Day one of the school holidays and I have already had a text from the school holiday programme that my children are reluctantly attending. It appears that there was a handstand gone wrong and a small injury has occurred. Luckily, nothing an ice block won’t fix when I pick them up later today. But it was a reminder to me that as a working parent, school holidays and working really don’t work that well together.
In the lead up to the school holidays, there are a number of loads that working parents carry. First the mental load of “what am I going to do during the holidays with the kids?”. This starts processing in my mind well before the start of the holidays and sits there like a stubborn gorilla refusing to move along. And with an average of 12 weeks of holidays a year compared to the 4 or 5 weeks of annual leave, that is a lot of gorilla time.
The financial load of school holidays can add up quickly when you consider that the cheapest programmes are around $50 per day but do range up to $150 per day for Robotics & 3D Design. For three children, it could add up to $9,000 annually out of your post-tax salary. A significant amount and not a surprise that the WEF reports that NZ currently has the most expensive childcare costs in the world.
Then there is the logistics load. How do I get to the holiday programme location for drop-off and then to work for the 9am team meeting? How much time do I need to factor in for realising that they needed spending money for an excursion that day and then locate a ATM with parking en-route to the programme?
Finally the most painful of them all, the load you carry when your children complain about having to attend these costly, logistically complex programmes. The protests of why they can’t just stay home during the holidays and how no one else needs to go to school holiday programmes. These complaints can start well in advance of the holidays but only for parents that give their children advance notice. These days, mine usually only find out the night before. Tip for young players.
The lack of quality, accessible and affordable school holiday solutions adds another layer of pressure into the lives of working parents. Pressure that is often invisible to others but very real to them.
If you are able to get some time off with your family these holidays, I do hope you enjoy it. As my friend Gretchen Rubin says – “The days are long but the years are short.”
Emma Mclean Coaching 