Summertime

[Anonymous]

Hi, I woke up thinking Abt after school and summertime care. I work full time and have a 2 year old and expecting in spring. When darling 2 year old starts kindergarten how do I coordinate pick up? Are there nannies or other childcare options to take care if your kids? What happens when school is out? Are there nannies just for summer and then part time during school year? I tried to do a search on this but can't find anything... How does everyone handle after school and summer care for school age ones?

[Anonymous]

Summer = camp

After-school care = SACC or tae kwon do

[Anonymous]

Save up! Summer camp costs fortune. My work colleague was asking me how much cheaper it gets when your kids go to school and the full time daycare stops. I laughed!!!! It's soooo much more expensive than daycare because we couldn't get into SACC, so we have an au pair. Also, the after school activities cost a fortune. Summers are ridiculous. The au pair can only work 45 hours, so we end up with an AP + summer camp of some sort. Big bucks!

[Anonymous]

we were able to keep costs down a little for the summer by using the Rec-PAC program in Fairfax and my daughter also did Girl Scout camp for a week. That worked out to about $100/week.

This did not cover the whole summer, so we also wound up having grandparents visit and used a sitter for a little while, too.

But yes, camps are expensive usually. Even the parks and rec camps at the rec-centers are $200/week, and they don't cover normal work hours, either. These options worked for me because I work PT most of the time from home. 9-3 camps don't work for most normal working families.

[Anonymous]

I'm finding that as my kids get older, I can't just park them in any summer camp of my choosing without making them miserable. They want to be with friends, and need more down time at home or hanging at the pool, but are still too young to do these things alone, so I've started adapting my own work schedule for this.

[Anonymous]

You're lucky you have a flexible schedule.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I am lucky indeed in that. A friend with a less flexible job than mine hired a summer nanny this time so that her kids could hang at the pool and mix with friends at home. I don't think it cost any more than the $600 per week she had previously been shelling out for summer day camps for 2 kids.

[Anonymous]

Summer: we most do Y camps because they are working parent-friendly. Before/After care included in rate. Lots of variety and location works for us. But kids also spend some time with grandparents and on family vacation.

Before and after school we do SACC.

[Anonymous]

We budget about $300 per week for each kid for summer from 8-6 with one or two weeks off. It isn't too much different than preschool really.