WOHP or WAHP and Swim Team

[Anonymous]

For parents whose kids go to a pool with morning swim team and you work, are you able to send your kid to swim team and then hire someone to take them to camps/classes? I really would like my daughter to do swim team but she wants to go to camp. I wonder if any kids show up late to a full day camp? or whether I would have to hire a babysitter for the whole summer who can drive and maybe just sign her up for other afternoon classes etc. to fill up some days (because I think she would get bored with just swim team.) anyone do any of these things? thanks

[Anonymous]

Nope. We were never able to manage it long term. Mine had a summer nanny and did dive team for a few summers, but that wasn't sustainable long term. So we bagged out on swim/dive team and did our own thing. Years later, our pool has joined the 21st century and has morning and afternoon practices, but our summer schedule doesn't have room for it now. Summer sleep away camp and visiting grandparents take up the beginning of the summer when swim and dive team usually happen.

[Anonymous]

I don't know anyone on our swim team without a SAHP unless they have in town grandparents helping or one mom is a PT realtor and she can make the time for swim team practice.

It's not really designed with working parents in mind unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Our HOA will not allow evening swim practice because the community members (understandably) want to be able to use the pool after work and they can't if swim team is there.

[Anonymous]

Our pool finally has camp after swim team. They end up spending all day at the pool this way.

[Anonymous]

Mine never did it because they had to be in camp all day. Neither was passionate enough about swimming to make us want to deal with the logistical issues of getting a summer babysitter and other activities. The downside was that they never really got to know kids at the pool and lost interest. We dropped our membership when they were in high school because we just weren't going anymore.

[Anonymous]

We had a college aged babysitter who drove us to practice (in her sweet Volkswagen rabbit convertible- we were the coolest!) and did activities with us until my WOHM got home in the late afternoon. We would take a week off from practice for one camp that we really loved.

[Anonymous]

As a SAHM, we very much look forward to swim season. It is nice to find others that aren't in all-day camps. Many of the kids go off for the rest of the day and free play. If it wasn't for swim team, it would be a hard summer to socialize since our neighborhood is a ghost town.

I think your best bet is to get a college or high school babysitter. Our swim team does so many events, fun activities, and the kids all go off and have their own fun, sleepovers, ect.... We don't know any that go to all day camps after. Some stick with a weekly thing like karate or gymnastics but no camps. A few kids go to sleep-away or day camps once the season is done.

[Anonymous]

Yes, me and my dh both WOH FT. Our swim team has evening practice from Memorial Day until school gets out. After school gets out, then it switches to the morning. Our evening practices start at 5:30, so dh leaves work at 4:30 to get our dd's there on time. Once school gets out, there are 4 weeks of swim team left. Swim team usually only goes until mid-July. I hired a babysitter last year who would meet me at the pool and take my girls to camp. Then she would pick them up in the afternoon and bring them home for snack.

My kids felt that this was too much and wanted more down time. Luckily, the same babysitter is available this year, so I hired her for 4 weeks full-time. I will meet her at the pool in the mornings. After swim team, she will take them on outings and/or go home and play. I have two dd's that fight a lot, so I have them each in a short camp for most of the weeks so that she mostly has one kid to watch.

After swim team, then they are in full day camps after that for the weeks before school starts back up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a SAHM, we very much look forward to swim season. It is nice to find others that aren't in all-day camps. Many of the kids go off for the rest of the day and free play. If it wasn't for swim team, it would be a hard summer to socialize since our neighborhood is a ghost town.

I think your best bet is to get a college or high school babysitter. Our swim team does so many events, fun activities, and the kids all go off and have their own fun, sleepovers, ect.... We don't know any that go to all day camps after. Some stick with a weekly thing like karate or gymnastics but no camps. A few kids go to sleep-away or day camps once the season is done.

We were thinking about it but sounds like it really is only feasible for SAH parents.

Maybe there is a void to be filled for a swim team for kids whose parents WOH.

[Anonymous]

We don't do it but there is a lot of volunteer time/expectation for parents too.