When returning to office clashes with school
Having a child starting school, or going back after a summer break, doesn’t necessarily mean a reprieve for working parents. Olivia Rutman, a mother of three, and her husband could attest to that.
Their oldest son is starting kindergarten this year and that means scrambling to figure out how to best fit short school hours into their work schedules. And they’re torn.
Option A is a public school that only covers three hours a day so they would have to pay at least $705 for an after care program — if there’s a slot for their son, that is. Option B is a private school 20 minutes away that offers more overlap with their work days but the starting price is $2,435 a month.
“I still don’t think we really understand what the best path is as of right now, because none of them feel very doable,” said Rutman, who left Wells Fargo last year to start her own business — Kids Care Finder, an online platform where parents can search for day cares, nannies and preschool programs in California.
Rutman is hardly alone in struggling to find care for kids once they’re out of the toddler stage. Caregiving platforms like Care.com and Cariloop say they see spikes in searches this time of year for parents looking for coverage for the gap between the end of school and the work day.
That can add up to 25 hours a week, according to Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit organization.
If families can find it, it’s getting more expensive, too. On average an after-school sitter cost $292 per week for one kid in 2023, up 6% from a year earlier, according to Care.com.
That can also add up to a headache for businesses across the US, which lose up to $300 billion a year due to parental concerns about after-school care, Afterschool Alliance estimated in 2020.
“The back-to-school season triggers serious upheaval for most families and an onslaught of stress,” said Wes Burke, chief human resources officer at Care.com. “People are trying to balance drop offs, pickups, homework and help with after-school activities while still trying to do their day job.”
Burke recommends that company leaders communicate often with staff to find out their needs, and think twice before scheduling meetings during early morning or late afternoon hours — which are typically drop-off and pick-up times. Allowing for flexibility, especially in the first few weeks of the school year when things are more likely to go awry, is also key.
Companies can also offer child-care benefits, like cash stipends or extra time off, which more businesses are increasingly prioritizing. For example, chemical company Dow this month said it’s giving employees $1,500 to use toward child-care expenses. Consulting firm PwC, meanwhile, offers access to discounted after-school programs, with savings of up to 10%, as a benefit.
“This is not just a family issue, this is a business issue,” Care.com’s Burke said.