Remember generations of families survived summers with no telework. We just were more tired, spent more $$ and saw our kids less.

Extended day camp. Camp hours are 7 am to 6 pm.

One person works early 6:30 - 3 and picks up kids by 4 pm
Other does drop off and works later.

Summer camp hours are actually better than normal school because we only have before care. If one spouse is only available for drop off/pick up then they usually either WFH that day (my fed office allows very situational telework) or take a few hours of leave.

Back when my son was in elementary school, my friend and I took 5 days leave each and covered each other’s child for two weeks. They played together inside the house, one day near by park and 1 day museum etc.

Find a family to carpool with and then split your portion of the driving with your spouse. He needs to adjust his schedule too and that may mean saying no to some travel during the summer if you cant handle it solo.

I do maxiflex and work as much as I can on the days I don’t have to do drop off/ pickup. I’m divorced, so on the days the kids are with their dad I get into the office by 7 and/or leave at 5:30. I sprinkle in some of my limited situational telework, and that lets me do shorter days to accommodate pickups (and throw in an hour of leave here or there as needed). My kids do a couple weeks if sleep away camp, so I stack hours those weeks as well.

So, a pay period might look
Week one-8:30-4 camp
Monday: 9:30-5:30 (dad does pickup)
Tuesday: 7:00-2:45 (dad does drop off)
Wednesday: telework 8:45-5 (with a break for pickup around 4)
Thursday: 9:30-2:45
Friday: 9:30-5 (dad does pickup)

Week two (sleep away camp)
Work 7/7:30-5 every day.

My kids hated summer camp or sleep-away camps. So, I would make sure that I signed them up for multiple classes, and shorter camps. Then, I would make sure that at least a few of their friends were also signed up for the very same classes and camps.

We divvied up carpooling duties as well as sitter duties every other week. This meant that if parents could not come to pick up the kids, the carpooling parent took the kids to their own home, fed them and kept them safe and entertained. It was like an endless summer of fun.

Of course, it meant that DH and I had to work from home or take a day off every two weeks or so, but, it was very doable.

Summer camp at the Y. Aftercare too. Kids swam and played together--great times!

Pay a sitter for the days camp ends early. There is no magic unicorn here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Use all day camps. That’s what many of us do (and yes, it’s a large expense). Or one of you can quit your job.

If you’re working, you should have your young kids in child care. And $18 is a steal per hour for a summer babysitter.

Stop being cheap and lazy.

Stop being a jerk. A lot of camps are 9:00-4:00. Some have aftercare but personally my kids hate staying that long.
The options are split up the drop off and pick up with your spouse or another family, take leave frequently, or get a summer sitter.

I don't understand why so many camps ends at 3:30 or 4 but we just didn't sign my kids up for those camp. They went to ones that had aftercare. Maybe if it was a really special camp we did one week and DH and I did crazy schedules to make it work but the reality is every camp is not an option for every family.

Anonymous wrote:We end up hiring a summer sitter for $22 or so an hour. For 2 kids it's the same as a fancy camp and the sitter stays until 5 unlike camps that end at 3.

This didn't work for us. Sitter could only work 8 hours a day and we needed longer. Feds have to work 8.5 hours (no paid lunch), plus commute.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Use all day camps. That’s what many of us do (and yes, it’s a large expense). Or one of you can quit your job.

If you’re working, you should have your young kids in child care. And $18 is a steal per hour for a summer babysitter.

Stop being cheap and lazy.

Stop being a jerk. A lot of camps are 9:00-4:00. Some have aftercare but personally my kids hate staying that long.
The options are split up the drop off and pick up with your spouse or another family, take leave frequently, or get a summer sitter.

I’m not being a jerk but clearly I struck a nerve. Many of us are in this same summer camp position.

OP needs to use one of the many suggestions already offered. Since folks are having processing issues, I’ll summarize them here:

-Rotate pickup and drop off (if you’re in a two parent household)
-Research other camps
-Hire a sitter
-Use leave
-Carpool with other families

And sorry, but if your kids “hate staying there long,” that’s something for you to troubleshoot. Plenty of parents have kids in before and after care for the school year too.

Many parents do not have the option of just picking up our kids whenever we want. We have to work around the confines of our work schedules.

Anonymous wrote:Camps or babysitter. What did you expect working full-time?

The OP is doing camp. It’s the drop off and pick up that’s a problem.

Anonymous wrote:Use all day camps. That’s what many of us do (and yes, it’s a large expense). Or one of you can quit your job.

If you’re working, you should have your young kids in child care. And $18 is a steal per hour for a summer babysitter.

Stop being cheap and lazy.

Stop being a jerk. A lot of camps are 9:00-4:00. Some have aftercare but personally my kids hate staying that long.
The options are split up the drop off and pick up with your spouse or another family, take leave frequently, or get a summer sitter.

Anonymous wrote:Camps or babysitter. What did you expect working full-time?

Yep!

Use all day camps. That’s what many of us do (and yes, it’s a large expense). Or one of you can quit your job.

If you’re working, you should have your young kids in child care. And $18 is a steal per hour for a summer babysitter.

Stop being cheap and lazy.