks?
If you’re allowed to work at home a couple of hours a day and have maxi flex and credit hours, how is this an issue?

Just get your butt out of bed at 6, work until 8, the. drop them off at camp. Get to work by 9:30 and leave at 3:30. Bill a credit hour later at home if you want.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2026 08:34     Subject: Office fed parent - summer schedule hacks?
Anonymous wrote:
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?


So last summer, you were watching your kids but billing the US taxpayer as if you were working 40 hours a week?


Not OP but try to at least read. She said the kids were in camp.

Being able to pick your kids up when camp ends, because you are not commuting at that time, is not billing the taxpayer for anything. If you had kids or a commute you would know that.


Okay, was she on the clock while driving back and forth to camp every day? Part of the 40 hours as described in the USAjobs / full time position description includes driving around suburbia. Right?
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2026 07:55     Subject: Office fed parent - summer schedule hacks?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My office allows 2 weeks LWOP without having to justify up the chain. That could possibly buy some time.


I don’t want to take LWOP. Who is going to do my work while I’m out?? I’m also a supervisor and I don’t want my employees out more than they need to be. Haven’t you heard- we’re all critically understaffed. I would prefer to let employees leave at 3:30 and then they can telework for 2 more hours later. My team is high performing and I can track their work output, which is more important to me than their hours.


With two working parents, you have to hire help or do camps with before/after school care. How is this so hard to understand? There is no other good, professional way to make it work except if you have family who can help.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2026 06:06     Subject: Office fed parent - summer schedule hacks?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
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.


Going through this now with my DH. I’m the low paid GS-13 fed and he’s the breadwinner consultant and heavy traveler (travel has been intense the past 5 months). We have before and after care AND a babysitter who picks them up and helps me with the nightly routine from 5:30 - 8:30 pm, 3-4 nights a week. It sucks, but throwing money at the problem is the only thing that seems to make this somewhat tolerable. DH better be getting a damn good bonus or a large increase in comp this year! Good luck OP!


Wow affording childcare in the evenings when you are home is a whole different thing
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2026 05:59     Subject: Office fed parent - summer schedule hacks?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Remember generations of families survived summers with no telework. We just were more tired, spent more $$ and saw our kids less.


Camps were way cheaper then.


Not comparatively/in terms of inflation. And “[back] then” there weren’t as many options.

FYI to these parents complaining about daycare costs. Daycare has been costly/a huge part of the family budget for a LONG time.

You’re not new nor special.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2026 05:04     Subject: Office fed parent - summer schedule hacks?
There are no hacks to working FT and parenting/childcare
The options are you adjust your hours or take leave. Or you throw money at the problem and pay for childcare
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2026 03:52     Subject: Office fed parent - summer schedule hacks?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My office allows 2 weeks LWOP without having to justify up the chain. That could possibly buy some time.


I don’t want to take LWOP. Who is going to do my work while I’m out?? I’m also a supervisor and I don’t want my employees out more than they need to be. Haven’t you heard- we’re all critically understaffed. I would prefer to let employees leave at 3:30 and then they can telework for 2 more hours later. My team is high performing and I can track their work output, which is more important to me than their hours.


OP asked a question looking for options and I provided an answer. And who cares about critical understaffing. That's the administration's problem IMO.
Anonymous
Post 05/06/2026 22:35     Subject: Office fed parent - summer schedule hacks?
Anonymous wrote:
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.


Going through this now with my DH. I’m the low paid GS-13 fed and he’s the breadwinner consultant and heavy traveler (travel has been intense the past 5 months). We have before and after care AND a babysitter who picks them up and helps me with the nightly routine from 5:30 - 8:30 pm, 3-4 nights a week. It sucks, but throwing money at the problem is the only thing that seems to make this somewhat tolerable. DH better be getting a damn good bonus or a large increase in comp this year! Good luck OP!