Frustrated with Summer Camps- What Do You Do?

Me, too. Waiting for some good ideas. I may be able to swap with another parent who works from home like I do for a one day on/one day off thing.

I feel it too. I so wish I could give my kids the opportunity to play soccer or Tae Kwon Do or go to a fun drama or science camp for a week or something, but that will likely never happen. I can't help but feel a tinge of jealousy and sadness when I hear people gripe that they are overwhelmed with gymnastics/horseback riding lessons/swim team...

As for us, we go to the free splash pad in a local neighborhood with people we know who live there. But, my kids are getting older now and it probably won't be as fun to them this year. We go to the library, but that isn't like a fun activity. There are discount days at children's muesems, but those days are usually so crowded, we can't really do anything anyways.

And yes, we can't afford babysitters either. We can barely afford to go to the movies or out to eat for a nice date night, let alone to pay a sitter. So no date nights for us!

(We are a college educated family, but it's hard when everywhere is hiring people with masters degrees and paying them what they would pay an intern fresh out of school!)

Rent a house on a lake and have fun! When my children were little-we lived at a lake-and everyday was amazing! They were the best years of my life-and, I think, theirs!

Although babysitters do charge $10+ per hour for nights and weekends, I've found that neighborhood college students are willing to do this as a full time nanny position for less than this per day. I offered my very responsible college sophomore neighbor $250/week, plus I put her on my pool membership and membership to local science center, etc. After all, $250 per week to spend most days all summer at the pool sounds pretty good to a college student, a lot better than working landscaping, flipping burgers, etc. It ends up being the same cost as sending 1 child to summer camp - but less than it would have cost me to send 2.

It is really difficult. This will be my first summer sending my DD to summer camp, and just figuring out what we are doing has been difficult.

I have found that Girl Scout day camp and YMCA are the least expensive options that are still strongly recommended to me by other parents.Both of these options have financial assistance available.

I work at home and struggle with this as well. I think it's awesome some WAHM can actually WORK while their kiddos are hanging around - but it so NOT my case. My daughter will continue to go to her daycare but I'm not sure what to do with my 8 year old - he does have swim team practice from 9 to 11 every morning and I think I can get one of the other mom's to bring him with her kiddos (will save me at least one trip as I can drop him off at their house on the way to daycare) but that still leaves the rest of the day and I can't imagine him hanging around all afternoon totally bored while I try to work. So I'm in that boat too - it stinks!

Oh - one other thing - not sure how old your kids are - but there are lots of bible school things that run a good portion of the day - and are usually pretty cheap. Another option if you aren't put off by the religious aspect of it

We have cobbled together a combination of work at home and baby-sitters (college kids home for the summer). Parents I know who put kids in summer camp all summer save for it all year. I know other parents who have shared a baby-sitter with another family. We did that one year, sending our little boys to another boy's house a few days a week to be cared for by his sitter, who was a teacher at their former daycare center. That was a pretty big savings.

Talk to other parents about their plans and see if anyone is interested in sharing the cost of a sitter. Honestly, it was easier when they were in daycare and we didn't need to figure this out every year. Then if you decide that the day camps are worth it, start saving at the end of the summer.

Do you know any SAHMs who would take your kids for less? One of my friends had her two kids stay with another friend who was home with her two. The kids had friends to play with and they had family memberships at the same pool.

Check with your local Parks and Recreation or City and County summer programs. These are often cheaper.
That is where my kids go. As well as many other kids, because it is cheaper than other options.

Do a Google search and see what is offered in your city/town.

Check out your local churches. When my kids were small, I would go around to some of the local churches to see if they offered anything affordable and fun for the kids. I finally found 1 program I could afford but it was at least 3 towns over and closed early but I was able to get my kids excellent pick up service. It was a huge sacrifice but they still talk about just how much fun they had at that particular camp experience and the youngest camp experience kid in the house is 17. That's pretty darn good but that is where I would start.

Have you checked to see if the school offers any programs? Our district has before/after school care during the school year and a camp program during the summer. May be cheaper than other camps you've found.

Hi, Mom:
Check out the Kiwanis Clubs in your area. Their goal is to help children and families. Check out the Young Children Priority One that the Kiwanis Clubs sponsor.
Good luck.
D.

Do you have a local Boys and Girls Club? Ours offers full day summer camps, with full and partial scholarships. And our progarams are wonderful, exciting and safe. All my best.

i am in the same boat as you!

I may be hitting things you have already looked into
YMCA; school-based programs; A nanny service like Sitter City (franchises and if a long-term job, the rate is different then the hourly)
Local College for nanny and offer a weekly rate ($300 for two kids, plus gas??)
It is crazy. I have two too (ha!) and it is always a stretch in the summer. This summer we found a great program that charges on a sliding fee schedule and offers multi-child discounts.
I have some vacation time and my mom and MIL both want the boys to come visit, but I am looking at a few weeks where it will be $175 EACH for them . . . Next year, I am totally saving up year round for this hit!
OH! Just to be sure you are exhausting your summer care options - look at the ACA (american camp association) website to see if there is anything overlooked and no matter where you call, ask if they have partial scholarships available or an "income based" fee that they would consider. Camps and programs want to be full. it costs them the same to run the program for 13 kids as it does for 10 (minus food, etc) but as you can see there is wiggle room.
Hang in there, momma! Best of luck.

I agree about the cost of the summer day camps! I can only afford to let my GD go every other week. The weeks that she doesn't go, I try to line other things up. Like she usually goes to Vacation Bible School with my great niece. I drop her off at her home in the morning and she spends the day with them and I pick her up at night. Sometimes they invite her to just stay the whole week and she loves that. Then another week, she'll spend time with my sister who is retired and lives in a very rural area. GD loves it up there and is friends with the neighborhood children so it's a win/win situation. Anyway, I just try to line other things up which can be tricky. If worse comes to worse, she can stay home because my niece lives with us but she works nights so GD would be pretty much "by herself" if she were left at home which is not a good situation. I don't like the idea of her being lonely during the day. I don't worry because auntie is there, she just isn't any company.

i work from home so it's not an issue for me. my ids attend a local camp for 3 weeks, 9-12 for 300 each. otherwise swim lessons every day, and beach outings.

My sks are older and they spent summers with their mom. When DD gets older, it will be summer camp if I am not still freelancing. Her preschool has a summer program. You can also look at local day camps through the county park and rec programs. My coworker used to stack camps so that her daughters were occupied during the day. Depending on your needs you can also see if there are scholarships. My sister went to sleep away camp on a scholarship (just a week or two at a time).

I used to say I can't wait until they are in school and no more daycare. Then the summer hit. I'm assuming you need something for when you are working. We put money into a dependent care account through my husband's job to help pay for the summer. You can put up to $5000 into the account and it is not taxed income. Summer camps can be pricey. Up until this year we had one they went to all summer that was not the most expensive. They didn't like it last year, so this year we are doing a variety of camps, from inexpensive bible camps to a more pricey pool based camp. Check into the YMCA in your area, if you have a girl, girl scouts usually has some less expensive options also. Good luck, it adds up. We will be spending almost all of the $4000 we put in the account and I wish we had put in the entire $5000.

My grandkids have been going to the Boys and Girls Club for the past 4 years or so when they're not with me. They offer planned activities throughout the day, (computers, arts and crafts, sports, cooking, etc.), offer early drop-off and field trips on Wednesdays that are an extra charge, but the bottom line cost is so low it isn't a problem. The staff knows these kids for the most part have nowhere else to go and really make their summer a fun and exciting experience : )

our church has camps for kids grades 3 and up for one week. ymca does stuff during the summer and our rec centers have programs. or try the boys and girls club of america.

I'm blessed to be a mom who can work part time from home, so my kids are with me and they are 12 and 9. I'm actually thinking of taking 3-4 kids this summer for extra money and to keep my kids company. Look at the boys/girls club in your area to see if anything is offered. good luck.

there are cheaper options.. local school districts often run summer programs. I can put both kids int eh program for about $300 a week. many parks and recs have summer programs that are relatively inexpensive. check your local city or a nearby city. boys and girls club has summer programs. ymca has programs. the salvation army runs summer programs. there are lots of options..

When we lived in Pennsylvania, our church sponsored church camp. The prices were very reasonable and they helped pay for some of the costs. My son loved it there every year. My daughter is not old enough to attend, but we moved to Virginia, so that camp is a moot point.

I know the school she goes to offers summer "camp" for $120/child for 1-9 weeks. Try checking with your children's school for any programs.

How old are your kids?

That may be the difference. I don't know what you are looking for, it is just child care while you work? You don't already have that now? If it is stay over camp they are providing food and shelter for several 24 hour periods, that may be it.

I would use a regular child care facility for school age kids that has a fun summer schedule. Some will not have a good program for school-agers and others will go out of their way to make it great.

In child care during summer hours I got $15 for a full day per school aged child.