should colleagues with kids get preference for holidays?

threemuttleys

I have a child, and I do not think I should have first dibs on Holidays. Its my choice to have a family, why should that impact on my colleagues?

janninew

No of course parents shouldn't get priority over holiday, there needs to be a fair system in place though I'm not sure the 'first come, first served' works that well either, especially when it comes to Christmas. I work in a school now so have all the holidays off, but in my previous job we all sat down and decided between ourselves who wanted what time off over the Christmas/New Year period and we always found a solution that suited.

After reading this thread I always wonder why some posters refer to people who choose to become parents as breeders and children as brats, little darlings etc, makes some posters sound like they really dislike children and parents!

jellyhead

teaandcupcakesplease wrote: »

Having children is a lifestyle choice. If you have children then you shoud not get "special treatment" I have not got any children yet and whilst its MY CHOICE to offer the Christmas holidays over to someone who has children, its not expected that i do that. The way i see it, i do it because when my turn comes then maybe my colleagues might do the same for me however i wouldnt expect it or assume they will and thats ok. xx

If you don't have children you still might want christmas day off for other reasons in the future, for example to keep an elderly relative company or provide their care.

My mum has the worst absence etc. in her workplace because she's been looking after somebody with dementia and it can be unpredictable.

Everyone's needs should be considered when it comes to leave. It's lovely that you offer to work over christmas so that others can have the time off. My SIL does the same.

SandC

It's worth remembering though that when it comes to care for families it doesn't matter whether you are the parent of small children or not, family emergencies regarding elderly parents and just generally looking out for them in their old age does not fall solely on the child free! We will all have personal stuff to deal with from time to time unless we are very fortunate.

This is about holidays and not about sickness and care.

jellyhead

Yes But my mum often had to take a week's leave when there was a crisis.

The last place I worked for added 8% of each wage packet on as holiday pay which could be taken whenever, so people used to ask for their money without ever taking leave. I could always get the holidays and training days off because everyone else wanted the extra work

Pee

I can see that Christmas is a problem and I would actually be happy to work Christmas Day to cover for colleagues with children. That said, we used to have a sort of parents have priority with school holidays which just isn't fair as my sister, who I take at least one holiday a year with, is a teacher.
It seems to have resolved itself with less parents in the department and it's simply first come first served, which is I think the fairest.

Fire_Fox

janninew wrote: »

After reading this thread I always wonder why some posters refer to people who choose to become parents as breeders and children as brats, little darlings etc, makes some posters sound like they really dislike children and parents!

Breed and breeding not breeders you misread the posts. Little darlings refers to *some* parents thinking the world revolves around their children and/ or sun shines out of their children's backsides and/ or *some* parents failing to discipline their children. I do also call children dustbin lids fairly regularly, would you prefer I stick to that?

verysillyguy06

janninew wrote: »

No of course parents shouldn't get priority over holiday, there needs to be a fair system in place though I'm not sure the 'first come, first served' works that well either, especially when it comes to Christmas. I work in a school now so have all the holidays off, but in my previous job we all sat down and decided between ourselves who wanted what time off over the Christmas/New Year period and we always found a solution that suited.

After reading this thread I always wonder why some posters refer to people who choose to become parents as breeders and children as brats, little darlings etc, makes some posters sound like they really dislike children and parents!

I utterly agree...like I said, it is often the non-parent who instead of wanting to find a fair solution, like to be awkward...as some on this thread clearly demonstrate

andygb

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Breed and breeding not breeders you misread the posts. Little darlings refers to *some* parents thinking the world revolves around their children and/ or sun shines out of their children's backsides and/ or *some* parents failing to discipline their children. I do also call children dustbin lids fairly regularly, would you prefer I stick to that?

Maybe a little harsh

---

but fair!

Last year we had snow in our village, so I drove the missus to work (well, how else am I going to be able to afford a bottle of red every so often?:D)
When I drove back up our road, there was a group of adults with children in the middle of the road, and as I drove towards them (at 5MPH), I then had to beep the horn.
This was the reaction:
One woman walked towards me, and I wound down the window. The conversation that ensued resulted in her asking me what the hell was I doing. I remained calm and told her that this was a road and the pavement was for pedestrians.
She then said that the pavement was slippery, and I replied that roads were too.
She then said that the roads were dangerous and that the schools were shut.
I then said that if conditions were so dangerous, then why was she taking the children out in the middle of the road , when I had made a round trip of 40 miles to take my OH to work?
She swore at me, so I resorted to Anglo Saxon and drove past them.
The schools were shut, so the "yummy mummies" could go play snowballs with their children - better than Jeremy Kyle I suppose:rotfl:

Almo

Del_Astra wrote: »

I have read with interest however some posters who appear to be having a bit of a dig where two parents work full time. I find that a bit backward to be honest, and well quite frankly I would rather children see two hard working parents as the norm, than two parents sitting at home and claiming benefits as the norm.

.

Hi Del Astra

I talked about the issue of both parents working although I don't know whether my posts caused offence or not. Just in case I want to be clear that I have no problem with both parents working and agree that it is preferable to having the government support the family. Equally I have no problem with one parent working, if they can support the family on one wage.

My comments were specifically in response to another poster and the scenario that was being discussed there which was, to paraphrase, about putting the children first.

Just wanted to be clear in case I had unintentionally implied that I had a problem with working families!