How do you deal with summer camp hours and work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - will I get in trouble if my oldest bikes home (its about a mile), someone drops off other kid and they both stay home alone for a few hours? They are 10 and 8 years old.

lol what? Yes you’ll get in trouble for this.

[Anonymous]

You pick camps that work with your work schedule and/or you pay for extra care as needed.

I don’t get why summer after summer people are so confused about this. Probably because COVID and related policies spoiled people. You pay for care like the rest of us.

[Anonymous]

My kids 8 and 10 are going to a camp that runs 9 am to 5 pm, which I got my registering them fat 6 am in January. No before or aftercare. I feel lucky I was able to get both kids into the same camp. I am not sure where all these unicorn camps with before care and aftercare are. Here, those ones are held at the schools and lacks anything interesting.

Here’s my plan: if I have a meeting and I can’t leave at 4:30 to pick them up, I will pick them up at lunchtime or at 3 pm. If I have an all day meeting, then they will stay home with a sitter and skip camp.

[Anonymous]

Do they offer a bus for summer camp? If not, try to find someone to carpool - maybe you take all the kids in the morning. Or you hire someone, perhaps a camp counselor who is in college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You pick camps that work with your work schedule and/or you pay for extra care as needed.

I don’t get why summer after summer people are so confused about this. Probably because COVID and related policies spoiled people. You pay for care like the rest of us.

I don’t understand the reason to continue piling on with this comment. Of course it would have been better to pick camps with longer hours, the OP knows that. Things can change drastically from camp sign up in Jan to now. The spouse could have had a job changed adding travel or OP’s had last minute meetings added.

For example, in Jan and Feb when we signed up for camps, I was working part time from home and my husband was full time outside the home. We picked camps based on interests and not pick up times. None were full day and not all weeks were scheduled due to travel plans. In late April, my husband lost his job. I immediately went full time. Now he’s trying to balance drop-off and pickup with his job search. I’m trying to get all my hours in and work done while having the kids at home part of the time. We’re going day by day. Kids will probably skip camp if he has an interview so I don’t have to take my small amount of pto to drive them around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You pick camps that work with your work schedule and/or you pay for extra care as needed.

I don’t get why summer after summer people are so confused about this. Probably because COVID and related policies spoiled people. You pay for care like the rest of us.

I don’t understand the reason to continue piling on with this comment. Of course it would have been better to pick camps with longer hours, the OP knows that. Things can change drastically from camp sign up in Jan to now. The spouse could have had a job changed adding travel or OP’s had last minute meetings added.

For example, in Jan and Feb when we signed up for camps, I was working part time from home and my husband was full time outside the home. We picked camps based on interests and not pick up times. None were full day and not all weeks were scheduled due to travel plans. In late April, my husband lost his job. I immediately went full time. Now he’s trying to balance drop-off and pickup with his job search. I’m trying to get all my hours in and work done while having the kids at home part of the time. We’re going day by day. Kids will probably skip camp if he has an interview so I don’t have to take my small amount of pto to drive them around.

That doesn't seem to be the case with OP. She picked camp without considering her pick up needs.

[Anonymous]

If it is just a day or 2 I am assuming you could ask a friend or neighbor who might be working from home? I would do this for a friend.

[Anonymous]

I only sign up camps with hours that I can do drop off or pick up and manage my work hours. This summer is the first time that I need DH's help to handle one week for pick up/drop off of 1 child because camps are at opposite direction for 2 kids. I hate those 9 to 3pm or 9 to 4pm camp hours, so I can only sign up a few of them max every summer and they normally do 9 to 5pm/9 to 6pm camps for the rest of summer.

[Anonymous]

We sign up for camps with aftercare. The one exception is a week at a nature camp my daughter really loves. I can flex my hours for that week to pick her up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids 8 and 10 are going to a camp that runs 9 am to 5 pm, which I got my registering them fat 6 am in January. No before or aftercare. I feel lucky I was able to get both kids into the same camp. I am not sure where all these unicorn camps with before care and aftercare are. Here, those ones are held at the schools and lacks anything interesting.

Here’s my plan: if I have a meeting and I can’t leave at 4:30 to pick them up, I will pick them up at lunchtime or at 3 pm. If I have an all day meeting, then they will stay home with a sitter and skip camp.

My kid loves the camp at the school. But I guess did it make you feel good to crap on the affordable summer child care? Either way, I have care til 6

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids 8 and 10 are going to a camp that runs 9 am to 5 pm, which I got my registering them fat 6 am in January. No before or aftercare. I feel lucky I was able to get both kids into the same camp. I am not sure where all these unicorn camps with before care and aftercare are. Here, those ones are held at the schools and lacks anything interesting.

Here’s my plan: if I have a meeting and I can’t leave at 4:30 to pick them up, I will pick them up at lunchtime or at 3 pm. If I have an all day meeting, then they will stay home with a sitter and skip camp.

My kid loves the camp at the school. But I guess did it make you feel good to crap on the affordable summer child care? Either way, I have care til 6

My kids go to aftercare at their school for the full school year. I try my best not to sign up summer camps using public school facilities because it probably is not that exciting to them, similar structures like their aftercare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You pick camps that work with your work schedule and/or you pay for extra care as needed.

I don’t get why summer after summer people are so confused about this. Probably because COVID and related policies spoiled people. You pay for care like the rest of us.

I don’t understand the reason to continue piling on with this comment. Of course it would have been better to pick camps with longer hours, the OP knows that. Things can change drastically from camp sign up in Jan to now. The spouse could have had a job changed adding travel or OP’s had last minute meetings added.

For example, in Jan and Feb when we signed up for camps, I was working part time from home and my husband was full time outside the home. We picked camps based on interests and not pick up times. None were full day and not all weeks were scheduled due to travel plans. In late April, my husband lost his job. I immediately went full time. Now he’s trying to balance drop-off and pickup with his job search. I’m trying to get all my hours in and work done while having the kids at home part of the time. We’re going day by day. Kids will probably skip camp if he has an interview so I don’t have to take my small amount of pto to drive them around.

That doesn't seem to be the case with OP. She picked camp without considering her pick up needs.

Eh maybe she didnt anticipate as much travel for DH. I know that my spouse and I have that problem because his job seems to think that traveling without more than 2 weeks' notice is fine because a travel workday is the same as working a full normal day. To any supervisors out there, it's NOT the same. Or they know they will be traveling in a general 3-week span but dont get the final dates approved until 2 weeks prior (or less).
And lets be real. Employment has been changing a lot in the past 6 months. Everyone is on edge.

[Anonymous]

OP you aren’t the only one struggling. There are limited camp options with aftercare.

You may want to reschedule some meetings or try to buddy up with other working parents to do pick up/carpool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids 8 and 10 are going to a camp that runs 9 am to 5 pm, which I got my registering them fat 6 am in January. No before or aftercare. I feel lucky I was able to get both kids into the same camp. I am not sure where all these unicorn camps with before care and aftercare are. Here, those ones are held at the schools and lacks anything interesting.

Here’s my plan: if I have a meeting and I can’t leave at 4:30 to pick them up, I will pick them up at lunchtime or at 3 pm. If I have an all day meeting, then they will stay home with a sitter and skip camp.

My kid loves the camp at the school. But I guess did it make you feel good to crap on the affordable summer child care? Either way, I have care til 6

My kids go to aftercare at their school for the full school year. I try my best not to sign up summer camps using public school facilities because it probably is not that exciting to them, similar structures like their aftercare.

NP. My kids are at camp at their school. It is not exciting to them. But they're safe, they have at least one friend every week, and it's affordable like PP said. If people have the money to spring for exciting camps and make it work, good for them! My kids' reward for a boring camp is that I make money for them to do all the other things they love.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids 8 and 10 are going to a camp that runs 9 am to 5 pm, which I got my registering them fat 6 am in January. No before or aftercare. I feel lucky I was able to get both kids into the same camp. I am not sure where all these unicorn camps with before care and aftercare are. Here, those ones are held at the schools and lacks anything interesting.

Here’s my plan: if I have a meeting and I can’t leave at 4:30 to pick them up, I will pick them up at lunchtime or at 3 pm. If I have an all day meeting, then they will stay home with a sitter and skip camp.

My kid loves the camp at the school. But I guess did it make you feel good to crap on the affordable summer child care? Either way, I have care til 6

It's amazing how sometimes kids end up loving camps that are pretty minimal...good group of kids or great counselors can make anything fun.