Holy effing shit balls summer camp is expensive. We will be in the red pretty much all summer. We also moved DD to a much better, more structured daycare to the tune of $200 more a month.
ugh, I hear you on that. We are only sending DD to camp for a few weeks because of the cost but even after that she will go to the daycare DS goes to which is less expensive but still . Then, once summer is over DS starts preschool so basically the costs won't go down until fall 2016 when they both will be in school.
I HEAR YOU!!!! It sucks. Last year we sent DS to the Y which gets really good reviews and many people love it. It's also the cheapest option. He HATED it. I just can't send him again. So... off to the more expensive camps. Luckily, due to DHs job, we don't have to send him every week. But still... it's a hit.
Post by jeaniebueller on May 28, 2015 9:43:25 GMT -5
I am not dealing with camp, just daycare costs for the summer. Going from one in daycare to two is going to suuuuuuuck. At least, the baby will be done with formula in another week, so there is a teeny bit of cost savings.
Yes! We're sending dd to the Boys & Girls Club this summer and it cost us as much as daycare would have. And B&G is supposed to be one of those places that is super affordable. Granted we will only pay $10.00 for her to be able to go there after school for the next year, but the summer program is outrageous.
Summer care in general is a bitch. We will have a PT nanny again, but I'm planning to do only 4 days a week to cut costs a little. Four days/week for four hours a day will run us just over $200/week, so that is our default per-week cost. If I want to add camps, I have to either put both girls in camp or pay $200/week for one kid plus the cost of camp.
I don't want to stick my kids with a sitter (or a sitter with my kids, lol) for the whole summer, but when you're looking at $500+/week for both girls to be at a camp, versus $200, it gets hard to justify the camps. Right now DD1 has three and DD2 has one. I'd like to add a half-day camp for each of them at the end of summer, but I don't know if it'll happen.
Plus, when a camp starts at 9 a.m. or is 20-30 minutes away, it's completely out as an option. That's the busiest time of morning for me most days, and it seems like it would be difficult for most working parents to drop a kid off that late in the a.m. If there's an early drop-off option that's fine, but a lot of places don't have them! I also can't add a ton of travel time to my morning.
There are, compared to where I grew up, a ton of options for summer activities. But when you start looking at price and logistics, they narrow down REALLY quickly.
There are, compared to where I grew up, a ton of options for summer activities. But when you start looking at price and logistics, they narrow down REALLY quickly.
OMG yes. DS got accepted to this elite football camp - $350 a week for the summer. The hours are 9-3.
Yes- this is my son's first year in real camp instead of the daycare's "camp". The sticker shock was real.
I only need 3 days/week, and I only work 6.5 hour days, and I was still looking at $400/week. Thankfully I found an affordable township-run camp, but holy crap!
Most of the camps here run something like 9 or 9:30 to 3 as the "base" hours, then it's additional for before/after care. It was insane.
It's so expensive. DS never liked the more reasonably priced options like Kids on Campus or the Y. He always preferred the higher end special activity camps. And don't get me started on overnight camps. Yikes.
Last camp DS did was over $900 for 6 nights and he needed special boots, clothing and bedding for it.
Post by NinaSimone on May 28, 2015 10:21:38 GMT -5
We're saving a whopping $20/week because we're taking advantage of the discount for paying in full upfront. My issue is with the timing of when school ends/begins again and when camp begins/ends. What am I supposed to do with my kid for the 2 weeks between the end of camp and Labor Day?
I have a two day a week consulting job right now that's pretty great, but I'm going to have to stop when school gets out. I can't find part-time care for my 6 year old. It's 5 days a week or nothing I'm finding. I don't like working enough to not be profitable at it and I don't want her in full time care if I don't need it.
Sleep away camps are another ball of wax. We're a few years away from trying it, but from what I've seen at least $1000 a week is typical.
We're saving a whopping $20/week because we're taking advantage of the discount for paying in full upfront. My issue is with the timing of when school ends/begins again and when camp begins/ends. What am I supposed to do with my kid for the 2 weeks between the end of camp and Labor Day?
I forgot about this bullshit. I really don't want to waste all my vacation time the last 2 weeks of summer, but all the camps are done by then.
I might ask my daycare if he could do their "camp" for those weeks-- he feels like he's too old for it, but they take kids up to 3rd grade.
My other option is to split the weeks with a friend in the same situation so we each watch all the kids for one week.
Post by litebright on May 28, 2015 10:38:04 GMT -5
Oh, and DD2 is 5, going into kindergarten in the fall. So she's not old enough for most of the camps anyway, because they want you to have completed kindergarten.
I hope next summer will be easier for that reason because at least I won't have to worry about those restrictions.
Post by georgeharrison on May 28, 2015 11:02:11 GMT -5
My kid goes to a private school with August-May tuition. I was SO looking forward to having a little extra money over the summer, but NOPE, camp is eating it all! AND, I only work part time and am arranging my schedule so that he only needs to be in camp every other week...and it's STILL eating up all the "extra" funds.
Post by captainmel on May 28, 2015 11:52:56 GMT -5
I used to work at summer camps for high school aged kids. It was a very specific activity (think band camp but different). I was paid $1200 a week as staff. The students paid around $6000 for 3 weeks. There were similar camps that lasted 8 weeks. Some students would stack their camps so they could go to two or three in one summer.
It could be worse?
Also, thank you parents for making it so for several years I only worked 8 weeks in the summer and then one day a week the rest of the year.