Every time I see/hear that, I kind of roll my eyes. I'm not paying $235/week for any kind of activity for my 5yo. And I NEVER expect to be paying almost $30K a year in activities/school supplies for my kids. No chance in hell.
I don't know about 30k for activities, but summer camp easily eats up 1/2 of what daycare costs were, add aftercare during the school year and any sport/music and you're back at what day are used to cost. At least that's true here.
Post by whereintheworld on Feb 7, 2017 10:43:47 GMT -5
All 3 do gymnastics on Saturdays (1.5 hours) - annual registration for Sept-June tuition is $2,500 annually.
Swimming lessons for fall/winter/spring is about $2,250 annually ($750 each session, semi-private)
Older two sons do an after school art class that is $500 registration 4x a year, so $2,000 annually.
Soccer and tball registrations for all 3 are $500 each annually, so $1,000.
My mom pays for their piano lessons or that would be another $300/mo for the older two.
Random school programs here and there (Lego program, 5 weeks, $65 for my grade 1 son) add up.
Already at $8k/year and that isn't even all of them in full programming (DS3 doesn't do art class or piano yet).
ETA next winter they'll do skiing lessons on weekends which will be about $1000 for the lessons alone. My parents bought them ski equipment this year so they're set for gear and we won't have to pay for rental.
Post by thebreakfastclub on Feb 7, 2017 10:50:15 GMT -5
I know I have quoted this before, but from being a buyer in the sporting goods industry, I know how expensive team sports can be.
You can spend $1000 easily if your kid plays on a high school baseball team, with the bat, glove and cleats alone. That cost, plus the fact that baseball is kind of boring, is likely why participation rates after the t-ball/early little league time frame continue to fall. Soccer and lacrosse are much more wallet-friendly. Ice hockey seems to be the absolute worst.
I also think about things like my son getting a $100+ winter coat, more expensive shoes, etc, instead of his $20 quilted winter coat from Costco. Everything adds up.
Post by sunshineandpinot on Feb 7, 2017 10:55:52 GMT -5
This applies to my 8 year old only.
$100 semester for after school clubs (2x week) $80 month for tennis $110 season of volleyball $350 for summer swim team $1K for a week at overnight summer camp
That's off the top of my head.
5 year old will do swim team this year and a week of day camp, ~$380
Post by InBetweenDays on Feb 7, 2017 10:56:20 GMT -5
Not counting summer camps or after school care (which runs around $3600-4600/kid) and not including any gear for the activities, right now we're paying around :
DD (10) - $480 ski pass, $210 indoor winter soccer, $30 spring soccer, $250 spring lacrosse, $150 fall soccer, year round piano ~$1200
DS (8) - $480 ski pass, $120 flag football, $30 spring soccer, $150 fall soccer, year round piano ~$1200
So probably around $12k total including after school care and summer camp. Not saving as much as I thought, but still less than paying for daycare for 2 kids.
Every time I see/hear that, I kind of roll my eyes. I'm not paying $235/week for any kind of activity for my 5yo. And I NEVER expect to be paying almost $30K a year in activities/school supplies for my kids. No chance in hell.
Right? I'm like, you people are fucking insane if you are paying $3k a month for children's activities. Even paying for after care doesn't come close to that. And wtf kinds of activities are your kids involved in that cost that much. Lol. No. Go play in the backyard, offspring.
For us, the problem is summer camp and other school vacations, not activities.
The cost of a week of summer camp is 2-3x the cost of a week of daycare. Also, I only had 2 kids in daycare for one year, but I will have 2 in camp every summer for many years to come.
Obviously, summer is only 10 weeks, so it won't be as much as year-round daycare. But it won't be a huge influx of cash either.
Year Round: DD takes ballet at $80/month for 1 hr/week, plus costume fee ($50-65) and recital fee ($50). No other costs other than leotard, tights, shoes. It will be $140/month next year if she chooses to add jazz & tap.
Things we rotate (she only does one at a time): Tennis is $300 for 3 months (1 hr/week). Swim lessons are $300 for 12 private 20-minute lessons. We try to do 2 per week, so a package will last us 6-8 weeks, just depending on what else we have going on. She'll do soccer in the fall unless she wants to continue with tennis. It's about $100 for the fall season which includes the jersey but we will have to buy the other stuff. It's 2.5 months, I think.
I think we are going to stick with the 1 "year-round" activity and 1 seasonal activity thing we've got going for as long as we can. I'm hoping to add in an instrument at some point but I also don't want to overload our schedules.
ETA: I am VERY resistant to the idea of competitive dance/cheer and travel sports teams for kids in elementary school. The costs are way too high for what they are, IMO. My niece is in competitive cheer and the costs just seem so silly for a 9 year old.
DD is 5. She's in swimming ($50/6 week session) and skating (same price) has been in rec gymnastics ($260/12 weeks) but she wasn't super into it so we quit. At that price she better be really enjoying it, IMO. She also does Sparks (like Canadian Girl Scouts) which was around $200 for the year all in and runs Sept to June.
I'm looking at little league this year, it's $150 for two months. She really wants to play hockey which is $750/year plus probably $500 in equipment but that's two sessions per week from September to April. I'm hesitant about hockey more for the commitment of being at the rink on Saturday and Sunday early mornings, every weekend for 8 months. Urgh.
Summer camps around here range from $180-$350/week. I've chosen a couple of the cheaper ones for this year. I may suggest the fancier camps as gifts from her grandparents in the future.
Post by friendz4eva on Feb 7, 2017 11:04:59 GMT -5
Right now: $750 one-time fee for community theater for DD1. It meets 1x a week from Sept to Feb. $185 a month for dance class for DD2 $10 ($5 each child) a week for Girl Scouts for both DD1 and DD2. By far this is my favorite. $10 a week for 2 hours is affordable and they love it. We also had a sewing class for DD1, but she only took it for the Fall semester, didn't want to take it in the Spring and that was $350 a class.
Every time I see/hear that, I kind of roll my eyes. I'm not paying $235/week for any kind of activity for my 5yo. And I NEVER expect to be paying almost $30K a year in activities/school supplies for my kids. No chance in hell.
Right? I'm like, you people are fucking insane if you are paying $3k a month for children's activities. Even paying for after care doesn't come close to that. And wtf kinds of activities are your kids involved in that cost that much. Lol. No. Go play in the backyard, offspring.
I personally think a lot of it is a giant conspiracy. There are some kids who are truly gifted and need more advanced instruction. If the child really does love the activity, it's good to have them do something beyond the recreational level. However, what I have seen more often that not is that achieving "travel" or "competitive" level (ESPECIALLY for dance and soccer) is more based on parents' willingness to pay up and commit the time rather than true talent.
Gymnastics is a whole other bowl of wax. Those kids are super gifted and have to really be good to make the cut.
This is for a year--and probably not completely inclusive. I also pay $180/mo for a JCC membership so the kids can have use of a gymnasium anytime, we can work out & have use of indoor/outdoor pools year round. We will be adding in a tennis membership in the Spring which is $145/mo extra plus the cost of tennis lessons.
I do not want to add this up, it's ridiculous. And I feel like I say no to stuff now much more compared to what we used to do.
DD1 (12yrs old)--$2000/yr on club volleyball, $200 for HS feeder team volleyball, $170/mo on guitar lessons (on-going, she's in year 5), $75 for school team volleyball (also $75 for school basketball & $75 for school cross country), $50 for city summer swim team, $40 girl scout dues, $200 summer YMCA day camp, $400 summer YMCA overnight camp
DD2 (10yrs old)--$500/session for cheer, $70/mo for volleyball league play, $170/mo guitar lessons (on-going, she's in year 3 of private music lessons piano/guitar), $75 each season for school team basketball & volleyball, $50 city summer swim team, $40 girl scout dues, $200 summer YMCA day camp, $400 summer YMCA overnight camp. $120/session for golf lessons in summer
DD3 (7yrs old)--$205/mo for swim lessons, $40 girl scouts, $120/session for golf lessons in summer, $40 girl scouts dues, $200 summer YMCA day camp, $200 Girl Scouts overnight camp
DD4 (3yrs old)--$205/mo for swim lessons
Plus ski lessons...which run about $200/day per kid. We try to do this a few times a season.
I think those who are saying that costs don't go down much are those who have to pay for before/after care and for care for the summers/camp/etc., not so much sports/activities.
I live in a relatively HCOL area. Daycare is approx. 1,500 per kid. The after/care and before care program is our town (that is run by the YMCA at the schools)is still OVER 800 PER KID a month. So yeah, taking that into account then paying $300 per week for the entire summer for camp. Then add in some sports/activities. So yes, I think it will go down some, but if I factor in before/after care, summers and activities, it's not going to be nearly as much of a reduction as we once thought.
If I do my math on this, I will go from paying about 30k per year on daycare (for 2 kids, 2 and 3.5), to about 23K (before/after care $800 per month per kid and summer camps $300/week per kid ). If you had asked me before I had kids, I would have assumed that difference would have been A LOT more.
And again, this is not even taking into account any activities...
I personally think a lot of it is a giant conspiracy. There are some kids who are truly gifted and need more advanced instruction. If the child really does love the activity, it's good to have them do something beyond the recreational level. However, what I have seen more often that not is that achieving "travel" or "competitive" level (ESPECIALLY for dance and soccer) is more based on parents' willingness to pay up and commit the time rather than true talent.
Gymnastics is a whole other bowl of wax. Those kids are super gifted and have to really be good to make the cut.
No. They don't you pay, you are on the competitive travel team. The one kid I know that does it has been doing it for years and she is 99% of the time in last place. They HAD to move her up a level because she was a few years younger than the ones she was on the level with. At least that's how it is around here.
Ugh. That sucks. I'd be so worried too bc gymnastics is so more more athletically demanding. You can get really hurt!
DS is 8 -Afterschool care during the school year= $50 (for the year) -Summer Camp = $600 per month for 2.5 months -Spring Baseball = $270 plus new gear. (cleats $30, Pants $30) They also changed the rules for bats so we will be buying a new bat to the tune of probably $200 next year -Fall Flag Football = $180 (new cleats- $40, shorts $15) -Winter Basketball = $200 (new basketball shoes and shorts - $60)
This comes to $2375. it may go up again next year if we decide to change afterschool programs. That would add an additional $430 per month.
Previously when DS was an infant we spent $1600 PER MONTH on Daycare. To me, we are still saving $$. Although when he took Taekwondo it was an additional $130 per month plus $60 for testing fees every few months.
Also, DS is getting braces next week. That will be an additional $800 after insurance. BLAH..
DD1 and DD2 do gymnastics, 1 time per week, costs $150/month total. They also do soccer, a fall and a spring session (around 8 weeks each session). Cost is around $165 per session total not including uniforms/gear (reusable once purchased, so I'd say less than $100 I've spent). We periodically do swimming lessons. They are signed up for a session that is 2 times per week for 4-5 weeks at the YMCA for $60 each ($120 total). We have a family membership so its a discounted rate.
We have done a little dance in the past but not too much. DS is 2, I usually don't sign them up for any real activities until they turn 3 (thats when they can do swimming lessons with an instructor and I don't have to get in the water). I don't do mommy and me classes.
We're in our last year of paying for school (DD2 attends 3 full days/week in a daycare-preschool setting, in the prekindergarten class).
Now: Karate for my 6yo is ~$170/month (twice a week, all year). Dance for my 4yo is $42/month (done in May).
Summer: Swim lessons (spring/summer only) will be about $140/month (for both kids combined) Once school is out, I'll prob enroll my 4yo in karate, too, because she really wants to do it, but we want to wait till we're done paying for her $preschool$., $340/mo on that for both kids.
Post by CheeringCharm on Feb 7, 2017 11:34:25 GMT -5
It adds up quick, particularly if you have more than one kid and they do any kind of private lesson. Both our boys take private tennis lessons ($45/lesson) and DD just started piano lessons ($30/lesson). The boys also do group tennis lessons which are $175 for 6 weeks and soccer which is $90. DS1 also does a soccer clinic through his school which is $100 for 6 weeks.
DD does ice skating which is $150 for 6 weeks and horseback riding ($45/lesson).
They also all take swimming lessons which isn't that bad as it's subsidized through our town: $55 for 6 weeks.
I don't even want to add it up, lol. I know it's a lot.
Post by illgetthere on Feb 7, 2017 11:38:31 GMT -5
Actual activities are only about $75/yr for my oldest. He has stopped everything except boxing which is free for kids through a local non-profit. We just pay the annual fee to register for USA boxing.
We also do about $750/yr for summer camps, but that is only for 2.5 weeks. If we had full summer and after school care, we would spend more like 4k/yr for care.
My youngest only has 200/yr for baseball and another couple hundred throughout the year for gymnastic play "camps". He is still in daycare also though
School activities and expenses easily add another few hundred each. S1 has a $500 field trip this year.
We don't do any pay by the month activities because they add up soooo quick
Edit: we are in a LCOL area and pay less than 6k /yr for daycare, so it is close to replacement when factoring care around school
person 1 daughter on the competitive gymnastics team. (and if you pay, you are on the team FYI) 250 per month tuition, 500 leo, warm up outfit (unsure of price) Private lessons $$$$, and when you go to a completion, you pay for your kid to compete. Anywhere from 100 to 1,000. You also pay for yourself and other kids, husband to get in the gym to watch your own kid compete at 10.00 per person. You also pay for all travel. Twice last month they flew out of state. And this is some low rate gym. She is not going to the Olympics, and she NOT will earn a college scholarship.
person 2 kid in competitive cheerleading. 500 per uniform, 350 warm ups, 1,500 per year in completion fees, 300 per month in tuition, 75.00 per hour in private lessons, 15.00 per person to get in the door to watch your own kid compete, all travel expenses on you. Including the MANDATORY trip to Disney world to compete. You pay all airfare, hotel, etc. 850.00 per kid to compete at that event. And another 1,500 per year for incidentals.
I only have the 2 scenarios to base my info/judgement on. In these situations they seem to prey on the lower income. They promise the moms hopes and dreams of their kids making it big, getting a full ride to college, etc. It's actually pretty sad to watch. However I also understand the need and want to have your kid do something they love, regardless if they make it big or not. I get it, I really do. I just would like to see some of these competitive sports be more realistic with the parents and kids.
My sister did go to college on a full gymnastics scholarship to a D1 school. My dad says it would have been way cheaper to pay for her college education. They did travel to all her meets in college except two and the did go to National twice but gymnastics is $$$$
"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." - Unknown
DS1 does soccer twice a year and 2 winter "seasons" of Futsal. Each season is about $175. He does other classes here and there (he's currently doing an art class, did a stop motion animation class etc) that tend to be around $200-$300 per course. He has a weekly tutor that is $90 an hour.
Summer camp is the killer. $400 something a week, plus bus fees.
I think when most people say that they mean before/after care and summer camps. That does add up.
As for actual activities, we do cross country in the Fall. That is only about $40/child for the season. Meets are an additional $5/child. My older 2 play lacrosse which is 150ish a season, but you can drop that on equipment as well. My middle swims and that is by far our most expensive activity. 75-100 a month depending on the season. He has practices 3-4x a week, and many experienced coaches. I think it is fair. Oh, and DD1 does Girls on the Run which is 125 a season. Band is through school and they only require instrument rental/purchase.
This is probably going to be an eye opener for me. DD is 6 and crazy active. She takes two dance classes and takes gymnastics also. Monthly that's costing just under $200 (then there's costume fees for dance that add up). I guess that's not bad considering day care costs. She absolutely loves her activities though, and with her being an only essentially (my step kids are 18 and 20) I really encourage it. She's been in dance since she was three.
BACK IN MY DAY the only activities we were permitted to do were the ones in the community rec catalog. And I believe we were on a rotation, not just for cost, but probably also shuffling around 5 kids was not in my mom's agenda. As I recall, it was about $40/class for an 8 week session.
I remember I had a couple of friends that were in dance and figure skating, but it wasn't the norm where I grew up. I find it pretty amazing what people pay for their kids' activities. Our next-door neighbor has a son on two football teams, plus they have him in private coaching. I can only imagine what it costs them.