Who Takes off of Work?

My kids are never sick! :p Seriously in the five years I have been working no one has been sick, even before that they were rarely sick.

So I will speak to things that do happen like house repairs. We go by who is less needed that day at work. We both have project driven jobs so there are days I don't have a project, others where he doesn't, some both so we call my dad, others both of us fight over who stays home.

We both have earned paid time off so it isn't a money issue, just logistics.

Well, it seems that both of you can be flexible on this... if hubby has something really pressing at work, maybe you can take off? Otherwise, sometimes he could do it, also....

This is just a juggling act, and probably has to be determined on a case-by-case basis, also taking into consideration who would lose the most money by being gone....

Be thankful that hubby can and will step up to the plate when kids are sick.... some SO aren't so good with the sick ones, or the little ones only want mommy!

It depends on who CAN and who has done so recently. My DH is a manager. I was not. If it was possible for me to take off some time, I did. It was easier for me. If DD was sick for a long time, we each took a few days. Talk to him. My DH sometimes liked being the caregiver. It made him feel important.

We rotate. I make more, but we are both salaried with set "vacation, sick and personal" time. Last year my husband took more days than I did because I was saving my days for my maternity leave. This year, we will go back to rotation.

If your husband will risk getting fired for taking a sick day, then he should not do so. If he has a set number of days that he can take without penalty AND he is rarely sick, then he should take the days so that you don't forgo your hourly income.

it was usually me because i made less and had more flexibility. in your case i think it should be whomever can get that particular day off with the least hassle.
khairete
S.

It depends. Normally me because normally the kids aren't sick in the morning, it's once they are where they need to be. I work 5 minutes from my house and my husband works 2 hours from our house.

No joke one day I got a call on my cell that my oldest son was at school with pink eye maybe 10 minutes after school started. I hung up and used my desk phone to call the doctor's office and while I was on that phone my daycare provider called that my younger son had a 102 fever. Wow! I had to pick them both up and we went straight to the doctor. The pink eye was cleared up with one day of staying at home, whereas the little one was sick for the rest of the week. Hubby and I took turns.

He can work from home more easily than I can right now, so that makes a big difference, but we can both do it.

When we know one of us needs to stay home, we try to discuss the work needs each of us have the next day and determine who needs to be at the office more. If we both need to be at the office, then one of us just has to sacrifice. Me, as the woman and mother, normally have an easier time getting out of the must attend meetings.

When we were new parents, it was me always just easier and I'm a control freak. Then when we moved four years ago, my husband became a work at home dad. So unless he's traveling or the kids just want mom I come into work.

However, when I'm home with them I can still work from home. Not the best answer but I would say maybe "take turns". That way neither of you is missing too much work and the pay doesn't get too affected.

If neither of you are going to get paid when taking the time off, then it makes more sense for him to take the time than you.

I understand that his company productivity will suffer, so I would suggest trying to split it in the future. If hubby takes off next time, and DD gets sick again say within 3 months, then you should take off. That way hubby isn't always taking off and it will have a lesser impact on his company. Just because a company gives you that much time to take off, doesn't mean they really like it when you do, you know? So, if the times are spaced kind of far apart, I'd say hubby stay home, but if she gets like a back-to-back something or another, then you stay home for the second bout.

It all depends on who it is easier for to take off. My husband was in management since we got married till Feb. and it was very hard for him to take off. There were a couple times of year when it was almost impossible for me to get off and if it was at that time he would. But usually it's me. Right now he's not working but if he get's the job he's applied for which I am pretty sure he will it just wont start till school starts it will still be easier for me to get off. They don't have a lot of employees to cover when out and starting a new job it's harder to take off. So usually it's me that takes off. Plus I just like to be there with them when they are sick to take care of them.

We often take turns so work is affected less, sometimes even taking half days one Am and one PM so we dont feel behind at work when we return.

For me its always been easier for me to take the time off. But my husband just started a job and has been there over a year and now gets vacation/sick time. So I may just start utilizing him to help out.

I think you just need to balance what works best for you. Maybe you can take turns or adjust as you go.

It used to be since my job is so flexible but I had to use my vacation time. My husband was a teacher and it was harder for him to take time off because they would have to get a sub and he would have to figure out what to have the kids do.
Now my husband is an administrator for an online school and he works from home a lot. So when a kid is sick he just works from home that day. Unless he has a mandatory meeting in the office then I take the day off.

We share the responsibility. Depends on the day, who has what going on at work, what shift my husband is on, who has more sick time left, etc.

would your overtime acount for more money than a whole days pay? because you'd have to assume he's still going to get sick on his own and plus want a vacation too. If your income was so much more that 2 hours overtime would equal more than an entires day of pay (because you will lose it when he takes time off eventually) then I'd say him....IF his company doesnt get upset with it...because even though you make more, his job is more secure since he's been there more. I wouldn't risk him being fired over it.

Maybe every other?

My husband and I both take off when the kids are sick. I make more however my company is much more flexible than his. We also take into consideration if there is something important going on - if I have a meeting or clients coming into town, etc.
Also - three weeks ago both kids got sick......we were going to be going on vacation in about a week. As my company is more flexible and seems more understanding I took off because my husband was worried about taking days off so close to having a vacation.

For us it was always about whose job was more OK with the absence. When my husbnad was a rookie cop it was awkward for him to take the day off - he had way more days to take than I did - but it was tough for him to do.
Historically I've always been the one to take more days off - even though as a public employee my husband has always had more time to take. But my job usually is more flexible (I can get urgent stuff done from home in most instances, etc.) But now that my DH has been in his role as a sergeant in a speciality unit he will take the days off if needed whenever possible. If they're processing a search warrent obviously he can't - and the kids are older and often no longer need an adult at home with them the entire time. So - to make a short sotry long - it all depends! But bottom line, when my kids have been really sick they always wanted mommy over daddy any way!

We were really lucky to have flexible jobs when the kids were little so when the kids got sick it just depending on who had the busier or most important day. Sometimes I would have an important meeting that I just couldn't miss; sometimes my husband would have to cover the unit he works on and wouldn't be able to leave.

Now I am home running a daycare and taking time off requires me to call ALL of my parents and cancel my day, so if there's any way at all my husband comes home and sequesters the kids in our room for the day.

What works best for us is to split the day. He always goes into work a lot earlier than I do, so he goes to work from 7-12, then comes home and stays with the kids so I can go in to work for the rest of the day.

that way we can both get some work done and don't have to use as much personal time off each day.

My husband and I split the day if either of us doesn't have something important going on.

Ideally, you should be able to either decide ahead of time to rotate (whether that means every other time or you stay home the 1st two time and then he takes #3) or you agree to base it on each person's schedule on the "sick day". However, let me just say that it has ALWAYS been me to take off for sick days, scheduled daycare closings, and/or doctor appointments with very few exceptions...one being when my hubby was on vacation for deer hunting and when daughter ended up sick he still expected me to take off work (he hunts locally and had the whole week....I told him that he had to give one day to his daughter). The other time he allowed them to prescribe a medication that we can never get in her, have it filled, and proceed to have me take it back to be flavored only for me to call and have something else prescribed because we couldn't get it in her. Another time he took her to the doctor and again let them give her the same medicine again. I had to call the doctor because it made her sick when she did take it...it is now on the "allergy" list. As much as I hate to have to call out from work, it is often easier in the long run (especially since he is gone before the "sickness" presents itself).

We alternate since we both work. Sometimes it just depends as to who has what going on that day. Sometimes I have something crucial going on and sometimes DH does.

With my son, I will stay home with him just because he has Cystic Fibrosis and if I need to call the doc I know all the stuff about his treatments and meds and what to look for. With my bonus daughter, we usually let her choose who she would like to stay home with her.

Hmmm I don't think it really matters who makes more, unless it REALLY hurts your bottom line.

My hubby and I usually will take turns, depending on who has what going on. I go to work AFTER him, so if it's a "suprise" illness then I will usually stay home. If its the night before and we know someone will have to stay home, we discuss who's "turn" it is or who has what going on at work. I do most of the "sick duty" cause I can also work remotely if needed. Sometimes I HAVE to be at work though. If it's multiple days I may do one or two days and he'll do the next one.

Just figure out what works best for you, get your hubby's opinion/agreement and go from there.

This is actually one of the issues that led me to become a SAHM when our 2nd son was born. My husband is a trial attorney and it just wasn't easy or practical the majority of the timefor him to take off for a sick kid. My job was closer to home and daycare, paid less and had a little more flexibility. However, when the company was sold to a large international corporation the atmosphere changed and we lost a lot of our previous flexibility. I was the only one staying home with a sick kid (my husband did it once that I can remember) and our oldest was sick a lot with ear infections and croup. The changes in my job and company, the sick kid, the husband who couldn't help and traveled a lot and a nursing baby who wouldn't take a bottle turned me into a SAHM. Oh, we have grandparents nearby, but they couldn't really help either. My mom is in poor health and has a compromised immune system so she couldn't be exposed to sick kids. My MIL doesn't have health insurance. One time she helped us and ended up catching strep from my son so that was the end of that. Good luck! It's a tough situation. I'll never forget the day my oldest son was about 18 months and woke up with a fever of 105! My husband couldn't stay home that day, I had an important meeting and we had no one else to turn to. It just killed me that I had a baby with a fever of 105 and I had angst about staying home to care for him! I stayed home and missed my meeting and he had only a virus, but it was a very stressful situation for a variety of reasons. (I was able to get his fever down to 102 within 1/2 an hour and did take him to the doctor, FYI.)

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My girlfriend also makes more than her husband but they still try to alternate. It also depends on how busy each one of them is at work, because sometimes with a big project and an upcoming presentation or deadline it's hard to be out.
But in your case it sounds like you could just take turns.

I would say that you would lose a lot more money for you to take off now since you are talking about overtime pay.

I would sit down and talk to him about it then when school starts I would make sure to make a note on the school records for them to call him first.

BUT! We always had a non working friend or two that would help out and watch the kids for us so we could both stay at work.

There are sick kids child care places in lots of towns now. They keep each child in their own separate room and usually have nurse staff on duty in case the child needs more medical intervention. We have 2 of them in my little town.

It does cost more than a regular day in regular child care because there is a nurse in the building but if a child is just running a fever or something simple.

I make a lot more than my husband but he doesn't have any paid time off and I do, plus I can work from home if need be. If I don't have any crazy client deliverables (which I have had every day this year) then I would take a day off or work from home. If I had to be in the office, my husband would stay home.

I think that the financial aspect should be the key factor. If he can use a paid time off day, he should be the one to stay home. If he doesn't want to use a PTO day, then he should stay home because you have the opportunity to earn more that day. This is assuming that illness is rare - if your kids are at that age where they're sick all the time, then you have to alternate or have a relative who can help out so that neither of you are scrutinized for excessive absences.

My DH and I are lucky. We own our own business so we have a lot of flexibility. My husband is more directly connected to bringing in the $$ at work (he is a mechanic) and so I usually stay home if the other service manager (my job) feels she can handle the customer load for the day. If I can't gone (i.e. too heavy a work load) then we just bring our son to work and he sleeps in the "apartment" over our office space.

It kind of bugs me that I am paid hourly so I either use vacation time or am unpaid when I have to stay home. My DH is on salary so it would not have any effect on his paycheck, but it is the only realistic way for us to work things.

In your case I think it would be fair for your DH to use about 1/2 his personal days. So just set up a plan to alternate who stays home.