It has been a tough year, to say the least. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about the perfect storm of disruption, businesses all over the country being forced to shut down, temporarily or permanently, and staying at home being mandatory. At present, businesses are beginning to reopen and employees have started to return to the office, even if some say that it’s too soon. Not everyone is happy to get back to work. We’re talking about working parents can’t care for their youngsters and are forced to rely on some form of child care. They can’t afford to work, especially now when a great many people are losing their jobs.
There are several options for working parents, but finding the right one depends on the specific needs of the kid and your own needs when it comes down to cost, location, hours, and expectations. Summer is already here, so there’s no better time than now to start planning. Quitting your job is not the answer, so what can you do? Take a close look at the following child care solutions. They’re at the same time convenient and dependable if you’re concerned about your child’s safety. Making the transition back to the workplace is definitely not as hard as you imagined.
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#1 Hire a good nanny
Managing child care for yourself is incredibly hard because you barely have the energy to get through the day. You can’t even worry about the days to come and certainly not the next week. Well, until serious investments are made to support families, businesses, and communities, you’re on your own. If you contact your school, they’ll tell you that the summer courses have been delayed until further notice. What should you do if you have no one to leave your child with? Hire a nanny. If you want to raise a kid and bring food to the table, you’ve got no choice but to ask for help. Hire a nanny with recommendations from previous families.
Hiring a babysitter becomes tricky during the global pandemic. Not only do you have to determine the viability of the in-person childcare relationship but also protect your kid from contracting the deadly new virus. Understand what kinds of social distancing rules the nanny has been practicing and see if they have worked outside the home recently. The caregiver should be asked to do a COVID-19 test, just to be on the safe side. As the coronavirus continues to spread, it’s important to take precautions. Don’t compromise the safety and wellbeing of your child. Keep in mind that any extra work needs to be compensated.
#2 Summer day camps
If you’re working from home because your employer considers that the danger hasn’t disappeared, you may not fancy the idea of paying someone to spend time with your youngster. Actually, you view it as completely unnecessary. Nevertheless, you have tiny colleagues that will make it hard for you to meet your work obligations. Even if you establish new rules, it mightn’t help. Be realistic about your working situation and what it takes to succeed. Consider sending your kid to summer day camp. More exactly, find a local recreation program. If you’re living in New York, you can consider yourself lucky because there are many options available. With amenities like swimming pools, Queens NY summer camps are the Ivy League of the camp world.
Summer day camps ensure the best experience without separation. It’s important to weigh in certain personal factors when making the decision of where to send your child. For instance, determine how local the establishment is. Do the counselors from your own city? If they come from a wider radius, that is the reason for concern because there is the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Discuss with other parents to get a good idea of what local camps are like. Youngsters love to camp and the last thing you want is to deprive your child of the chance to go. Your kid should regain their childhood this summer.
#3 Adopt the parent swap
If you happen to have a friend with a same-aged kid, adopt the parent swap. Reach out and ask for help. Your friend will be caring for the child that afternoon and, when you have free time on your schedule, you can return the favor. You can work in peace knowing that the kid is in good hands. Plus, you can save a little bit of money. Drop the child off, walk away, and, most importantly, don’t feel guilty about it. Parents are supposed to help one another. The youngsters will have a great deal of fun playing with one another. They won’t even know when time passes.
Be sure that the other parent has similar expectations regarding the way the days will go. Don’t take more than you give. Busy as you might be, you must reciprocate the gesture and help your friend out when they need it. Now, more than ever, it’s important for parents to support one another. We’re living and striving in an unprecedented time, so we need all the support we can get. Don’t pretend that everything is perfect and you can keep up with all the work demands while fully engaging with your child. It’s okay to be vulnerable every now and then.
All in all, the company you’re working at should make an effort to support working parents like yourself. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, which is why it’s necessary to discuss with employees and find out what they need to create solutions. Working parents should have a forum where they can give support and inspire others to take creative measures. It’s highly unlikely that the coronavirus will go away any time soon, so the burden on parents won’t be lifted any time soon. Employers should accept the new reality and take into account the differentiated needs of their employees with children.
The coronavirus is slowly but surely taking its toll on working parents. They are a vital part of the economy and they need to raise their offspring with paid child care. The point is that companies should step up their game and come to the help of some of their most valuable employees.
