commute to work and manage stuff (day care, baby, toddlers, parents)

[kaartman]

I am curious to know how parents with toddlers (still in day care situation) manage their stuff.

Lets says both parents have 9-5 jobs (give or take 1 hr) , own a house that is around 1 hr from work place. How do you manage drop off and picking up kids from day care (with all the traffic in HOU) , house hold chores (cooking etc) and overall quality of life.

Is it stressful? Will you change anything? Or am I being paranoid

Thanks.

[geolvl]

Very very stressful. That's a 8 - 5:30 or 6 job; who works 9 - 5? Children's activities after you pick the kids up. You just pray you find a daycare that stays open long enough and is close enough to work where you can get there in time to pick up your kids. Eat out half the week and clean all day Sunday for six hours.

I want a nanny after daycare costs turn into public school free costs.

Gotta love Houston. Lot's o people having one monkey lately to alleviate the stress of having two. Or, people move out to Katy and have the wifey stay home and take care of kids. Blah.

Kids are fun though. Cheers.

[tampac66]

Originally Posted by geolvl

Very very stressful. That's a 8 - 5:30 or 6 job; who works 9 - 5? Children's activities after you pick the kids up. You just pray you find a daycare that stays open long enough and is close enough to work where you can get there in time to pick up your kids. Eat out half the week and clean all day Sunday for six hours.

I want a nanny after daycare costs turn into public school free costs.

Gotta love Houston. Lot's o people having one monkey lately to alleviate the stress of having two. Or, people move out to Katy and have the wifey stay home and take care of kids. Blah.

Kids are fun though. Cheers.

Lol...This is basically what I hear from everyone with Kids.

"List of terrible things... But kids are great though."



To the OP. I would suggest that one of you goes to work early and leaves early and the other goes to work late and leaves late. That way one of you can drop off and the other can pick up.

[daphne326]

You need to have a babysitter to take care of the kids afterschool, sometimes even take the kids to their extracurricular activities. Husband and wife need to adjust their work schedule, one gets to work early and gets home early to prepare dinner, and the other gets to work later to drop the kids off at school, and get home later . . . It is VERY stressful esp. when there are accidents on the roads and the 1-hour commute turns into 1.5, even 2. But you know, things will be better. Just get a house in a more central location, and seek out opportunities to change into a job either with a better commute or a more flexible schedule.

[travelguy_73]

Originally Posted by tampac66

To the OP. I would suggest that one of you goes to work early and leaves early and the other goes to work late and leaves late. That way one of you can drop off and the other can pick up.

This is what we did. I tend to work longer hours, so I take my child in the morning and my partner picks her up. We will swap or take double-duty when necessary, but this seems to work for us. Now if we BOTH worked longer hours, it would be more stressful than it already is. You might also focus on pre-schools that are closer to work, not home. You spend more car time with them (not the best quality, but it's something), and if there is a lot of traffic/accident, you aren't pulling your hair out to get them before the late charges start. We also live pretty central, so we aren't that far from anything.

It's a challenging age, trying to manage both work and home.

[kickingprop]

My wife and I work in two very different areas of town (Downtown and Energy Corridor). We live somewhere in between. Our childs daycare is near downtown and thus, my wife drops off and picks up our child (barring occasional evenings she needs to work late).

I will generally grocery shop, and get dinner going immediately after work so we can enjoy a family dinner together and stay on schedule.

Is it ideal? No. I wish one of us made enough money to enjoy the quality of life we currently enjoy on two incomes so one could stay home with the kiddo. But that's not an option currently given our savings/retirement/private school goals we set for our family. I can't imagine both parents commuting 1-1.5 hours though each way to work with a kid...that would be a nightmare!

[Lbjen]

Daycare near work, pick up groceries on lunch hours, kids activities only on weekends, late dinners, eventually I became a stay at home because it was costing me money to work.

[testmo]

Live closer to work. Problem solved.

[dejamiller]

Originally Posted by testmo

Live closer to work. Problem solved.

So insightful.

[PinkLadyK]

Originally Posted by dejamiller

So insightful.

And so simple and easily done!