With her child taking an early Lunar New Year holiday, the mother is left distraught trying to find childcare.

Ms. Hoang Ngoc plans to send one child back to her hometown, another will go with her to the company, while Ms. Phuong Le has to "mobilize" her grandmother to come down to Ho Chi Minh City to look after the grandchildren.

"For the past week, I've been extremely worried and stressed because I couldn't find a place to leave my child before Tet," Hoang Ngoc, 32, a resident of Ha Dong district, Hanoi , shared with Tri Thuc - Znews.

In Hanoi, starting January 26th, all preschool and primary school children will begin their Lunar New Year holiday. However, at some private schools – where Ms. Ngoc's child attends – children will have an earlier holiday. While her child is excited about this break, Ms. Ngoc and her husband are scrambling to find childcare.

Feeling anxious when children have an early Lunar New Year holiday.

Ms. Ngoc said that every year, her two children's Tet holiday coincides with their parents', and the whole family goes back to their hometown on the 26th day of the 12th lunar month. However, a week ago, the private primary school announced that her older child would have the end of the first semester and Tet holiday starting on January 18th. Meanwhile, even though the holiday is on January 26th, the kindergarten where her second child attends also announced that children would have two days off in the middle of the week.

Many families face difficulties when children are on Tet holiday while parents are still working. (Photo: Pexels).

"I went from surprised to worried because the children were on holiday but the parents still had to go to work. At the end of the year, my husband and I had used up all our vacation time, and we had a lot of work, so we couldn't stay home to look after the children," Ms. Ngoc said.

Ms. Ngoc and her husband considered many options, such as sending their child to a private school, finding a babysitter, or sending the child to a teacher's home, but none were feasible. The teachers refused because they were busy with meetings and wanted to prepare for Tet (Lunar New Year) with their families. Meanwhile, the three private preschools near their home also turned down the child because parents only wanted to send them for a week. Besides, their older child had already started elementary school, so it wasn't suitable for them.

"I'm also not comfortable letting strangers come to my house to babysit. Partly because of the services offered by social media groups, and partly because the cost is too high, estimated at around 3.2 million VND for 8 days with 2 children," the mother shared.

Similarly, although their child's Tet holiday doesn't start until January 23rd, Ms. Phuong Le and her husband (Ho Chi Minh City) "mobilized" the grandmother from Buon Ma Thuot to come down to Ho Chi Minh City to look after their child from January 15th. In the days leading up to Tet, Ms. Le and her husband both had to work overtime until midnight, and since their child is in elementary school, they had no choice but to rely on the grandmother for childcare.

Another reason why Ms. Le and her husband had to ask her mother-in-law for help was that their housekeeper also asked for early leave for Tet. In previous years, the housekeeper would stay and work until around the 27th of Tet, but this year, Ms. Le's housekeeper asked for leave from the 20th of the 12th lunar month, so she couldn't help with childcare.

It is planned that on January 23rd, when students in Ho Chi Minh City have their holidays, Ms. Le will ask her grandmother to take her child back to Buon Ma Thuot. Her family wants the child to return to their hometown early, as it will be more comfortable for the grandmother and child to take care of each other there, and the child will also have different experiences compared to living in the city.

"It's a real headache when the kids have to take time off early for Tet. Luckily, my mother-in-law is here, so we feel more at ease and don't have to hire someone to look after them, which is both expensive and unreliable," Ms. Le shared.

Ms. Ngoc considered all options but still couldn't find a place to leave her child during Tet (Lunar New Year). (Photo: Provided by the interviewee).

The Lunar New Year holiday schedule should be standardized.

The Lunar New Year holiday schedule for students in 2025 will be based on the school year timetable of each locality. Many provinces and cities such as Hanoi, Hai Duong, Binh Duong , etc., will give students 9 days off, coinciding with the Lunar New Year holiday for workers.

Speaking to Tri Thức - Znews, Ms. Tieu Thi Trang, owner of the independent Binh Minh preschool (Ha Dong district, Hanoi), said that unlike previous years, this year, her facility has not had any parents register their children outside of the scheduled time slots.

The teacher noted that the unified holiday schedule for workers and students in Hanoi has created convenience for parents. Parents also get to take time off earlier than in previous years, so they have more time with their children.

However, in other localities that give children longer holidays such as Ho Chi Minh City (11 days), Kon Tum (17 days), Quang Ninh (14 days), Ha Tinh (11 days)... or private schools that give children earlier holidays, and parents take time off after January 25th, caring for children during these days is a top concern for many parents like Ms. Ngoc and Ms. Le.

Ms. Hoai Linh, a preschool teacher in Ha Tinh, said that even though it's not yet Tet (Lunar New Year), some parents have already "booked" her to babysit their children during the days leading up to the holiday. The daily cost for babysitting is 150,000 VND (including 50,000 VND for meals). Despite the high price, parents still accept it because they have no choice but to send their children to her care.

In the area where Ms. Linh works, most parents are involved in business and trade, so Tet (Lunar New Year) is the busiest time of the year. Many families are so busy that they forget to pick up their children, and teachers have to take turns looking after them until late at night. Ms. Linh herself once had to take a child home to care for because the parents were busy buying goods and no one was home to pick up or look after their child.

Meanwhile, having no other option, Ms. Ngoc and her husband decided to take their second child back to their hometown for the weekend and ask her maternal grandparents for help, as they couldn't come down to Hanoi so close to Tet.

She called home and asked her parents to arrange their work schedules and clean the house beforehand so they could look after the younger child. Meanwhile, she would bring the older child to work because the grandparents were elderly and couldn't look after both children.

However, she was also worried because "bringing the child to work for one day is fine, but if it's 5-6 days, the job will definitely be affected," because the mother can't concentrate on work, she has to worry about feeding the child, playing with the child, and keeping an eye on the child. Not to mention that even if the mother reminds them, it's impossible to prevent the child from running around, playing with things, and affecting colleagues.

"My child's daily routine is also disrupted because I only have 1.5 hours to rest at lunchtime. It will be difficult for my child to keep up, and it will have quite an impact," the mother said.

For the reasons above, Ms. Ngoc suggests that instead of a long break before Tet, schools could switch to a 2-3 day break after Tet. At this time, companies also start their business and there isn't much work yet, parents have more time, and children can freely play with their grandparents or go on spring outings.

Ms. Phuong Le also agrees with this point of view. Even with the grandmother looking after the children, she still feels inconvenienced when the Tet holiday schedules of the children and parents don't align. If the children have their holiday too early, it will be very difficult for parents to divide their time to care for them.

The mother personally hopes that local authorities will allow children to have their Tet holiday break coincide with their parents'. After Tet, children can have a longer break, parents can go back to work first, leaving the children in their hometown with their grandparents before returning to school. Ms. Le believes this option would make things easier for families while ensuring the children have a comfortable Tet holiday.

(Source: ZNews)

Link: https://lifestyle.znews.vn/con-nho-nghi-tet-som-me-meo-mat-tim-noi-gui-tre-post1525664.html

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