How Startup Founder Dola Handles Child Care During Lockdown
First off, how would you like us to introduce you?
Hey! I’m Dola, Founder of Sueted.
What were you using for child care before COVID and why did you pick that solution?
Prior to COVID, I relied on my kids' school for child care during term time since they offer wrap-around care. During the holidays, we send them to a day camp, Camp Beaumont, which operates on their school premises so it's super convenient.
What were the pros/cons?
Pros:
It offers us the assurance of a year-round access to structured child care.
The camps are usually run on the school premises, so they get to see most of their school friends within a familiar environment.
Opportunity to build skills.
Cons:
The kids regularly return completely shattered after such a long day.
It almost feels like they don't get enough rest apart from when we take holidays and I constantly feel guilty about this.
How have you handled/managed/gotten creative with child care during COVID?
Things were slow with my startup anyway so I cut back on work hours significantly during the lockdown and tried to fit all my work between the hours of 2am and 6am in order to be able to homeschool the kids and keep them active (and fed).
After the lockdown, I hired a nanny for the holiday period to keep the kids engaged during the day whilst my husband and I focused on work. This also helped relieve some of housework for us relating to the kids.
How are you planning for child care post-COVID?
We hope to revert to the pre-COVID arrangement but of course, we'll re-assess our position and the children's needs when the time comes.
