Summer Holidays And Childcare Stress For Working Parents

Summer holidays can be anything from 8-9 weeks if your children attend private school or approximately 6 in state education, and with my eldest, 16, having finished his GCSEs, those taking theirs have had longer holidays when exams ended regardless of school. Either way that’s a long summer and whilst children and teachers deserve time off, the infrastructure for working parents isn’t robust or affordable for most

I personally feel in the thick of the holidays already and find the daily juggle trying to entertain three children spanning two teens and a four year old whilst making deadlines (mostly filming ad campaigns which require quiet) whilst also making myself available for the odd special event in London, hair-pullingly painful most days.

Time to get the small violin out (!) but I decline most wonderful offers for events, screenings and premieres due to being North now but visiting No 10 recently or hanging out with Holly Willoughby were non negotiables after a back injury putting me out of action for 6 weeks meant I was feeling resentful about missing out on fun (boohoo).

Six weeks of immobility meant not being able to do what I love (walking firstly) but also work wise, debating on live TV or contributing to radio and news pieces (and even being forced to decline a first episode premier of Michelle Pfeiffer’s The Madison). Having to place work on my novel on hold again (first time due to my back) until September after being 10,000 words deep concerns me a little. Writers require consistency and working daily ideally on bigger projects so this long pause worries me that I might not return to it. Please hold me accountable! I know my mum will.

And speaking of mums and grandparents more specifically, without them many of us would struggle with childcare during the holidays. The average cost for childcare over a six week period is £1075 and a survey from Sunlife in 2024 found that grandparents save UK parents 7.7 billion. Some points are below:

• Time Given: Grandparents average about 18 hours per week of care during school holidays.

• Financial Impact: Total annual savings on holiday childcare reach £18 billion, with the 6-week summer portion accounting for £7.7 billion.

• Grandparents’ Costs: While 63% are happy to help, 11% struggle to afford the extra food, travel, and activity costs.

• Long-Term Risk: Some younger grandparents face reduced pension pots or delayed retirements if they swap paid work for unpaid care.

One of the reasons we moved back closer to my folks from Windsor was to create a village and that works both ways, with my parents saying their grandchildren give them purpose and keep them young and of course having their own children (me) closer means I can help them where needed to (for e.g. driving my mum around due to a leg injury).

According to the International Workplace Group (according to Grazia, an article which inspired this post), 74% of parents will aim to work flexibly over the holidays to reduce costs- but at what cost to our sanity and physical health-and that of our parents. Lets hope the kids behave! Seriously though, if we are to contribute to the workplace and pay our taxes, we require change. Subsidies must make sense to the providers (and they don’t currently), there are also staffing issues, workplaces need to first offer flexible working where possible in the first place, and we need to look at school holiday cover that makes financial sense.

How are you holding up?