We are spending a lot right now. DS1 and DS2 both do gymnastics, swim lessons, and music lessons. That comes out to be about $700/month, and then there is the after school nanny who watches them from 3-6pm, which is roughly $720/month, and then there is school vacations and summer break which need camps and/or more babysitting hours, so it really does add up!
We spend approx $3500 for 2 kids actIvity wise per year. When they were in before / after care it was $9300/year. Summer caps ran around $5-6000.
So that's about $150 per month per kid for activities which sound pretty reasonable to me. More than that seems excessive but my kids are only 3 years and 1.5 years.
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.
I feel like I am expected to put my kids in far more activities than I was in growing up. I did Girl Scouts through middle school which was replaced with youth group and then one sport at a time.
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.
I feel like I am expected to put my kids in far more activities than I was in growing up. I did Girl Scouts through middle school which was replaced with youth group and then one sport at a time.
I definitely feel like it is a new normal. I've seen a couple of comments on here where having kids in swim lessons is "non-negotiable." Well, we grew up in Michigan, home of the Great Lakes, and had a pool, and never saw a swim lesson. :? I guess my mom was OG #breezy.
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.
Yeah, I mean, my mom paid for me to do club soccer. She paid for my sister to do competitive dance. I'm certain it was not cheap. Even still, there is no way the cost of soccer, equipment, and the occasional weekend stay in another town (plus sister's dance uniforms and fees) cost her $3k a month. And, no, neither of us is super duper talented at our respective sports.
I fully expect we'll have to pay for after-care. I'm guessing we'll use a nanny or the school's program, whatever is cheapest. Even if it's $1,000 a month, plus the cost of the kids doing soccer, tennis, whatever, I cannot possibly see how we will be spending $3k a month every single month, all year long.
No, raising kids isn't cheap. But any break we get from the cost of two in daycare will be more than welcome. I'm not saying it's a cakewalk with oodles of money after they start kindergarten, but there's no way you'll convince me that elementary school kids cost the same or more than infants-5 years old.
eta: Also, these threads drive me nuts. I don't have a choice about putting my kids in daycare. Even the cheapest daycares around here would run us over $2k a month, probably more. There's some choice in how much we (will) spend, but not a lot. Choosing to pay for private lessons, tutoring, extra sports, more expensive gear, etc. is all a choice. So this whole, "oh, well, don't expect it to get cheaper when you're done with daycare" is fucking stupid to me. My kids do not need to play club sports to have a good time. The rec league is perfectly fine. And unless they turn out to be super gifted athletes, they certainly won't be receiving private lessons. lol to that.
One conversation is about how you make it work when you don't have any other choice. The other is about what you choose to give on in order to allow your kids to do more activities. They are not equivalent.
And summer camp is at most $200 a week. So we still come out ahead.
I am a bit anti-establishment when it comes to activities. We are like pantsparty and basically let the kids pick what is offered through our city park and rec. Programming is great, it is low stress and low cost.
I see parents with kids the same age as mine bragging about having "bleacher butt" from camping out at sports things all weekends. Sounds miserable lol.
Post by pinkdutchtulips on Feb 7, 2017 13:39:11 GMT -5
Right now it's just GS and softball
GS - about $400/year (national dues, fall sale, cookie sale, uniform and activities)
Softball - I'm already in about $250 (fees and gear) w more coming (Kanga to get her to practice and more gear).
ETA - summer day camp $1500-2000 plus a week of GS camp (maybe) that's another $450-500. dD is limited in her activities ... being a single parent is what truly limits it ETA2 - before and afterschool care adds up $600/month and that's through the Y at her school
We spend approx $3500 for 2 kids actIvity wise per year. When they were in before / after care it was $9300/year. Summer caps ran around $5-6000.
So that's about $150 per month per kid for activities which sound pretty reasonable to me. More than that seems excessive but my kids are only 3 years and 1.5 years.
Yes, they each do one sport that's approx. $100/month, and the rest is ski lessons. However, we actually have to force our kids to do a sport, they'd rather be home all the time.
$386/ month for after school care (I include this because the question related to saving after you stop full-time childcare) $75/month for golf lessons $50/month for golf play $100/year for Boy Scouts $2000/year for theatre production stuff (tuition, tickets, shoes, etc) $2500/summer for full time camps
On top of that there are school-related costs like this year we paid $350 for the class Science Camp trip - overnight for three days in the mountains.
So to compare, our Pre-K bill for full time care cost $11,400 (it was $950 a month when he was in Pre-K). This year, his activities are costing me $10,310. Not much savings. On top of that, I put money away monthly for college, because I have a sneaking feeling his dad will be contributing to none of that.
ETA: I forgot the $45/month we pay to rent his saxophone for band class. The lessons/class are free through school, but that's another $540/year. Which brings this year's total cost to $10,850.
Post by textbookcase on Feb 7, 2017 14:33:02 GMT -5
Ugh I don't want to think about it. It prob doesn't equal the cost of daycare, though. That's crazy!
C and K are (almost) 13 and 10. They're in pretty much the same activities. B is 5 and is currently just in soccer and preschool.
Soccer - $65/kid per year for registration. Prob $50-100 in new equipment.
Volleyball - $30/kid registration and maybe $50 equipment.
Piano lessons - $80/month
Sleep away summer camp - $400/kid
4h - $150-$200 for registration, fair entries etc. I'm not counting cost of animals, feed, and tack because they pay it back with their profit from the sale of their animals at auction.
C is really involved with 4h leadership and goes to various retreats/overnights. That can range from $400-$500 but sometimes she receives scholarships for those.
Then we just do various other art/craft/whatever classes throughout the year, which range from $5 -$40 a session.
I don't know, I'm probably forgetting things. Kids are expensive.
Post by sineadorebellion on Feb 7, 2017 16:32:50 GMT -5
Kids MMA and BJJ is ~$200 a month. The judge ordered my ex to pay for their extra curriculars,but not to exceed the current amount he's paying now. So that really helped.
When I did the swim school it was $85/mo Gymnastics is $180 a session (8 weeks) Odyssey of the Mind if "free" this year bc the school paid the entry fee, but as a coach I am buying stuff for the team (I will prob be reimbursed at the end of the year)
CYO soccer was $30 CYO cross country was $35 CYO intramural basket ball is $25 CYO track is $80
CYO is a minute FRACTION of the township cost for sports so it's a huge cost savings. It's nice that she is old enough to participate now
How is your CYO so cheap? We pay $135 to $160 per kid per season, depending on the sport. Then we have to buy uniforms on top of that. By the time we buy the warm ups, the game uniforms, etc, we can sometimes add another $100 in required clothing.
When I did the swim school it was $85/mo Gymnastics is $180 a session (8 weeks) Odyssey of the Mind if "free" this year bc the school paid the entry fee, but as a coach I am buying stuff for the team (I will prob be reimbursed at the end of the year)
CYO soccer was $30 CYO cross country was $35 CYO intramural basket ball is $25 CYO track is $80
CYO is a minute FRACTION of the township cost for sports so it's a huge cost savings. It's nice that she is old enough to participate now
How is your CYO so cheap? We pay $135 to $160 per kid per season, depending on the sport. Then we have to buy uniforms on top of that. By the time we buy the warm ups, the game uniforms, etc, we can sometimes add another $100 in required clothing.
I have no idea! A lot of our uniforms are "borrowed" meaning we give them back at the end of the year. Equipment is extra and warm up/sweats etc are voluntary. Are you in Archdiocese of Philadelphia?
How is your CYO so cheap? We pay $135 to $160 per kid per season, depending on the sport. Then we have to buy uniforms on top of that. By the time we buy the warm ups, the game uniforms, etc, we can sometimes add another $100 in required clothing.
I have no idea! A lot of our uniforms are "borrowed" meaning we give them back at the end of the year. Equipment is extra and warm up/sweats etc are voluntary. Are you in Archdiocese of Philadelphia?
All of our gear has players last name on the back of the warm-up, jersey, etc. so it can be reused by the same family from season to season but that's it. But they also have numbers. So if two kids are on the team and both have jerseys from past seasons with the same number, the kid with more seniority keeps the number and the other kid has to repurchase a uniform with a new number.
My kids go to an independent catholic school so it's CYO but it is not tied to a specific parish. We're in Michigan.
it all adds up. When my 2 were in f/t daycare, it was about $2k/month. Now they're in school, after school care is about $500/month. And then camps during the summer end up being about $2k/month for the 2 months.
Activities. Well, they did some activities while still in daycare so the costs aren't just for older kids. But for mine: Basketball, 8 months. $150 Soccer, 14 weeks, $150 Swim, 9 weeks (x 3 sessions/year), $100 Ski lessons, 8 weeks, $400 (includes membership though, so they are 'free' any other time at our ski hill) Music, 8 weeks, $150
So, each kid cost $1150/year for activities, or about $100/month not including any equipment needed. So, we're still 'ahead' of the game from when they were both in full time daycare but their expenses are certainly not negligible.
Now that we are no longer paying for care after school and our summer camps costs are going down, it really isn't as much. We probably pay about $1000 per kid over the course of a year for activities. Figure skating is their main activity and they do swimming lessons in the summer.