Working moms

What do you do for the afterschool hours? Can your child attend aftercare, do you have a babysitter?

We have a ways to go before figuring this out, but curious to know what others do and if you have a babysitter, how did you get her/him?

Quitting my job or cutting my hours is not an option. I am also not able to work from home, so I am not really looking for those as possible solutions.

TIA!

Re: Working moms

The general daycare DS has been attending all along offered him an afternoon spot, so he'll be there from roughly 3-5:30 or 6 when I pick him up.
So he will be bused from his new school to the daycare. He will also go there on the holiday weeks when his new school is closed (the daycare is open most holidays).

We'll see how it goes--I do wonder if he's just going to continue to struggle in the daycare or get confused about the two school settings. On the other hand though, I do like this arrangement because he will continue interacting with other children for a few more hours, which is so important for him to do. If it doesn't work, then I'll look for a babysitter.

People have said good things about care.com, though I can't say I've ever used them myself.

Yes, like you, I really can't cut my hours. I am lucky in that they are somewhat flexible, but I can't cut them indefinitely.

Message edited 8/10/2011 1:38:56 PM.

Re: Working moms

Right now, DS does get bussed from pre-school to daycare. I am trying to figure out what to do once he starts Kindergarten/elementary school.

Re: Working moms

Is there an after-school program in your town? The daycare DS attends also offers after-school care for school age children. The public school may be able to tell you who offers this--it may be through the school district or it may be a private enterprise such as a daycare.

I know DSs daycare has a long waiting list to get in to the after school program, so you might want to enquire about that also and see if you can put DSs name on now, even if you are thinking about a year from now.

Good luck!

Re: Working moms

We also use daycare for before and after care.

Re: Working moms

We used after care but they spoke about kicking my DS out many times :( Next year hes going to a special school for kids with emotional/social issues so hopefully theyll be able to handle him.

Re: Working moms

We found a great daycare run by a mom who has 3 special needs children (now grown) This was perfect, considering our old center kicked DS out once he was diagnosed

Re: Working moms

Posted by Erica

We found a great daycare run by a mom who has 3 special needs children (now grown) This was perfect, considering our old center kicked DS out once he was diagnosed

Re: Working moms

Posted by cjik

Posted by Erica

We found a great daycare run by a mom who has 3 special needs children (now grown) This was perfect, considering our old center kicked DS out once he was diagnosed

This is awful! And illegal isn't it, unless he has behavioral issues that are interfering with the school day? I could be wrong about that, but it doesn't sound okay at all.

Message edited 8/11/2011 1:40:01 PM.

Re: Working moms

Posted by Erica

Posted by cjik

Posted by Erica

We found a great daycare run by a mom who has 3 special needs children (now grown) This was perfect, considering our old center kicked DS out once he was diagnosed

This is awful! And illegal isn't it, unless he has behavioral issues that are interfering with the school day? I could be wrong about that, but it doesn't sound okay at all.

It's better that we are not there - who would want to put their child somewhere that they weren't wanted KWIM? They covered their @sses...In two weeks he was written up multiple times a day (he threw a block, etc - although I had been there times when other kids threw something and nothing was said) and literally NOTHING for the 2.5 years he was there before that. We showed the whole packet to the CPSE and they were appalled...and our OT pulled one of her clients out of there to bring to our new place - so this caused them to lose more clients - plus our newborn!

DS is a completely different child now that he is not there - we found a place perfect for him, so it was one of the best things to happen to us (although I cried a lot at the time - my older son had "graduated" from there and we thought they were extended family)

Re: Working moms

I have a sitter. I may use after care once both kids are in school though.