Children at a swimming class during summer break this year.—VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Nam

HÀ NỘI — Many parents have gotten headaches because after their children started their three-month summer break early this month, parents have had to manage their children as well as ensure their work flow.

Lê Văn Công, 34, a long-distance driver living in the central province of Nghệ An, said his job is to drive trucks carrying goods a very long distance, so he hardly has any days off each year.

His wife is a worker at the VSIP industrial park in the province, he said.

“Both of us are very busy with our work, leaving home early and returning very late every single day,” he said.

Công and his wife have two children, an 11-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl, he said.

When the summer break started earlier this month, he and his wife had to send their daughter to her grandmother’s house so that the grandmother can take care of their daughter, he said.

“The boy has to stay at home alone,” he said.

Công’s son often watches entertainment via his mobile phone or TV when he is at home alone, he said.

“I know leaving my children alone at home is not safe, but I don't have enough money to hire a babysitter, and my parents live far away from our house,” he said.

Although the couple also warned their son about possible dangerous situations when the son stays at home alone, they still worry, he said.

So, he often makes video calls to check on his son’s situation every day, he said.

Vi Thị Xuân, 32, a worker at Bắc Vinh Industrial Park in the province, said her eight-year-old daughter has started her summer break for more than a week.

Xuân said, “I am still looking for a place to send my daughter to, but it’s difficult.”

Currently, private babysitting places only receive children under three years old, she said.

“If I fail to find a suitable place to send my daughter, I will have to send her to my parents’ house and ask them to take care of her,” she said.

“My parents are old; it will be hard for them to take care of a child now, but I have no choice,” she said.

Nguyễn Thị Lý of Phúc Thành Ward, Ninh Bình Province, said since the summer break started, she and her husband have had to take alternative leave at work to take care of their children.

"Now it's very difficult to find a place to send my children,” she said.

She has sought a few private babysitting places but it will take more than a month for them to accept the children because it is just the beginning of the summer break, he said.

Solutions

Nguyễn Xuân Thắng, director of Việt Đức Children’s Culture House in the province, told Tiền phong (Vanguard) online newspaper that parents can send their children to the culture house during the summer break.

So far, the culture house has received nearly 600 registrations of parents to send their children to participate in summer classes, he said.

Classes of drawing, dancing and MC skills are very popular, he said.

He also said that children of trade union members will receive a fee reduction of 15-20 per cent when participating in summer classes in the culture house.

This is one of the efforts of trade unions at all levels to support the spiritual and material life of workers in the province, he said.

Lê Văn Kết, manager of a life skills centre in District 5, HCM City, said at first, parents are advised to choose reputable, reliable educational institutions and centres that organise summer classes for their children during the summer break.

Then, parents need to find a summer programme which is suitable for the age, needs, interests and abilities of the child, he said.

After the requirements have been met, parents should choose a centre or unit with boarding classes during the summer programme, he said.

Next, parents should consider how far the centre is from their house and whether or not the distance is suitable for the parents to drop off and pick up the children, he added.

The price of the summer programme is also one of the issues parents need to consider, he said. — VNS