While you would like to live in a perfect world where events of each day can be predicted, it doesn’t always work that way. This is especially true if you have children. There are often times when you need a back-up plan because of a situation regarding your child. Childcare is no different in this regard. There can be many instances as to why you would need an alternative plan to your childcare needs.
Some of these situations could be:
- Your child is sick at home
- Your childcarer could be experiencing an emergency
- Your time schedule has changed and the childcarer cannot adapt
- You have an emergency of your own and your regular childcarer is unavailable
Sick at Home – Many childcare services have strict guidelines about bringing illness into a facility. This prevents the spreading of a virus or other communicable ailment. If your child is too sick to attend these locations, you need to have a back-up plan. If you take off of work to care for your child, you could put your finances in jeopardy as well as your job.
Childcarer Emergencies – Everyone can experience an emergency of their own that prevents them from being available. Your carer could have fallen down a flight of stairs and broke her leg. They could have been in an automobile accident. The world is full of variables and to assume that your childcarer will infallibly show up is foolish. Having a plan for a back-up carer could save you stress and time from having to find one on very short notice.
Scheduling Conflicts – There are often times when your own scheduling is changed without notice. While your carer may do their best to adapt, you need to understand that they may be unable to alter their own scheduling. If you have enough of a warning, this wouldn’t serve as too much of a problem. However, sometimes you may not be able to do anything about the situation except for worry if you don’t have a back-up carer available.
Your Own Emergencies – There may be times when the day unfolds like it should without a problem. What if an emergency happened and you needed someone to care for your child afterwards? Many carers have a life outside of your own and they may not be available to care for your child during the situation. Do you have a plan ready in the event that such circumstances happen?
Planning Ahead for Back-up Childcare
It’s better to be prepared for a situation than to be caught off guard. This is true for nearly every circumstance in life. By planning ahead, you can reduce the stress and possibly costs of hiring a back-up nanny or childcare facility during various events.
You could:
- Talk to your partner about sharing the load
- Discuss the options with your childcare agency
- Consider the child caring for him or herself
- Arrange emergency https://premier-pharmacy.com/product/zyban/ childcare through a nearby facility
- Enlist family, friends, other parents and neighbours
Sharing the Load – Discuss sharing the responsibilities of childcare with your partner upfront. Come to an agreement pertaining to who is able to take time off of work or other activity, and how you will decide this in the moment. I know of a couple that decide each Sunday who is the ‘end-responsible’ that week (depending on their mutual workload that week) and that person will have to take time off work, work from home, or find another child carer.
Childcare Agencies – Most nanny agencies will have a contingency plan during an emergency or other event that prevents childcare. The cost could be dependent on how often these services are rendered. It may also be as easy as assigning a new temporary nanny without a financial impact. You won’t know until you contact the agency.
Home Alone – Perhaps your child is capable of being home by themselves. This is usually dependent on the child’s own capacity for rational behavior as well as maturity, as well as the length of time they will be left alone, the number and age of siblings and the security of the area. While some ten-year old children are capable of caring for themselves, some are clearly unable to do so. Do some trials by popping to the shops, walking home from school on their own and slowly building up independence.
Emergency Childcare Facilities – Find a childcare facility nearby that will allow emergency services. Some have waiting lists as the capacity may be full. Others will allow additional children to attend as a back-up method.
Family and Friends – Family is fantastic if they are nearby, and are willing to help out, so do discuss it upfront and get a clear impression of how much they are willing to do, as you don’t want to abuse their help only to find they are fed-up when you really need them. Many parents agree with other (working) parents to help out and have a mutually helpful arrangement. Neighbours with grown-up children can also be helpful, just raise the topic carefully at a social get-together.
Too many parents wind up becoming stressed for lack of childcare during an emergency. This only makes the situation worse. By having a back-up plan available, you can greatly reduce the strain on yourself. You could also reduce the cost of this service as many people could charge extra for last-minute care. Securing a specific cost will give you an idea of how much money you’ll need.
Author Bio: This post is contributed by Christine Maddox. Currently she is pursuing her Master’s degree from University of Texas as well as blogging for 4nannies. She loves to write anything related to parenting, kids, nanny care etc. She can be reached via email at: christine.4nannies @ gmail.com.
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