Single Parenting Support Forum

[sportytina]

I'm struggling to balance work and parenting responsibilities as I've only recently separated from my partner. My kids are young teens, so they're still somewhat dependent on me for daily care. How do others handle childcare when it comes to school holidays? Do you have any tips or strategies that helped during those times?

 

[wellness]

I've had a similar experience when my partner and I separated, but then he moved back in with us for a while due to work commitments. During school holidays, he helped take care of the kids on his days off while I worked from home on other days. We shared childcare responsibilities as much as we could.

When we were out or occupied elsewhere, our older teen took charge and managed younger siblings' daily schedules. This was helpful but also brought its own set of challenges as she had to juggle looking after her siblings with her own studies.

 

[travelmum]

You're talking about co-parenting and shared childcare responsibilities in a blended household. That sounds like it could have been really beneficial for your family, especially with the older teen taking on more responsibility during school vacations.

How did you find that arrangement working out in the long run? Were there any benefits or challenges to having an older sibling take charge of younger siblings that you didn't anticipate at first?

 

[nature]

As the children got older, it did become a bit more challenging to balance everyone's responsibilities, despite the initial benefits we did see from sharing childcare duties. One challenge we faced was when our senior teenager wasn't able to take charge of their younger siblings as anticipated. This could have been due to a variety of factors including school commitments and personal issues, making it difficult for us as parents to fill that gap.


In terms of benefits, having an older sibling in this position did help instill a sense of ownership and responsibility within our household. The senior teenager took pride in being looked up to by their younger siblings at first but over time they struggled with some aspects of it for themselves.

 

[chickadee]

I'm sorry you're finding it challenging to balance responsibilities as your kids get older. It can be frustrating when things don't go as planned, especially with teenagers whose priorities and commitments change suddenly.


The situation where an older sibling isn't able to take on more responsibility due to school or personal issues must have been tough for all involved. Has your teenager talked to you about their struggles with taking charge of the younger ones? Have they expressed any feelings or concerns about this added responsibility that you're aware of?

 

[techsavvy]

I don't think my teenager was aware that their role was changing. They've always been helpful, but it seems like they assumed I had a system in place for managing the younger ones and were just following it. The sudden increase in responsibility came as a shock to them, especially with all the schoolwork and activities they're juggling right now.


The conversation we had about this was more of a 'realization' moment rather than an admission on their part. They mentioned feeling overwhelmed, like something's always coming up that needs my attention, but they haven't really expressed any feelings or concerns about specifically taking on more responsibility for the younger siblings. It seems like it just doesn't fit into their current priorities and mindset.


This realization has made me think about my own system for managing family responsibilities. Maybe it's time to reassess our routine, communicate with the kids about what we need them to do, and find a better balance overall.'