Winter in Upstate New York almost always includes snow days. When the snow starts falling, kids start hoping for a snow day. But for working parents and even stay-at-home parents, it can quickly turn stressful.
Make a plan for snow days BEFORE a snowy day.
You can expect snow days throughout winter months in Upstate New York.
Who will stay home with young children? This issue is definitely better to discuss ahead of time rather than stressing at 6:00 a.m.
If you know you won't be able to stay home with the kids, see if your partner can. If both of you have to work and can't work from home, or you are a single parent that has to leave for work, you may need to find another option.
Knowing this, it is important to set up a system where you and/or your partner alternate weeks as the “on-call” parent for snow days.
It is important to stay up-to-date on the weather forecast - unnecessary travel on unsafe roads puts you and your children at harm.
If you are a working parent/guardian, here are a few planning options to consider BEFORE a snow day:
1.
Search online or reach out to friends and family about potential childcare options in the community. You may find some ideas about reputable daycare options.
2. Reach out to trusted family members for childcare help. Contact coworkers that are parents too. If you know some of your coworkers have kids too, call them to see what their plans are. You may even be able to watch everyone's kids this time around and let your co-workers go to work, with the understanding that they'll watch your kids on the next snow day.
3. Check with neighbors. Don't hesitate to ask someone that you trust, and that your kids already know, for childcare help who you know won't be working. Ask if they'd prefer to come to your home or have the children brought to their home.
4. Check with your work to see if they would be flexible with kids. Can you work from home and login remotely for the day? This is something that should be agreed upon ahead of time.
5. Find a babysitter nearby. Even if only as a last resort, it's worth keeping a phone number for a nearby babysitter on hand when you can't find another option. The closer the better, since the weather may make traveling harder and you may not have the time to wait for a babysitter to come from across town.