Help me pick summer care for my school aged kids

[jlaok]

We've been fortunate that for the past two summers DS has attended a really nice, small, and very organized summer day camp.  I just found out that they are already full and that there is no way I'll be able to get DS and DD in this summer.

I am limited on my options for summer because: (1) DD will turn 5 in June and many of the programs (including the local YMCA's) won't take kids until they are 6. (2) I work from home and don't want a summer nanny in my house because I don't think my kids will leave me alone while I work.

Here are my two best options:

Summer day camp through my city (cost $280/week)

Pros:  They take kids as young as 5, it's close by, lots of activities and field trips.

Cons:  I have to pack a lunch every day, it's the first year that this program is offered, as with most programs of this type ratios are large (10:1 day to day and 8:1 with field trips) and I'm worried about the safety, especially with DD being so young and specifically because they local pool/water park is one of the field trips. 

Team up with friends and go in with a babysitter at their house (cost ~$300/week)

Pros:  I trust my friend's judgement of sitters, DS and DD are really good friends with the other two kids, 1 babysitter/4 kids so more one-on-one attention, DS and DD won't have any adjustment time because they play often at their house.

Cons:  I have to pay separate for any special activity, babysitter who I don't know and isn't specifically vetted will be driving my kids around, not as many planned activities, more boredom and screen time since they'll be at someone's house, possible unreliability due to vacation and sickness.


Which would you choose?

[mae0111]

For me, #2 would be the way to go. I am nervous about water, too, especially with DD2, who is very small and not a strong swimmer yet. I'm also not a fan of a lot of field trips with really little kids and high school aged chaperones. DD2 is a runner. I'd be worried that they'd lose her. Also, you mentioned it's the first year, so that can be amazing, or a bit of a cluster.

I think you can put some rules in place. There's no reason why they can't have a daily outing. Our nanny took the kids out every single day, unless someone was really miserably sick. Often times, it was a free activity. A trip to the playground with a picnic lunch goes a long way - my kids think that's like THE BEST THING EVER. They'd go to the children's library, for a hike, meet up with others at a local playground or splash pad. A sprinkler or hose in the back yard was also super fun. Arts and crafts, inside or out, etc. Maybe once a week or once every other, there was a big trip like the zoo or the beach.

I was not against some screen time, so our nanny would allow one 30 minute show so that she could have a bit of a break each day. Honestly, they were out and about so much that I would have been fine with an hour, but she wasn't.

[waverly]

I currently do your option 1. It may be also on the smaller side (not sure how big yours is) and it is well organized. It is partially tax funded, so I may be wrong but I feel like being a public entity they are more responsible. DS started when he was 5 almost 6. I solved the pool problem by signing him up for swim lessons all summer long. I dropped him off at swim lessons and they got him dressed after and took him to camp and then he swam again later that day. It was a bit much for him honestly, and he decided not to do lessons at camp again due to swimming 2 times a day, but by the end of the summer he was doing awesome.

DD is a bit younger on the 5 year old scale. I am doing swim lessons this spring to get her ready. They also allow me to send a life jacket. They do wrist bands for swimming levels. They test the swimming, and they do wrist bands for the campers. They are not allowed in the deep water.

I would ask camp 1 their protocol on swimming and take it from there.

I have never just known a college student to say hey do you want to watch the kids. If I did I would, but I am not feeling like doing an all out search just for a summer nanny.  ETA- there were a couple of summers where DH was unemployed for about 2 months each.  It was great to not have to do drop off and pick ups and just meet them at the park, for example.  So a nanny could be awesome if you can find one. 

[186momx]

Summer camp. Packing lunches isn't that bad and after a while it is easy and the kids can help choose. 1 to 10 ratio is what is our state guideline for 3-4 year olds so that would be awesome for big kids. Ratio for school age is 1-15 here.

I did the babysitters at home or at a friends last year and it was really hard and it seemed like I lived the summer in chaos not knowing from week to week or day to day what was going to happen. Way too much screen time and DD got her way all the time. Plus not deductible and expensive.

I'm going with day camp this summer and a couple week long gymnastic camps that are actually cheaper than day camp.

[erinshelley21]

I would go with option 2. I would value safety and the ease of the transition over the amount of activities and field trips. Like mae0111 said, it would be easy for the sitter to take the 4 kids to activities like story time at the library, park or zoo. I also look at summer break as a chance for kids to be kids with fewer activities and more time to relax. Kids thrive on routine and structure but they need down time too. Playing with friends would allow that. Plus, it's just for summer and you'll have more options next year since your DD will be turning 6.

You might also find that you have more flexibility. A sick-ish kid (low grade fever, puked maybe 12 hours ago and technically couldn't go to school but can go to the friends house with a can of lysol to spray after you pick the kids up) could still go to the friends house with the sitter but probably not the camp.

[2chatter]

I’d go with the second too. We don’t do any camps that transport or swim. We did a nanny share four years ago and my only advice is - make a giant list of activities and tell the sitter something like one movie and 1 hour of screen time and the rest of the day facilitate these.

IDK if this is an option but we also kept DS in summer DC until he was six for this reason. That way the older swimmers could do the pool with the sitter and I didn’t worry about non swimmer DS.

[phdmomma]

Option 1 all the way. I pack lunches year round for them already because DS is a super picky vegetarian and DD's school doesn't do lunch. We had a not so good experience with an after school nanny, and my kids really like being with other kids and structured play. Also, if the nanny gets sick, you have to cover, but if a camp counselor gets sick, they have to cover.

[erinshelley21]

Would it be possible to work out some sort of arrangement with the friends on taking turns covering the childcare if the nanny gets sick? Like, one parent from your family does it the first time, then one parent from the friend's family does it the second. I would hope that 2 would be the most this would happen anyways since it's summer.

[mae0111]

Mar 13, 2018 13:27:11 GMT -5 erinshelley21 said:

Would it be possible to work out some sort of arrangement with the friends on taking turns covering the childcare if the nanny gets sick? Like, one parent from your family does it the first time, then one parent from the friend's family does it the second. I would hope that 2 would be the most this would happen anyways since it's summer.

This is a great idea.

I always forget about sick time because our nanny was sick like 5 times in almost 4 years.  Unless she was on death's door, she was here.  And because she was so reliable, we were fine with mellow sick days complete with extra screen time on those days.

[jlaok]

Mar 13, 2018 13:27:11 GMT -5 erinshelley21 said:

Would it be possible to work out some sort of arrangement with the friends on taking turns covering the childcare if the nanny gets sick? Like, one parent from your family does it the first time, then one parent from the friend's family does it the second. I would hope that 2 would be the most this would happen anyways since it's summer.

I'm sure we would.  I would only consider doing a sitter share with a friend who is willing to be flexible with any unforeseen circumstances.  Since I WFH I do have the option of having all 4 kids here if we are really in a pinch.

[sdlaura]

Mar 13, 2018 13:22:23 GMT -5 phdmomma said:

Option 1 all the way. I pack lunches year round for them already because DS is a super picky vegetarian and DD's school doesn't do lunch. We had a not so good experience with an after school nanny, and my kids really like being with other kids and structured play. Also, if the nanny gets sick, you have to cover, but if a camp counselor gets sick, they have to cover.

I agree with all of this. Luckily our Y goes by grade and not age so we did Y camps all last summer and I just signed up yesterday for the coming summer. In my opinion packing a lunch is a non issue vs coordinating activities for a Babysitter.

[akafred]

Camp all day long.

[mellym]

We did camp last year for our five year old and just signed her up again. Ours is very careful with the young ones on field trips and especially swimming. I prefer to pack a lunch because DD1 has a food allergy. She has always been at a DC center so is used to lots of friends to play with and variety of activities. Our neighbor tried a nanny share for a summer and said she didn't do it again because the kids got sick of each other and were bored.

[katrine05]

We're doing a mix this year. Logistically sending her to camps all summer was going to be hard since everything around here is one week camps, and not much options since she's only 5 (like you most start at 6). We're sending her to our dayhome with DS for a month, thankfully, she'll have her 3 friends with her from when she was there for 3 years to keep her entertained. I'm still a little scared they will get bored since they won't do any outings. I'll be off with them for 2.5 weeks, and she'll do camps the remaining 3 weeks. Still need to figure out which ones.

[sandandsea]

Camp. Ds loved summer camp last year, especially the field trips. For water trips, the increase the supervision and keep same levels together. For instance, in ds’s group there were 2 first graders and 1 kinder with a teacher. All three kids could swim but were young and had to stick with an adult all day. They also allowed puddle jumpers and many kids brought theirs. There were no groups with more than 2-4 kids per adult for the field trips.

Can your kids pack their lunches? Ds is in kindergarten this year and eats school lunch unless he packs his own. He can make himself a sandwich and grab a cheese, yogurt and fruit from the fridge.

[kimberlybb]

Also team Camp. I'm all about an option where I don't have to coordinate back up care if my caregiver isn't available.

[jlaok]

Thanks for the input. I think I'm leaning towards the camp (trying to put my overprotective mom worries aside). I'm going to go ahead and register them today to hold their spot. I'm still a bit worried about the swimming aspect but as long as they make sure DD wears her puddle jumper the whole time I feel better about it. Luckily, she doesn't love to swim so I can see her hanging out in the splash pad area most of the time.

[k3am]

I'm team camp. I loved my camp days growing up.

I'm also pretty confident that your city is aware enough of the risks associated with swimming and that they've got a plan in place to keep the kids safe.

I pack lunches daily for both kids, so I can't really view that as a con.

[kbw]

I’m late but team camp. The kids will most likely have much more structure keeping them more content. Packing lunches is no big deal to me because I do it daily for DS now.

I know your concern is liability at the pool and I would just make sure that they are aware of your concerns and that there is a certified lifeguard on at the pool. You take a liability with a nanny driving your children to all of the activities and that would make me nervous if I couldn’t get their driving record.