The tattered school calendar hanging from the fridge magnet is proclaiming that time of year - midterm. For some, it's this week, for others it's already passed, while for yet others it's still to come. This particular mid-term is a decidedly moveable feast, as it not linked to a particular date such as Hallowe'en or a church holiday.

Many parents, including teachers, find mid-term breaks difficult to manage, especially if they have children in a number of schools, with different breaks, according to Fionnuala Kilfeather, national co-ordinator of the National Parents Council (Primary).

Families who are in the unfortunate situation of having children attending two or three schools can find mid-term spanning one, two or, for the very unlucky, three weeks.

For many parents, the only solution is to drag granny away from her bridge parties and flower-arranging so she can mind her offspring's offspring.

As one irate Dublin mother says: "There's no point in me or my husband taking holidays. I have one son at the local community school and he's off next week. My other son is at the local primary school and he's off the following week." They both go to local schools, she moans, why can't there be some co-ordination? In any case, there's no way any two parents could cover all of the school holidays by taking vacation time.

As to how she will manage, she grins: "My mother is being dragged in again." She says the primary school has just operated a week of half-days for parent-teacher meetings and thinks students have far too much time off.

For those without backup in the form of childminders or grannies, mid-term is decidedly hard to handle.

On the bright side, many rural towns, such as Tipperary (see panel) co-ordinate their holiday times in light of transport and other issues.

However, for urban parents, there is little co-ordination. For example: Alexandra College in Milltown, Dublin, is closed this week, while nearby Muckross Park and Catherine McAuley school in Baggot Street closed last week. Loreto College in Stephen's Green and High School, Rathgar, are also off this week. Catholic University School, Leeson Street, closes next week. All these schools are within a couple of miles of each other.

So, what will the students do during midterm? Transition Year student Amy Brogan, who attends Loreto College, St Stephen's Green, says she will stay late in bed every day and then meet friends and, perhaps, go into town.

Mid-term in her house spans three weeks, with her 11- and 14 year-old brothers, who attend Catherine McAuley and CUS, off at different times. "It would be easier if we were all off together as I would have been at home," she notes, as her parents both work outside the home.

As it is, her parents must make sure there is someone there with her younger brothers.

Eoin Morrissey, a Transition Year student in High School, Rathgar, is off to Italy to ski for his mid-term break. Amy Brogan says some of her class are going on an organised trip to Rome.

In Ferbane, Co Offaly, TY student Eimear O'Connor will be found sleeping and doing project work, during her time off from St Joseph's and St Saran's school. Her two sisters will also be home - the primary school closes at the same time.

Eimear is of the opinion that students don't get enough holidays. Transition Year is not a year off, she says, with dignity: "I'll have to work next week, you know."

Sarah Rees Brennan, whose midterm in Rathdown begins on February 25th, says her mother is at home most of the week so midterm is not a problem. She has no plans for her week but expects to baby-sit a lot. At primary level, the minimum number of teaching days per year is 183, while at second level, schools are required to be open for 167 days. A full day is six hours' instruction at second level, or five hours and 40 minutes at primary.

The only prescribed holidays are the months of July and August, when primary schools must close. Otherwise, the organisation and structure of the school year are matters for individual boards of management or vocational education committees.

Sean Grehan, secretary of the National Parents Council (Post Primary), says rural schools tend to come to common agreements so students can share school transport. In most areas, there is some form of co-operation, he says; however, where there isn't agreement, transport tends to favour the VEC schools.

Parents are used to the school calendar at this stage, he says, and many schools issue a calendar at the beginning of the year which details closures so most parents plan the year in advance. Fionnuala Kilfeather says all schools should compile a calendar and distribute it to parents at the beginning of the school year.

As teacher unions have often pointed out in the past, school is not a babysitting service; however, some co-ordination of the school calendar would be of help to those of us struggling with far, far fewer holidays than our teaching counterparts.