Welcome To The Sh**show, AKA The Working Parent Summer Holiday Juggle

The summer holidays are here and “the math isn’t mathing” (as they say), as working parents everywhere try and magic up six weeks of childcare using their 25 days of holiday entitlement.New survey findings from Pregnant Then Screwed have revealed 87% of parents are feeling the stress of balancing work and childcare over the summer holidays.One parent summarised it: “I feel like I am constantly failing – failing at work and failing at parenting.” Another said: “I’m stressed trying to juggle everything and ensure my child doesn’t feel like less of a priority.”Despite scrambling to find solutions, 60% of parents said they don’t have their childcare needs met for the summer. Almost three-quarters (73%) said it’s impacting their mental health. Childcare provision is also limited, especially for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).Coram’s Holiday Childcare Survey revealed uncertainty and gaps in holiday childcare provision, with only 9% of councils in England reporting enough places for at least 75% of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in their area.This figure falls to 0% for three regions in England: the East Midlands, the East of England and inner London. The cost of summer holidays for parentsNearly 70% of parents are having to rely on holiday clubs to cover childcare – half of those using holiday clubs say they’re spending more than £300 this summer, and a third are forking out over £500, said Pregnant Then Screwed.Coram’s survey said summer holiday childcare costs in Britain have risen by 4% in the last year, with working parents now facing an average bill of £179 per child per week.That’s a total of £1,075 for the six-week break.But many parents don’t have this extra cash available and are already on a shoestring budget. Pregnant Then Screwed’s survey, which polled 1,176 parents, found 40% of families are struggling to afford essentials over summer. Plenty of families are already relying on credit to manage day-to-day expenses, without adding summer childcare and unpaid leave into the mix.Data from Updraft shows one in six parents (16%) with children under 18 have used a credit card to pay for essential household bills within the past three months.On top of that, just over one-quarter (26%) of parents are having to take unpaid leave to look after their kids – with 75% of those having to take more than five days off without pay.Rachel Grocott, CEO of Pregnant Then Screwed, said: “There is no job in the world that offers the amount of paid holidays that a parent would need to cover all school holidays, and the summer break is a big chunk of time that parents need to manage.“Many parents are racking up debts and taking unpaid leave from work to make it all work, all the while trying to create fun summer memories for their children.”She added: “Kids deserve a break from learning and we all need precious family time – but eye-watering holiday club costs and trying to balance work and childcare are no holiday for parents.”Related...I'm A Psychologist – This Is Why Summer Can Be So Hard On Neurodiverse Kids5 Survival Tips For Parents Already On The Brink Of Summer BurnoutI'm Stressing About Summer Holiday Childcare – What Are My Options?

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