We can’t afford camps of any kind

[Anonymous]

Op - DO NOT feel like a failure. I am so sorry things are tough for you. I think you said you are home during the week so time for camp mom. There are plenty of free, cheap things you can do with your kids to make the summer fun. Anything in the backyard involving water can make for hours of fun.

I don't mean to minimize the difficulties you are having but I have learned over this past year that we can have a lot of fun with very little. Hunting for earth worms, hiking, scavenger hunts etc have been some of the best times we've had lately.

I know camps were difficult for a lot of people so maybe you could pair up with another family? You take the kids one week, they take them the other?

Just try to focus on the fact that you have a summer of extra time with your kid who thinks you are awesome.. we won't have that again.

[Anonymous]

Kids will be just fine without camp. My parents could never afford camp. I read a lot, spent a lot of time outside, and did zero planned activities. Our complex had a pool and I spent a time there or at a nearby park. I had friends in the neighborhood in a similar position and we just hung out and played. I have fond memories of those lazy days.

[Anonymous]

Exactly! I think lazy unstructured summers are way underrated!

[Anonymous]

Well, to me, camp is mainly child care. If you aren't working during the week, it's not a necessity. Maybe just a couple of weeks for a little fun for the kid, but it's not like you are going to lose your job because you can't get childcare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know it's not what OP wants to hear, but how did you not know this or prepare for this? Did someone in your family lose their job or did you have a financial set back this year?

Kids are expensive, this is not new information nor an unpublicized piece of information.

You are a jerk. I never went to camp, OP. I had a sahm and we just played and rode our bikes to the park, etc. My family was actually pretty wealthy but very frugal. I went to a HYPMS, for the harping ninny snobs on here. Anyway, don't worry OP. I have extremely fond memories of my childhood summers.

[Anonymous]

My sister and I grew up in this area and we never went to camps except Rec Pac. We were upper middle class, too. The main reason we didn't go to sleep away camps were mostly due to culture, and my parents not knowing who the members of the opposite sex were. Even sleepovers were not allowed if my friends had brothers and my parents did not know their parents well. I'm not sure why sleep away camps are a must in this area, to begin with (aside from sanity?)

[Anonymous]

Fairfax County RecPAC has a sliding scale fee system. I couldn't find info on this year's fees, but according to the brochure from 2019 it was $120/week for the highest income bracket, and down to $34/week for the lowest (with scholarships available). Probably higher this year but not by a ton. It's a fun program and has locations throughout fairfax county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look to the rec camps. They are relatively cheap compared to other camps.

$300 a week is not cheap when the summer is approx 12 weeks long.

THANK YOU

I’m only back to work weekends with COVID. We are living very frugally this year. I could prob swing two weeks of 300 max.

We found a sleep away camp that was ~$600 for 2 weeks. I kind of made up for not being able to do many camps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know it's not what OP wants to hear, but how did you not know this or prepare for this? Did someone in your family lose their job or did you have a financial set back this year?

Kids are expensive, this is not new information nor an unpublicized piece of information.

You are a jerk. I never went to camp, OP. I had a sahm and we just played and rode our bikes to the park, etc. My family was actually pretty wealthy but very frugal. I went to a HYPMS, for the harping ninny snobs on here. Anyway, don't worry OP. I have extremely fond memories of my childhood summers.

You sound like you could have benefitted from summer camp socialization.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know it's not what OP wants to hear, but how did you not know this or prepare for this? Did someone in your family lose their job or did you have a financial set back this year?

Kids are expensive, this is not new information nor an unpublicized piece of information.

You are a jerk. I never went to camp, OP. I had a sahm and we just played and rode our bikes to the park, etc. My family was actually pretty wealthy but very frugal. I went to a HYPMS, for the harping ninny snobs on here. Anyway, don't worry OP. I have extremely fond memories of my childhood summers.

You sound like you could have benefitted from summer camp socialization.

You sound like you would benefit from a tiny bit of empathy. Op is feeling bad about herself needlessly. It is hard to 'fit in' to this area without bringing in major big bucks. The pp was trying to make her feel better, unlike you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know it's not what OP wants to hear, but how did you not know this or prepare for this? Did someone in your family lose their job or did you have a financial set back this year?

Kids are expensive, this is not new information nor an unpublicized piece of information.

You are a jerk. I never went to camp, OP. I had a sahm and we just played and rode our bikes to the park, etc. My family was actually pretty wealthy but very frugal. I went to a HYPMS, for the harping ninny snobs on here. Anyway, don't worry OP. I have extremely fond memories of my childhood summers.

You sound like you could have benefitted from summer camp socialization.

You sound like, and are acting like, an asshole. PP gave OP a great perspective.

[Anonymous]

If you are working, you an apply for a child care voucher depending on age. If you aren't working, no big deal. We don't really do camps. Now that kids are older they go to 1-2 specialty camps (minus covid) and that's it. If you are low income some county rec departments have a cheap 6 week camp like MoCo and they have low income waivers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look to the rec camps. They are relatively cheap compared to other camps.

$300 a week is not cheap when the summer is approx 12 weeks long.

It’s sadly true but if you work full time no one is going to watch your kids for $300/wk.

[Anonymous]

I work nights and we never send our kids to camp. We go to the pool, playground, and plan our own little outings.

[Anonymous]

How old are the kids?