Poll: how much did you spend on summer camps?

[Anonymous]

We have two in daycare now but DD1 will start ES next year and I have the opportunity to take a more flexible but lower paying job. We will still need two hours of aftercare but I'm more concerned about the cost of summer camps. So, how much did you spend this summer per child? If you can comment if the increased cost was due to a specialty camp would appreciate it. TIA!

[Anonymous]

$165-500 per week per child. Most were around $200 but we tend to choose lower priced camps. Overall we find our children like the ones they attend with friends. This is more important than the actual camp. The $500 dollar camps were speciality and one was great. The others were not worth it and they haven’t wanted to go back. Our summer camp costs have decreased over the years since we have found less expensive camps they enjoy. We also build in a family vacation and they take a trip to see each of the grandparents for a week.

[Anonymous]

$250/week max for non-specialty. Looks into the camps offered by your city. Also, you can get 6 weeks of “summer fun center” camps through Montgomery County Recreation for less than $400 for the entire 6 weeks.

[Anonymous]

We alternate - specialty camps (sports and language last year), rec camps and grandma camp. Do not overlook your local Parks and Rec - it's a great resource for camps that are fun, interesting and inexpensive.

[Anonymous]

$500/week, but we demand high quality. We tried Y and city-run camps and found the counselors poorly trained, with minimal supervision. They didn’t know how to deal with kids fighting or keep a close enough eye that kids didn’t get hurt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$250/week max for non-specialty. Looks into the camps offered by your city. Also, you can get 6 weeks of “summer fun center” camps through Montgomery County Recreation for less than $400 for the entire 6 weeks.

Does something like this exist in Fairfax or Fairfax City?

[Anonymous]

We over did it last year and with 2 ES age kids we spent almost $4000. Now that they are a little older and we have found several of their friends who never do camp are available during the weeks, we'll spend probably about $2000 total and hang out the rest of the time / travel.

[Anonymous]

$200-$300/week per child. We do a mix of city, county, and specialty (mostly art).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$250/week max for non-specialty. Looks into the camps offered by your city. Also, you can get 6 weeks of “summer fun center” camps through Montgomery County Recreation for less than $400 for the entire 6 weeks.

Does something like this exist in Fairfax or Fairfax City?

I don’t know as I’m in MoCo, but I recommend calling your Rec Department and finding out. Use the term “drop in center”. There are a lot of low cost options if you look for them. Also, you can always get a summer nanny for less than camps. Get a high school or college student to schlep your kids to the pool, join a swim team, do summer tutoring, etc.

[Anonymous]

Thanks PPs sounds like in the summer it can be close to daycare costs! But perhaps if we budget well we can get a better deal. I will look into our county parks and rec in the spring.

[Anonymous]

Do these prices include before/after care?

[Anonymous]

Camps are more expensive than daycare. The prices here so far are very low and likely don't include aftercare. For working parents I find we often need before care and after care for camps (many core hours are like 9:30 to 3:00). Aftercare can increase camp costs by a third.

With aftercare, our camps have ranged between $350 to $550 a week. These are middle range to high range camps.

[Anonymous]

$400-$500 per week for coverage for the full work day (many camps go until 3pm with an additional cost for aftercare -- don't forget to factor that in). Some of that also includes transportation to the camp. Some camps also include lunch in the price.

[Anonymous]

Recommend early registration if you can swing it -- sometimes shaves as much as $100/week off the price.

[Anonymous]

Camps are quite a bit more expensive in NW DC than in Montgomery County or NOVA.
Expect to pay around $400/week in NW for 9-3 and about $100 more for aftercare until 6pm.

There are options through the DC Dept of Parks and Rec which are super cheap ($110 per 2 week blocks of 9-5pm camp). They're not the greatest ever but are perfectly fine. My kids do a few weeks each summer to balance out the money we spend on the other camps. Most families do not do this (they pay the $400-500 a week) and my kids want to be with their classmates so we do spend the big money for part of the summer.