Caregiver needs to leave at 12.30 for two weeks while her son's school runs half days

violet_wave_350324 Jun 2026

Our caregiver has a son in class 1, and his school is running half days for the first couple of weeks, so he's home by 12.30 with nobody there. She asked, very apologetically, if she could leave at noon until it goes back to full days. Of course she should be with him. My problem is the afternoons. I work from home, but that still means calls from 2 to 6, and our 2 year old naps for an hour at best. How have others covered a short gap like this? Shift my hours, find someone just for the afternoons, or let her sit through my calls for two weeks?

3 comments

dusk_window_658924 Jun 2026
We had a few weeks like this when ours were small and our helper's daughter had exam days off. I moved every call I could to the mornings and told my team I was offline 2 to 4 for a fortnight. Nobody minded as much as I'd feared. It was two weeks, and it ended ❤️
saffron_window_39424 Jun 2026
I mind my grandson, 6 years, after school every day. A class 1 boy should not be alone in the house, madam, so you are right to let her go. Two weeks is not long. Keep some new toys aside only for the afternoon, and take the little one down to the park when the sun goes. Maybe one grandmother in your building can sit with her for an hour or two also.
maple_kite_312325 Jun 2026
Is it only the half-day weeks, or could it stretch? Some schools extend it. I'd agree an end date now, so neither of you has to bring it up later.