5 ways to get through the school holidays when your child starts primary school

Parenting

4 Jul

There is a lot of talk about getting your child ready for their transition to primary or prep school, but what about the parents? If your child is currently in an all-year-round nursery or preschool, the thought of having to find a childcare solution for the school holidays from next year can be a daunting prospect. Depending on the school they go to, you have between 13 and 20 weeks to find a childcare solution for. Assuming there is no parent, relative or paid professional to take on your child(ren) for the full length of each holiday, there is no elegant solution to this problem. But when your child reaches primary school age, you start to have more options available for school holidays than you will have had with your preschooler. Here are 5 of them that you can use to create your family’s hybrid solution.

1. Holiday camps

Many holiday camps accept children from age 4 or 5 and by this age, most children are happy to attend one that they haven’t been to before, especially if they go with a friend or sibling. You can find holiday camps that suit your child’s interests, so this can end up being a solution that is both convenient for you and fun for your child. There are a few things to consider with this option:

Most holiday camps cover a school day at best, so you will likely still need a childcare solution for after-school hours. (Also, be warned that some activities call themselves holiday camps, but only offer a few hours.)
Your pick up and drop off routine may need to be considered as the best option may be further from home than your child’s school
Holiday camps can be expensive, though prices do vary
Popular holiday camps book up early so if you find one that works for you, secure the booking as soon as you can

2. Share the problem with friends

By the time your child is in primary school, chances are that they enjoy spending the day with their friends and can cope with an all-day playdate. You’ll also notice that looking after your child with one or two friends is actually easier than if they were alone for the day. (This may be hard to believe if you are the parent of a two-year-old and are trying to imagine looking after 3 two-year-olds!) You can join up with one or two other families for the week, then one adult can look after all the children for the day, the next day another adult can return the favour and so on. If all the conditions are right, a day of annual leave could buy you a week’s childcare using this approach!

3. Use the rest of the family

School holidays are a good time to draw on family resources. You can see this as giving your children a chance to spend time with cousins, grandparents or other relatives. Depending on the distances involved and your children’s ages, you could do this on a day or overnight basis.

4. Use a childminder

Many childminders accept additional school-age children during the school holidays. Demand is likely to exceed supply in most areas so if you want to use this option, it might be worth building up a long-term relationship with a local childminder and booking your child’s space well in advance. This is a particularly useful arrangement if you do not have any opportunity for flexible working.

5. Flexible working

Some of these options do rely on an element of flexible working from one parent or carer, if only to drop off and pick up your child from wherever they are spending the day. If this option is available to you, you might want to consider making an arrangement to work reduced or more flexible hours during school holidays. For those who can work from home, you may be able to cover some days combining work and childcare. This is much easier to do when your child is that little bit older and especially if you accept that it is not your job to keep your child entertained and stimulated all day. For the best chance of success, remember the mantra: “outdoors when possible, screen time when necessary”.

At Two Hands Preschool, we know that many of these options do not work so well for preschoolers and that is why we are open 46 weeks a year. If you have a younger child at Two Hands, your older child(ren) will continue to be welcome at our after-school club even during school holidays so you only need to find a childcare solution until 3.30pm and then they can join us until pick up at 6pm.