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When both parents work, what do you do for summer care?
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Anonymous
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I still have a couple years until my oldest starts kindergarten so this isn't a pressing issue yet, but...
I was wondering what people do for child care over the summer? It recently occurred to me that we won't have day care once she starts K, and they are out from June until September. I have no idea what type of programs are available! Not that I need to decide on something now, but I'd like to have an idea what is out there. Thanks! |
Anonymous
| Camp - don't forget that you can use childcare expense account for this. |
Anonymous
| Most public schools have their own version of camps for the summer, and then people also piece together a variety of other camps to cover the whole summer through the Y and other organizations or private schools. You might do 3 weeks at one camp, then 2 weeks at another, etc. And most people take a 1 or 2 week summer vacation usually. Depending on the type of camp you choose, it can get pricey. |
Anonymous
| Some people hire a college student/summer nanny/summer au pair. |
Anonymous
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OP here-- thanks for the replies! I guess that will be a lot to look into once we get closer, but I'm glad to know of the options available.
And using childcare expense for camp-- great news! I wouldn't have thought to keep contributing once both kids are out of day care. To the PP who said it can get pricey-- please don't say pricier than day care is- $1645/mo for our littlest. We were hoping to start actually putting away some more money each month once they are out of day care! |
Anonymous
| Depends where you are and what you are looking for. I've seen day camps for $400/week per child. That adds up to a lot if you have more than one child! |
Anonymous
| OP here again-- what resources do you all use to look for day camps? Or is it mostly word of mouth through other parents? |
Anonymous
You can use the Summer Camp forum here. www.our-kids.com also has a listing of camps. |
Anonymous
| If you use before and/or aftercare for your kids, often they have camps. That's what I use for the bulk of the summer. |
Anonymous
| Ours is still pre-k, but the plan is to send her to grandma for the summer - every summer. |
Anonymous
Yes depends on where. CASA @ Sheridan camp this summer is $515 a week if you do pre-care and after-care as well. Compare that to the camps run by DC Parks and Recs which is $50 a week. |
Anonymous
| it is extremely challenging. once our son started pre-k, we could no longer justify or afford having a nanny. that means we have to figure out something for all vacations, extra no school days (more than you can imagine), and summer. generally you will find a camp you like. word of mouth is helpful. however, particularly when the kids are small, many camps are 1/2 day which is hard to manage for the full time working parents. you'll need the full day camps and potentially before and after care, trickier for the younger kids. some people hire summer college students to help with transportation and bridging the hours. we have to take a week off in june because camps often start a full week after school lets out. sadly, many camps end at the end of july, leaving the entire month of august to fill (as if we can hop up to the vineyard or jet to provence for the month of august!). then you have to find a patchwork quilt of weeklong camps to fill up august, or use a week or two of vacation to help fill the gap. there are some camps that extend through august but not nearly as many as you'd hope for. we are extremely grateful for the love of grandparents who also play a key childcare role here. the cost of all this is high, not as high as having a full time nanny for the summer but still high enough to make you catch your breath. good luck. |
Anonymous
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There are often winter and spring break camps out there as well, which can mitigate some of the parental juggling. If one of us didn't work for the government, it would be harder in terms of juggling time-off.
A lot of camp info is word of mouth (the camp forum on this site is not very good, in my opinion, especially for those of us in VA). One of the camps DS (finishing K) is attending this summer could have covered him for literally the entire summer (except for 2 days in June) - it's Congressional in Falls Church. With after-care and bus transportation, it indeed runs $500/week this year. In our experience, there are plenty of camps out there that run through the third week of August -- planning the summer doesn't have to involve as much juggling/stress as some of the PP's suggested. Arlington County camps where we live go through pretty much the end of August and are reasonably priced. There are YMCA camps. |
Anonymous
| Just don't make the Tim Geithner mistake (or one of his mistakes, the other being not paying taxes on IMF income) of taking a tax break on an overnight camp. Apparently the tax break is good for day camps only. |
Anonymous
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I am putting my son in camp and have hired a college student (a family member) to watch him after camp and for a few full weeks when he is not in camp.
At least in Arlington where I live, the county publishes a catalog every year of county run or affiliated camp programs (I've seen one in Falls Church as well). Also, there is a camp fair in February that was publicized by the school. Finally, those giveaway parenting magazines you see in the grocery stores usually list camps in February or so. A good bet is word of mouth from other daycare parents because generally they will be in a similar location/financial situation as you are. My son is so excited to see his daycare buddies at camp this summer--it's going to be like a mini reunion! My only recommendation is to plan early. The good ones fill up, and registration may start as early as February for some camps. |