All the options for childcare are either too short, too expensive or just rubbish. No wonder the birthrate is falling
Everyone told me “the juggle” would get easier when my daughter started reception this year. It was, quite simply, a lie. As any parent of a school-aged child will tell you they’re hardly ever there.
Mothers started exchanging panicked messages about the summer holiday in our class WhatsApp group in May, sharing links to clubs and childcare options they’ve already booked, which all look terrible, and possibly worse than just juggling it all at home. And I only have one child. This week, a UN report revealed that millions of people around the world are not having as many children as they would like, and I know why: yes, it’s “the high cost of parenthood”, and for many of us a big part of that is paying for something to do with your offspring when school is not looking after them.
One option is a gymnastic “camp” – which is out of town, only a week long, and finishes by 3pm. I could thrust my five-year-old into a new hobby, but would it really be worth it for just a week? What about the other five of the summer holidays? Assuming I work from home, with a 9am drop-off, I could be back at my desk by 9.45 but then I would have to leave again by 2.30, which hardly seems worth it. By the time we’d got into the swing of things, the camp would have ended and I’d need a new sport lined up to take its place the following Monday.
