Working Parents - how do you handle summers?

[Anonymous]

My kids go to our park district summer camp which is drop off between 7:30-9am and pick up between 3:30-5pm. They LOVE it there. My 7yoDD has been asking weekly since camp ended last summer if it's time for camp to start again.

We have one week in June and one week in August that are gap weeks betwene camp and school so we just cobble together care (babysitter, grandparents, switching off PTO)

When they're old enough we will probably do sleep away camp for a few weeks per summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found it so hard. My kids hated day camp by week 4 or 5. They just wanted a consistent routine with the same kids and teachers. We had some luck with summer sitters and half day camps, but the sitters went back to college in August and then it was tough.

There are 8 week camps. That's what my kids do. They don't switch camps every week. That seems insane to me.

+1 My kids are in an 8-week camp. Each session is 2 weeks long, so some kids come and go every two weeks, but the counselors and most of the kids are consistent throughout the 8 weeks.

[Anonymous]

This year I’m only scheduling camps nearby, and also giving them weeks off to hang out at home (I’ll be working at home and they prefer that to camp). It’s annoying to work with kids around, but my youngest is 10 so they can manage to entertain themselves.

[Anonymous]

It's honestly so hard, especially when you are on a tight budget.

We did something like this -

1 week - stay home vacation with parent one
1 week - stay at home vacation with parent two (still married BTW, just divide for coverage)
4 weeks - combination of summer camp/high school aged sitters
1-2 weeks family vacation
2-3 weeks leave with grandparents (who live out of the area, but still able bodied)


Two summers (not in a row) I was able to time a switch to new jobs. So I'd give notice, having my last day be on the last day of school. Then job hunt and start a new job in late August. Those were actually the best summers, because the kids got a real summer break. Cost of three kids in camp off set the loss of income.

[Anonymous]

When kids were preschool, it was grandparents and splitting leave between the two of us. So that meant that for some summers, we didn’t travel as a family, but dh with the kids and then I with the kids.

As kids became older, we added camps to the mix. Now that youngest is finishing elementary, they are a bit on their own, camps, going to neighborhood pool on their own, but also a bit with grandparents and we still split a bit leave in the summer.

[Anonymous]

Kids are teens now but we were lucky to have a camp my kids really liked (like they were excited and looked forward to it) with one 5 week session pretty close to home with good before and aftercare they loved. So, it was easy to deal with for a good chunk of the summer. Usually one more week was grandparents coming to visit, two weeks family vacation late August usually so that left two weeks where we typically tried a few random camps and that required a bit of juggling, taking an hour or two off or asking for some additional WAH flexibility. Both DH and I have employers that even pre pandemic were able to be a bit more flexible for a week or two in the summer.

[Anonymous]

This will be our first year (one in K and other is in preschool that's year-round) but this is what we are planning to make it manageable:

- most of summer at camp w/ full day hours that's nearby (KAH, Bar-T, etc.)
- only 1-2 weeks of speciality camp that is a little further and more limited hours

Have not figured out how swim will work in yet. DH and I both WFH some days so hope to stagger that and cut out a little early etc when needed, make up time in evening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found it so hard. My kids hated day camp by week 4 or 5. They just wanted a consistent routine with the same kids and teachers. We had some luck with summer sitters and half day camps, but the sitters went back to college in August and then it was tough.

There are 8 week camps. That's what my kids do. They don't switch camps every week. That seems insane to me.

+1 My kids are in an 8-week camp. Each session is 2 weeks long, so some kids come and go every two weeks, but the counselors and most of the kids are consistent throughout the 8 weeks.

This - I'm the poster who mentioned the KAH type camps. Those are likely to have kids they know from school, so that was another plus.

My kid also would not do well with new place/people every week.

[Anonymous]

Calleva has camps until late summer, so we have done that. We also take vacations in August and try to avoid so many different camps. We also don't do summer swim team. We tried it for a few weeks and realized it just doesn't work for our family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Camps with extended care. The only people whom I know whose kids did swim team had a SAHP or a sitter.

+1 Swim team is for SAHM families.

[Anonymous]

This was a really hard period for us!

I chose camps that had aftercare options that were close by- either at our local rec center or within a few miles of home. The really hard part for me was that I have kids who are 2 years apart with completely different interests, so it was always a struggle to find camps at the same time/place for both kids. Or I’d put them in the same camp and one would be unhappy.

I also would go in with good family friends who had kids the same ages as mine and we would split pick up. I’d take the kids back to my place or drop them off at her place and we’d take turns doing that. It was constant communication because sometimes her husband would do it vs her and same with my husband and me.

I also used summer SACC here in Fairfax County, which my kids hated.

[Anonymous]

DH and I both WAH full time. We stagger our schedules and luckily have the flexibility to run out for a camp drop off or pickup as needed, and can catch up on things at night if we don’t finish something by end of day.

I love summer and taking my kids to the pool and travel. I just make sure to bank up some leave for it. We are also fortunate because my DH’s parents take our kids for a couple of weeks each summer for grandparent camp.

It is really hard though for parents with strict in office schedules. The people I know in this situation use the county camps with before/aftercare (this is why these fill up so fast!) or hire a summer sitter in addition to camps. The good news is with the college kids home, there are tons of sitters available looking for part time work.

[Anonymous]

I put my kid into camp for maybe 8 weeks (different camps, of her choosing), and took her on a family vacation the other two weeks. I also booked after care, unless the camp went to 4 or 4:30.

I did that in part to keep her safe, but also I felt that she should not be cheated from having a fun relaxing summer , just because there was no stay at home parent in our home .

It was pricey, but there are cheaper options (like the Y and county camps). I also saw these experiences as a way for her to test out sports/hobbies/careers. They can also meet new friends at camp.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Literally switched careers so I could accommodate summers with school aged kids.

this is what i did. flex job where i can WFH. DS is 6, rising 1st grader this summer; he will go to 6 weeks of head first camps, 2 weeks of the camp at my work, and then idk what we are going to do for August. Likely just decamp to my parents house, they can help me with him when i need to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found it so hard. My kids hated day camp by week 4 or 5. They just wanted a consistent routine with the same kids and teachers. We had some luck with summer sitters and half day camps, but the sitters went back to college in August and then it was tough.

There are 8 week camps. That's what my kids do. They don't switch camps every week. That seems insane to me.

We tried that too. My kids disliked those by week 4 or 5. Camp was fun at first but they were just much happier in school than in camp.