If you’re a working parent who has school-aged kids, you’ve definitely wondered who the heck came up with the school day and why they had to make it literally as inconvenient as possible for people who work a typical nine-to-five work schedule. Jamie Aderski, a mom and TikToker, made a now-viral video about this very topic, where she hilariously poked fun at whoever did, in fact, come up with that schedule.
In her video, Jamie made a skit where she acted out the sides of a parent and the person who designed the school day. Over the video, she wrote, “How school day hours were chosen.”
“The workday for parents is 9 to 5. When should kids be in school?” she said in the video, acting as the parent in the skit.
Switching to the person deciding on the school day schedule, she answered, “I don’t know. Like, 8 to 2?”
Switching back to the parent’s side, she said, “If parents have to get to work by 9, that’s kind of cutting it close.”
“OK,” she answered as the person deciding on school hours. “Uh, 8:30 to 3?”
Parents everywhere are probably screaming internally right now, but also, this is very relatable.
As the parent once again, Jamie answered, “I think you just made it worse.” Then, she switched subjects and asked, “What are kids going to do after school? Because parents are still working until 5 and have to get home and everything.”
The person in charge of the school day asked this infuriating question in return: “Hmm. Uh, I don’t know. Don’t they have, like a great aunt or a grandparent or something?”
“I mean, yes, some do, but I don’t know that everyone has a person to rely on like that,” Jamie responded as a parent. “Maybe we can come up with another plan?”
I’m sure parents can now see where this is going. The person making the school schedule then made the argument that always, inevitably gets made: “No, I don’t think so. I mean, they’ll just make it work, right?”
With a deep sigh, Jamie answered, “I guess they don’t have a choice.”
OOF. It’s so real.
Most schools operate from roughly 8 a.m.-3 p.m., while standard full-time work hours are typically 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or longer. This total misalignment of schedules causes myriad problems.
- Morning rush: Parents must get children ready and transported to school before heading to work.
- Afternoon gap: Children often finish school before parents finish work, necessitating after-school care arrangements.
- Limited flexibility: Rigid school schedules make it difficult for parents to adjust their work hours.
- Childcare costs: Many families need to pay for before and/or after-school care.
- Participation challenges: Working parents may struggle to attend school events or volunteer opportunities during work hours.
- Stress and guilt: The constant juggling act can lead to increased stress and feelings of guilt for parents.
These issues can disproportionately affect single parents and lower-income families with less flexible work arrangements.
Would you like me to elaborate on any specific aspects of this problem or discuss potential solutions?
In the comments, parents sounded off about how seen they felt.
“Afterschool programs that have a huge waitlist,” one mom wrote.
Another added, “Seriously make it make sense.”
And we’re with this mom: “Maybe we need to revolutionize how we work.”
Sign us up for the revolution.
