If both parents work and you're in the school system

[Neera]

I want to work in the school system. It might be a while though as I have to still take some courses. I am wondering how we are going to manage in the mornings. I will have to leave extra early which would mean dh does all dd's work and gets ready himself and drops her to school. He is starting a new job which, at least for now, doesn't allow him to drop her off -  time wise.

Just not able to find a solution and am confused if I should even bother doing the course.

Edited by Neera - 11/25/12 at 7:47am

[MomInTheMitten]

Does the school your daughter attends/will attend offer before/after care?

[Ragana]

I have heard of stay-at-home moms or older kids offering before-school care, where you drop off at someone's house & they bring your child to school/to the bus. You could check into that option in your neighborhood.
 

[Neera]

Originally Posted by MomInTheMitten 

Does the school your daughter attends/will attend offer before/after care?

I know for sure they have after care. I am not sure about before.

[Neera]

Originally Posted by Ragana 

I have heard of stay-at-home moms or older kids offering before-school care, where you drop off at someone's house & they bring your child to school/to the bus. You could check into that option in your neighborhood.
 

Well, here's the problem. This is dd's first full-time year at school. She barely gets up in time to make school. She is in bed by 8 and it's lights out around 8.30 but not exactly. Depending on how many books we are reading. She is not fully rested in the mornings. I am planning on moving her time from tonight to 7.30. This is going to take a while to implement since she is used to fighting going to bed any ways. So, if she gets into that routine she will be rested enough to make school without all the morning grumpiness every single morning. If I have to put her to bed any earlier to make before care I am just thinking how will I do it? I mean let's say I pick her up from after care, her bath, dinner, checking Home Work etc. How in the world will I be able to put her to bed earlier?

[MamaBookworm]

I taught at a high school and used to have to drop DD off at daycare at 6:30. There were some school aged kids who went there in the morning and had their bus come and pick them up there. 

I gotta say though, it kind of sucked. I felt perpetually rushed and barely made it into school on time every day. One poorly timed poopy diaper and I was totally screwed. 

[babymommy2]

gh

[babymommy2]

You just do it. My husband and I both work at 0800. school starts at 0900. One of takes the youngest to  home day care for 0730, the other takes the school aged kids to after schoolcare for 0730. Now I only work casually so if we are all tired some days, it is not a big deal, but parents who work full time deal with this every single day. It sounds like your child must be very young, so in a few years she will not need to go to bed so early. Is there a chance you could work as a sub, then it won't be everyday? I used to work full time, m ykids weren't in school yet but needed to go to bed early. This was our schedule: me up at 0600, children up at 0700, out the door just before 0800, drop off at home daycare and to work for 0830. Luckly I lived 10 minutes from work. Finish work at 5:00, pick up and home by 5:30, eat, bath, into bed and alseep  by 0630. It was rush rush rush to get out the door, and same thing at night to get my toddler in bed at 0630, then later 0700. It was terrible and now I only work casual. But the reality  is a lot of people don't have that option and I think you just manage the best you can when both parents work full time.

[babymommy2]

You just do it. My husband and I both work at 0800. school starts at 0900. One of takes the youngest to  home day care for 0730, the other takes the school aged kids to after schoolcare for 0730. Now I only work casually so if we are all tired some days, it is not a big deal, but parents who work full time deal with this every single day. It sounds like your child must be very young, so in a few years she will not need to go to bed so early. Is there a chance you could work as a sub, then it won't be everyday? I used to work full time, m ykids weren't in school yet but needed to go to bed early. This was our schedule: me up at 0600, children up at 0700, out the door just before 0800, drop off at home daycare and to work for 0830. Luckly I lived 10 minutes from work. Finish work at 5:00, pick up and home by 5:30, eat, bath, into bed and alseep  by 0630. It was rush rush rush to get out the door, and same thing at night to get my toddler in bed at 0630, then later 0700. It was terrible and now I only work casual. But the reality  is a lot of people don't have that option and I think you just manage the best you can when both parents work full time.

[Neera]

Originally Posted by babymommy2 

You just do it. My husband and I both work at 0800. school starts at 0900. One of takes the youngest to  home day care for 0730, the other takes the school aged kids to after schoolcare for 0730. Now I only work casually so if we are all tired some days, it is not a big deal, but parents who work full time deal with this every single day. It sounds like your child must be very young, so in a few years she will not need to go to bed so early. Is there a chance you could work as a sub, then it won't be everyday? I used to work full time, m ykids weren't in school yet but needed to go to bed early. This was our schedule: me up at 0600, children up at 0700, out the door just before 0800, drop off at home daycare and to work for 0830. Luckly I lived 10 minutes from work. Finish work at 5:00, pick up and home by 5:30, eat, bath, into bed and alseep  by 0630. It was rush rush rush to get out the door, and same thing at night to get my toddler in bed at 0630, then later 0700. It was terrible and now I only work casual. But the reality  is a lot of people don't have that option and I think you just manage the best you can when both parents work full time.

I am substituting but have to give it up because dh has just landed a temp job which means he has to leave the house by 7.30 am. Someone has to take dd to school so I have to give up my work. What is casual work? I know dd is doing q. badly with just the regular, full time school hours. I don't know what would happen if we put her in a before school care program. It will be v. tough to say the least.

[Greenlea]

My son only goes 1/2 days right now, but we both work FT. I get up at 6:30am, the kids get up at 6:45am. We are out the door by 7:20am so I can drop them off at daycare before starting work at 8:00am.  Then I leave for lunch at 11:50am to make it back to the sitters to pick him up to take him to school to start at 12:30pm. Luckily his sitter picks him up at 3:00pm but I have to pay her extra to do so. I leave work at 4:30pm, go pick the kids up from daycare, meet my DH at home by around 5:00pm. We do the whole dinner, baths, books and kids are hopefully most days asleep by 8:30pm. It makes for a very tiring long day for me. And I can't wait until I don't have this schedule anymore. Because like you, I don't know what I'll do once he starts school FT. 

Then I feel guilty not spending enough time with my kids; one cries when I drop him off, the other cries because I can't pick him up from school. They are tired and fight in the mornings and it drives me nuts. Most days I go to work looking groggy and feeling disheveled. I eat my breakfast in the car and my lunch at my desk. I'll cook two dinners a night sometimes so we have a meal for the next day so we're not eating at 7:30pm at night. Most nights I'm ready for bed by 9:00pm. But it is what it is and we do what we have to.

[Neera]

Originally Posted by Greenlea 

My son only goes 1/2 days right now, but we both work FT. I get up at 6:30am, the kids get up at 6:45am. We are out the door by 7:20am so I can drop them off at daycare before starting work at 8:00am.  Then I leave for lunch at 11:50am to make it back to the sitters to pick him up to take him to school to start at 12:30pm. Luckily his sitter picks him up at 3:00pm but I have to pay her extra to do so. I leave work at 4:30pm, go pick the kids up from daycare, meet my DH at home by around 5:00pm. We do the whole dinner, baths, books and kids are hopefully most days asleep by 8:30pm. It makes for a very tiring long day for me. And I can't wait until I don't have this schedule anymore. Because like you, I don't know what I'll do once he starts school FT. 

Then I feel guilty not spending enough time with my kids; one cries when I drop him off, the other cries because I can't pick him up from school. They are tired and fight in the mornings and it drives me nuts. Most days I go to work looking groggy and feeling disheveled. I eat my breakfast in the car and my lunch at my desk. I'll cook two dinners a night sometimes so we have a meal for the next day so we're not eating at 7:30pm at night. Most nights I'm ready for bed by 9:00pm. But it is what it is and we do what we have to.

Thank you for your post. You're oldest is 2 years younger than mine. And I have only one. I can imagine how hard this schedule is. I was wondering about their lunch and yours. Where and what do you eat? I am up at 6.30 cooking something for dd. It takes me about 10 minutes of my personal stuff before I get going, cooking, packing lunch and snack and it feels like I don't have a minute to breathe before we are out the door at about 8.10 because so much of her work has to be done by me. Feed her her breakfast... and if we are running late, I'll do everything. But on a regular basis I feed her and make her hair. The other things she does by herself but only since 1 week though, since I told her she'll have to go the principal's office to explain why she doesn't want to go to school. Before that she would do nothing. Be v. grumpy. Push us. Kick. And, 8 seems a little late for where I live. In one of the districts where I used to sub. a few years ago, the teachers would be in before 7.30 even though school began at 8.20.

[Peony]

My work is rapidly decreasing my hours and I almost always could arrange my schedule to start after school drop off, but I know all about crazy mornings! If I wake up at 6:30, I'm screwed, like today, 6:30 is really sleeping in for me. I have to be up by 5-5:30am to make mornings work. I pack all lunches, snacks at night. Lay out all clothes for everyone, all bags are packed. Coffee pot is programmed, cup next to it waiting. If I know it is going to be a really bad morning, I will even stick cereal in bowls and put them on the counter with spoons to wait for milk in the morning. I am usually up until 11pm every night just prepping for the next morning.

There is me and 4 kids to get out of house by 7:30am and two different school drop off to do. Kids are 9,6, 3 and 1. The two girls need their hair fixed but can dress themselves, both have meds to take, one has 5 different meds or inhalers that I have to do for her. Med time alone is a 10 minute ordeal.The two younger ones are boys and need everything done for them. The kids have staggered wake up times so I get them ready one at a time and hop in the shower myself somewhere in there. I still make them all do showers or baths at night to cut down on the boring rush. Our house is tri level, no garage, and it is very cold here so I do have to plan ahead to start the car 10-15 minutes ahead of time, another 5 minute process by the time I go back and down 3 flights of stairs and scrap ice. And then there are always several fights to break up during of all this. 

[babymommy2]

Casual is like subbing. I am a nurse, so causal work is replacement work for vacaitons, sick time,e tc. I only take prebooked shifts.

One thing that helpos me to be a owrk by 0800, I always make the lunches the night before, for me and the kids. There is no way I have time to make lunches in the mornings. I get all breafast food out before hand so the older ones can get themselves breakfast, and it is always easy food, ceral, toast, muffins, smoothies somethimes.I never cook breakfast unless it is a weekend.

[babymommy2]

Casual is like subbing. I am a nurse, so causal work is replacement work for vacaitons, sick time,e tc. I only take prebooked shifts.

One thing that helpos me to be a owrk by 0800, I always make the lunches the night before, for me and the kids. There is no way I have time to make lunches in the mornings. I get all breafast food out before hand so the older ones can get themselves breakfast, and it is always easy food, ceral, toast, muffins, smoothies somethimes.I never cook breakfast unless it is a weekend.

[Greenlea]

Originally Posted by Neera 

Thank you for your post. You're oldest is 2 years younger than mine. And I have only one. I can imagine how hard this schedule is. I was wondering about their lunch and yours. Where and what do you eat? I am up at 6.30 cooking something for dd. It takes me about 10 minutes of my personal stuff before I get going, cooking, packing lunch and snack and it feels like I don't have a minute to breathe before we are out the door at about 8.10 because so much of her work has to be done by me. Feed her her breakfast... and if we are running late, I'll do everything. But on a regular basis I feed her and make her hair. The other things she does by herself but only since 1 week though, since I told her she'll have to go the principal's office to explain why she doesn't want to go to school. Before that she would do nothing. Be v. grumpy. Push us. Kick. And, 8 seems a little late for where I live. In one of the districts where I used to sub. a few years ago, the teachers would be in before 7.30 even though school began at 8.20.

Luckily I don't have to give the kids breakfast in the morning. I give them a small snack which they eat while watching TV after getting dressed, and it helps me to finish up getting ready. Then their babysitter feeds them breakfast, and lunch too. I usually microwave a frozen breakfast sandwich and eat in my car on the way to work. Or grab something simple like yogurt & fruit to eat at my desk. Then after I drop my son off at school, and since it takes up my whole lunch break, I eat my lunch at my desk while working. 

I agree that you should try making her lunch the night before. And stick to simple breakfasts she can either get on her own or is easy for you to make.