The school offers supervised care until 6 pm with snack and homework time. It is more expensive than a local centre, but it would remove one transport handoff. Has anyone used school-based aftercare long term?
The commute to childcare mattered more than we expected. A slightly less fancy place five minutes away ended up being much easier for the whole family.
When work is intense, I try to protect one predictable connection point with the child — breakfast, bath or bedtime — rather than chase a perfect number of hours. We simplified the routine before spending money on more help. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
When work is intense, I try to protect one predictable connection point with the child — breakfast, bath or bedtime — rather than chase a perfect number of hours. Reducing handoffs made our weekdays noticeably calmer. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.
Good point about asking for the details in writing. I had not thought of that. The system had to work on a bad workday, not only an ideal one. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
Could you share what you would do differently if you were starting again? We simplified the routine before spending money on more help. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.
Good point about asking for the details in writing. I had not thought of that. We only appreciated the backup plan after the first unexpected school closure. In our house, the practical routine mattered more than the ideal plan.
When work is intense, I try to protect one predictable connection point with the child — breakfast, bath or bedtime — rather than chase a perfect number of hours. My spouse had a different view initially, so we tried it for a few weeks before deciding. We simplified the routine before spending money on more help. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
This is close to what my spouse is suggesting too. I may have been overcomplicating it. Sharing the calendar between both parents removed a lot of last-minute confusion. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.