How to deciede whether to go back or not

Hi all I am after some input on how you made the decision to return to work or not.

I am due back to work in June, I do however have the option of working part time, or extending my maternity leave for up to another 12 months.

I have no family that are able to look after my children, I start work at 7am and finish at 4pm so i would need full time care for Lachlan and before and after school care for Emma and Hamish. The cost is crazy before ccb its $550 a week for all the kids.

I am unsure what hours or days work will allow me to work part time so I still have to look into this, I am also looking at perhaps getting a different job where my hours are different.
I really dont want to put my kids through having to get up at 5:30am and being dropped off at childcare at 6:30 am. Then them having to go to school.

Just wondering what things you considered before making the choice.

Tan
xxx

I only have one child so my decision was a bit different as i only have one to consider. I am due back at end of April but financially need to return sooner so i am going back part time at end of January three days a week. :(
Have you considered FAmily Day Care as a care option for the kids, sometimes it works out cheaper and get be a lot less "busy" for the kids i.e. less childen and the older ones might be able to kick back and watch tv before school or afterwards like they might at home etc.
when i made the choice to go back part time we worked out what i would bring home what bills etc my wage would cover (to see it was worth it) i chose to go part time as it meant DS still spent more time with me than in care but i was still able to bring in some extra cash.
Sorry im not more help just wanted to say i feel for you being in this position and hope you can work somehting out to suit your family xxxx

i have and have had 9 months off each baby.
my circumstances r a little different as i work in a profession that is 24hrs a day. so i work weekends or night shifts when dh can have the kids

if i didnt and had a 9=5 i would prob pick up some work on the weekends somewhere else to help out with $$ then when the kids r at school resume my original career

I guess one of the major factors to take into consideration, is are you going to be bringing in any extra money, or will you be spending the majority, if not all, of your pay on child care, so is it financially going to be worth going back to that particular job? Or will they let you do some work from home so you don't have to worry so much about child care, or let you work school hours, so from 9-3 so you only have to worry about care for one child?

If you need to work, could you look at finding a part time/casual job where you can do night hours or on weekends when your OH will be able to look after the kids?

It's not an easy decision to make, but I think firstly if it is not going to be financially worth it, then maybe extend your maternity leave for another 12 months, at least then you are still leaving your options open.

remember if you are working you also get 50% of the gap back every quarter :)

it turns dd's fdc into about $15 a day which makes it much cheaper :)

The cost of the child care is about $50 less then what i earn a week, so i would be working 40 hours a week for the first three months for $50. Then will get half back each three months.

I work in a gang so my hours have to be set its just the numbers of days that can change. I am also not able to do this job from home as it is an on site job.

I must say i am leaning towards either extending my leave or finding a different job.

Im not sure if I will go back either as you can only do my job full time...
Monday to Fri 8.30 - 6pm its a full day/ week which can not be done part time
Its great money but thats not what having children is about, id rather spend more time with my bub then less
(just my opinion_)

I have just decided to go back to work full time. I haven't worked full time for 3 years now, so it's very daunting.
The biggest thing for us was the cost factor.
I'll be earning $800 p/w net, before the 50% rebate, I'll be paying about $500 in daycare for the girls. Then each quarter we'll get that rebate. So I'll have $300 a week (plus rebate) in my pocket compared to having $170 a week being a SAHM. So for us, it's better for me to be working ATM. I would love to be able to be a SAHM until the girls go to school, but that's not a reality for us at this stage.
On the plus side, I don't start work till 9.20am. Although I won't finish till 5.20pm, dh is home at 4pm.
It sounds like it's going to be more hassle than anything getting yourself and the kids ready and off to daycare/school/work only for an extra $50 a week. If it were me, I wouldn't do it for that sort of money. DH and I said that if we were at least $100 better off a week (before the rebate) than we would go ahead with me returning to work.

Sounds like you've got a lot to think about. Good luck making your decision. Let us know what you decide.

I would have a really good look at all the costs involved in you returning to work. Not only childcare, but transport (for you and the kids), possibly extra food (as in lunches at work), wardrobe/uniform.
There's NO WAY I would be going back to work for $50. If you factor in the extra petrol you need, you probably don't earn anything. Even after the first 3 months, you'd basically be getting $325 (the $50 + half of $550) a week if I read you right. So that means you'd be on $8.13/hour. It really depends on how many other costs will be involved in your return to work. And how much you want to go back to work. And of course how much you need the extra money. Cause not only will you be working 40/week, you'll also still have to do your chores. So this could be majorly stressful and take further time away from your kids.
But it sure sounds like going back to work part time is not going to be worth your while. I would look at getting some weekend or evening work instead. Or even something you could do from home. Unless you love your old job so much that you want to go back to it.

I really take my hat off to you working mums out there, I don't know how you do it.

Saša

ok an update
Hubby and i have decieded its not worth me going back to my old job and to tell you the truth i really didnt want to.

my new dilema is i have been offered a job working nights/evenings. The hours are from either a 6 or 7 pm start through till around 1 am. This is perfect as i their is no real interuption to the kids days. Except hubby will have to give DS a bottle at night instead of his mummy feed, but hopefully i can keep up his other feeds.
I am going to give this job a trial run, im not sure how i am going to cope with the lack of sleep. DS does go to occasional care once a week for 2 hours so i can grab some sleep then if needed. I will also be home on weekends.
while the money will be loads better , i am now worried about how i will cope, this job would be ideal if it was part time or every second night but ah well beggers cant be choosers, so i will see how i go.

I think trying it out for a while is a good idea. I know for myhself, I couldn't cope, I need my sleep and DH and I do need our evenings together. But you might be fine. We're all different. Try and fit in some time on the weekends after the kids have gone to bed, for you and DH to have some couple time so you don't lose touch with each other.
I remember when I was still in Sydney, I had neighbours who did this shift thing. The husband worked nights and spent the day with their son, while the wife worked days (about 5 or 6 hours a day). The arrangement worked really well for them. No idea how they did it, but it was a sacrifice they were willing to make so they could afford buying a home without putting their son into day care.

Good luck!

Sasa

i know this is an old post...but i just got caught up reading it and now i am wondering what happened. has it worked out for you working evenings? i am guessing you probably do not have time to visit bb anymore...

i love my work and yes i miss it. BUT my DH works away and his rosters are all over the place. We decided when we had kids that one of us had to be boring and dependable LOL....

Whenever i get the erge to go back i just remind myself that they are only little for such a short time....this relaxes me and i am happy to wait for it to me my turn later on....

However we dont finacially need me to work so i have a HUGE luxuary that alot of others dont ahve...

If i had to work.... i would probably childcare shop til i found one that "felt" right.... I also dont think we would have had a 3rd baby :(

Hi all,
Sorry i have had a hectic few months. So an update on me

I have extended my maternity leave for another 12 months.
I now look after my niece who is 15 months two days a week (not payed for this)

When i was at my local swimming pool where the kids swim i saw a note up for swim instructors, so i am now training to do this. I take baby classes at the moment and i love it. Once i am on the books after all my training i can work weekend mornings or weekday afternoons. Just enough to give us that little extra we need, and then hopefully i can resign from the council.