Just this week I was listening to a colleague talk about the struggle of trying to figure out what to do with a preschooler during the long winter break from school. This is someone who has a spouse and just one child and they are STILL struggling and juggling trying to keep the child care covered this time of year. While I smiled, I remembered my own history of three children, my own single parent status, and that long 2 ½ week winter break…
Time off from school can really be tough on a single parent. We have to try to find suitable day care or take time off ourselves and during the holiday season, both can be tough to maneuver. When my kids were elementary school-age, I used to save up my vacation and sick time and use it during winter break. At the time, I was working a more traditional job where I had the vacation and sick time. That meant no big vacations in the summer, but I was then available to celebrate a relaxing holiday with the kids and didn’t lose the income. Now, with my home business and other work—my time can be flexed more, but I don’t have the pay for vacation time either. I have to find a way to work, but my kids don’t need the constant supervision that they once did.
I have known single parents who invited grandparents to come stay for the holidays and timed it with winter break from school so the grandparents could help care for the kids and spend quality time at the same time. There are also some “camps” available if you live in large enough cities that are geared towards kids with working parents and scheduled during the winter break from school.
What I do remember is that it took plenty of advance planning and a back-up plan to get through winter break with three kids off and one single parent that still had to juggle a job. My compassion goes out to all those single parents out there who are wrestling with the upcoming long winter break!
Also: You Might Need to be Both Organized and Flexible in December
Watch the Stress and Diet This Time of Year
Single Parent Holiday Tip–Break it Into Do-able Chunks