Please help! Huge problem and don't know what to do!!! Best gets 10!?

I鈥檓 a support staffer in a small but popular and successful business/consulting firm. I work 9 to 5 Mon through Fri and have a 30 min lunch break usually around noon. In addition to me there are 5 staffers of about the same age and general socio-economic demographic grouping. Seniority among the six support personnel varies from ten years to less than one year. Salary is determined, in part, upon years of successful service and yearly evaluations and reviews. I have five years of seniority. Recently my company has acquired new consulting contract for a British conglomerate, which added to the excitement and enthusiasm among all the employees.
I have 2 children, 7 and 5 years old.
Recently my spouse received a promotion that is necessarily going to modify the child care arrangements. To this point she has been able to drop the children at school and pick them up after school. Now she will be able to take the children to school but will be unavailable in the afternoon for child care.

My annual review is due within two weeks, where salary and benefit issues will be discussed. I鈥檓 earning a reasonably good salary and enjoy good medical and health care benefits. I like my job but I鈥檓 seriously conflicted about the prospects of your children becoming "Latch-Key" kids or going to day care centers for coverage. I have thought about resigning your job or taking a leave of absence but the salary is good, I am professionally fulfilled, and my family needs the health benefits. I know that I will have to discuss this dilemma with the supervisors in the next couple of weeks and I鈥檓 becoming more and more anxious. What should I do?

It sounds like you need coverage for about 3 hours or so each day (if my time calculations are correct.) There are several options:

1) Call the schools to see what programs or services they would recommend. There might be after school activities that the kids can sign up for, or a safely supervised community center for kids that they can attend.

2) Is there a Grandma or close relative whose house the kids can take their schoolbus to for those 3 hours or so each day?

3) The same concept could apply from item number 2 for a trusted neighbor. Elderly married couples or singles might enjoy the company, and perhaps the kids can help them out by doing light chores for them. They'd be supervised without even knowing they're being supervised.

4) Explain the situation during your review. Tell your supervisors that you're exploring various options and you'd like to know what the possibility of introducing "flex-time" to the company might be. Can you go into work a couple of hours early and leave a couple of hours early? See what they say.

Good luck!

Multiplsy by 5

think about what's best for your chidlren. keep your job, and make sure that when you do have spare time you spend it with them. and make sure they know that your job does not come over them.

is this a real problem or a hypothetical (some of the wording in your question leads me to thinks so).

Hire a trusted relative or family friend to look after your children until you can arrive to take over, at least until your review has taken place. Make no mention of this issue untill after the review, then deal with it.

Your children are your first priority. I would discuss the possibility of flexible scheduling. Would your company benefit from having you there at 7am? If you can come up with some suggestions for your superiors as to why this would be beneficial to them, you might be able to work from 7-3 which would be great for your kids.

does the school offer an after school facility, or could you get someone else in who could do do both school runs, most childminders would do this, you just need to ring round. maybe ask for a weeks leave so you can sort this out. is there a family member who could help out after school. it would be a shame to leave work if you enjoy it and you have worked hard to get to where you are. just a second thought could you go part time for a while until you get it sorted. good luck

I think you are over reacting here. Thousands of kids go to day care until their parents get off work. There they interact with other kids and play games. Your children are much too young to be " latch key" children. But there is nothing wrong with after school care.

Also, why do you need to discuss this with your employer? Your private life outside of work is not their business and they aren't interested anyway. At present, you and your spouse are providing good lives and have a good health plan. Why would you want to jeopardize that?

Sounds like you have a good thing going with your job and you definitely don't want to lose you benefits. Can your company work out a flexible work schedule? Congratulations to your wife. A lot of schools have after school care that is more like extended school that day care and they don't have to leave the premises. What about relatives, Grandparents or the like that could help out?
Good Luck

Child care can be arranged for those specific hours at a nearby daycare. Or even the schools sometimes have after hour time, when parents can have until 6 or so to pick up the kids. Activities for the kids are provided, snacks, etc. Or a responsible older girl in the neighborhood can probably be hired to babysit them, walk them home from school, etc.

7 and 5 is much, much too young to even think about latchkey. If she cannot pick the children up, how would they even get home to BE latchkey kids anyway?.

Your questions were worded very strangely. First it is "I have two children", then it turns into "your children". Whose question is this actually, anyway?

You should discuss with your spouse. It all comes down to the priorities you two set out together. As I see it, you have some options:

1. either you or your spouse will need to take on a reduced work schedule to allow you to come home in the afternoon to care for the kids after shool.
-- questions: could you arrive at your job extra early to get in 8 hours before school is out? Would cutting back on hours impact health care coverage?
-- impacts: potential loss of salary and/or health care coverage

2. you can put the kids in daycare or pay a neighbor to take care of them until you get home.
-- questions: how much would this cost, and how would it impact the kids? How would that impact compare with option 1 or with a total loss of health care coverage/decreased salary?
-- impact: kids have less time with parent, spend time with other caregiver.


Obviously there are other choices, but these seem to be the main ones. Talk it over with your spouse -- it won't be easy, but you'll find an answer.

IF they were to become 'latch-key' kids, HOW LONG will it have to be for? If it would only be for a couple of hours, I strongly suggest hiring a Nanny that can be at your home BEFORE the children got home. That way, the kids will not be coming home to an empty house and be without a trusting and responsible adult. Nannies wages are WAY higher than an average babysitter, but you are paying for Bonded, quality, personal child care with an adult who is required to be certified in CPR and other life-saving/First-Aid techniques.

are you serious? keep the job. it would be crazy to leave. what you described is a job anyone in their right mind would kill to have. don't throw it away.