Unless you have a reliable and obliging childminder willing to shift their schedule to accommodate the whims of Simon Harris, the election is yet another headache for parents
The notion that primary schools will shut for the day to accommodate voting is so deeply embedded in Irish society that it is rarely even questioned any more.
One more day – in the scheme of the amount of juggling parents of primary schoolchildren have to do to accommodate 77 days off each year, 2.10pm collections on normal days, 11.30am pick ups on a “half day” – is not such a big deal, perhaps. But it’s yet another reminder that the school timetable remains more or less as it was when it was originally developed in the 1830s, and we’re supposed to pretend society hasn’t changed much either.
The phoney war of words between parents and teachers serves no one except politicians and maybe Elon Musk, keeping us all busily embroiled in pointless circular debates on X, instead of organising ourselves to make demands such as better pay for teachers and childcare workers. And affordable, State-funded, wraparound care that covers the entire working day throughout the primary school years.
Ultimately, the promise of cheaper childcare means little when you can’t get a place for your baby. There is a chronic shortage of preschool spots for the youngest children. After-school care is, at best, ad hoc; at worst, non-existent. And most summer camps are so expensive you feel you child should be emerging with an MBA and not just a free backpack.
For-You Childcare Simon-Harris Agenda
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