Because both parents were employed, our kids were in daycare, aftercare programs, and summer camps almost all year long.

What they loved most was being able to be home and play with their own things, read books, and control their own time. They did learn some things, hang out with friends, etc. during childcare but didn't miss these experiences when Covid shut them down.

Please do not feel guilty. And try to understand your kids' personal feelings. Their opinions might surprise you.

Many camp activities can be done with parents at low cost. A lot of instruction can be done online and with video. Don't forget to max out public library offerings and other free events.

Hope you have a fun summer!

What activities are you cutting? For a 5 and 8 year old whatever they are doing can't be that expensive (besides summer camps). Rec soccer? Dance class? After school clubs? They are a few hundred bucks. Why do you need to change that?

For summer plans you will need to figure something our even if it's not their usual $500/week prefered camp. But at 5 and 8 you have options. It's not like they're missing out on specialized sports training or sleepaway robotics camp. Find cheaper options. Loom at half day camps and church run camps. Look for a high school part time babysitter. Fly in a relative to stay with you for a month. Then whatever you figure out you just tell your kids this is what we're doing this summer. Phrase it as a positive and dont mention what youre not doing.

This is overly dramatic and odd... if not a troll.

Anonymous wrote:Who will take care of them if you are still working in the summer? It's hard to find last minute slots if camp

I'm not OP but we're going through similar calculations (I'm a fed who will no longer WFH, and am concerned about RIFs). We only signed our kids up for a couple weeks of camp this year. This is partially because most camps start at age 6, even though our 5 year old is on a public school schedule, and partially because once you've got two, a babysitter is close in cost and doesn't require separate drop offs.

We're currently trying to map out when I'll burn leave vs when we'll look for a sitter. We have a couple high-school and college students we work with sometimes.

I wouldn't say anything about budget cuts. Just frame your calendars and schedules differently. And of course there are many low cost kids activities so you dont truly have to sit at home and stare at the walls. Just tell your kids you're going hiking on Saturdays instead of to pottery class or whatever.

Anonymous wrote:Please stop responding to the troll people.

I have lived this situation and many people are about to have the same experience.

You’re a troll. Go away.

Five is too young for a convo on budget cuts. I’d frame this as a new approach for the family, that you want try out something new and focus on more “at home time” for a while. For the 8 year old, you can expand on the value of slowing down and learning how to enjoy the company of each other. With boredom comes freedom.

Anonymous wrote:Who will take care of them if you are still working in the summer? It's hard to find last minute slots if camp

We work from home. The 8 year old is going to have to mind the 5 year old. And honestly, even if we are still working in the summer, I'm not sure we are going to be out of the woods.

Who will take care of them if you are still working in the summer? It's hard to find last minute slots if camp

We had to move and enroll our 7 year old in a different school when we lost our jobs many years ago. He had a crash course in economics. Since then we've made sure to explain our budget to our kids and keep them aware of how much things cost, how much we're saving/investing, etc.

Please do not convey that losing one's job is somehow shameful, or that a downgrade in lifestyle is bad. Children do not necessarily understand it that way, so don't instill those seeds. There are lots of fun things you can still do for free. The important thing is that you're together, and everyone is in good health.

Hang in there, OP and spouse. You will get through this.

Anonymous wrote:We don’t have the money for extras right now.
We have money for our house, food etc. but we’re taking a break from spending so we can save up.

Tell them about things you’ll do instead. Picnics, hikes, check out new playgrounds etc….

This. I actually think 5 is too young to tell this too, just don’t do the activities. 8 is borderline.

We don’t have the money for extras right now.
We have money for our house, food etc. but we’re taking a break from spending so we can save up.

Tell them about things you’ll do instead. Picnics, hikes, check out new playgrounds etc….

Please stop responding to the troll people.

Make it sound fun. We were in a similar position, and told DC that ‘ we were going to do a staycation! We made a list of things we could do at a low cost. year DC and I created a summer bucket list- movies to watch, books to read, games to play, local places to visit, etc.

Growing up, we went on two non-camping vacations until I reached HS. Our summers were hanging out with our cousins and going every two weeks to spend time with grandparents/aunts/uncles. We had a great time and are very close with cousins.

Tell them that spending and saving money is like making strategic plays to win a chess / football / etc game. Tell them that they might not understand the move or the game but you’re on the same team and will teach them over time so that they can win the game when they’re older. Tell them that you understand they love their activities and will spend on it as soon as you can.

Also good luck. It’s terrible that this is happening.

My spouse and I are federal contractors and our companies have lost many contracts and laid people off. We have decided that we want to cancel our kids extracurricular activities and summer camp until we see whether all of this cruel senseless destruction of people lives and the economy stops. How best to explain this to a 5 and 8 year old without making them nervous?