It is very common nowadays for both parents to work full time. In fact, less than one in three children actually have a parent that stays at home full time. After school programs and child care has become an important part of raising children. While there are daycares and child care management solutions for younger children that are quite simple to procure, finding some kind of after school program for older children that aren’t able to stay home alone til a parent is off work can prove to be a little more difficult. Extra curricular activities at school can sometimes not last long enough and then the child will need to get to the after school program somehow. If you are lucky enough to have a family member or friend come and pick them off and drop them off, then that is ideal. Or even if you are able to take a little time out of work each day to make the transport yourself, that’s great. However, if those options aren’t available to you, then you will need to know how to safely ensure that your child get from school to their after school program. Here are a few things that you can do to make sure your child stays safe.
School Programs
Many schools offer after school program that will last long enough for you to get off work and come and get your child. While sports activities and things like that may not last quite until you get out of work, there are other things that your child could participate in as well. A great idea is after they are done with their sports practice, the child could attend a homework club so that the time spent waiting for you is not wasted. This way you will get to spend quality time with your child when you all get home from work and school and they will not have to rush off to finish homework. There are other programs that are widely available also such as art and theater, if these creative studies are something your child may be interested in. Having your child in a familiar environment where they do not have to leave the grounds at all for that period of time will make it much easier on the child as well as on the parent.
After School Nanny
There are many reputable nanny agencies that have vetted many nannies and offer a wide range of services from pick ups and drop offs to babysitting to house chores and cooking and dog walks. This could be an option whether you want your child to come home from school immediately or if you simply need them picked up and dropped off at another location. By going through a nanny agency, you have the added benefit of the agency already completing back ground checks, driving records and security clearances, etc but you can also weed through the applicants yourself. Each nanny agency usually has a website that you can look at to see the nanny’s profile and experience level. Typically a parent will pick a few good candidates from the website and then contact them through the website to set up an interview. The interviews can be conducted exactly as the parent wishes and any further vetting is entirely up to the parent.
Child Care Groups
If you are motivated and have other friends in similar situations, you might form a sort of child care group where each of you rotate shifts to watch the children after school on their day off. While you might not want to spend your day off watching other people kids, at least you know that your kid will be taken care of when you are having to work the other days. If you all are taking turns, then no one has to pay anything because it’s returned favors. Your children will be safe and taken care of and there will be no added out of pocket expense usually.
There are definitely options available for after school care for your children even if you don’t have family you can rely on, you just have to be willing to look outside the box.
