We were doing this too but then my oldest just didn’t want to. Ballet was too strict and my dd was in tears over how she wasn’t good at it. Swim lessons did absolutely nothing. Dh and I taught the kids ourselves quicker. We sat the kids down and laid out camp ideas or summer ideas and they were adamant no camps. They wanted a summer nanny instead.

Sometimes the kids like more downtime. We are very active as a family still and now we have more playdates with friends.

One activity per kid at a time. Right now it's gymnastics which is about $150 per month per kid. Next season is rec soccer which is about $100 per month per kid. We don't go crazy in the activities no so much for the financial reason but I don't want to have to rush every day after school.

I'm a person who vastly underestimated how expensive having kids can be, especially multiple kids in multiple activities. Partly it's the cost creep of extras. For ice hockey, we purchased a 3 month pass for public skating, which was $85. Then another $20 for a neck protector. $20 for blade guards. And so on, then you've suddenly spent an extra several hundred over 2 months. For school based activities, there are the fundraisers where you are strongly encouraged to spend at least $50 on candy or buy multiple $35 sweatshirts. I'm not complaining, but I know so many parents are doing this times 3 and they have more kids than I do, too! I don't know how seemingly "everyone" is doing all this and also saving for retirement and driving around in Benz and Volvo SUVs.

We have two kids:

2nd grader:

Dance:$200 a month
Acro: $200 for two different sessions
Tennis lesson: $600 for two sessions
Dance recital fees$: 700

total: $2900

Kindergartner:

Dance: $175 a month
recital fees: $350
Swimming lesson: $150 a month

total: $2625

$5525 since August 2023.

Anonymous wrote:Three kids here. We don’t have time for that stuff. I sit with each one thirty minutes a day to work on schoolwork, and we do piano once a week for 60 per kid. Otherwise they play with eachother. Summer camps though are killer at 500/week.

$60 a week per kid is $180 a week, or $720 a month if there are 4 weeks in a month.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter (7) is in aftercare and does private piano lessons. That's $2200 a year (184 a month) and $7800 ($650/ month) for aftercare each year. DD (4) is in aftercare (I don't know the cost, I pay $3000 for her school each month). And she does gymnastics which is $1330 a year ($111/month).

That's $3945 a month but $3000 is daycare for one kid.

Aftercare is $650 a month?? Do they do structures enrichment activities during that time?

Yes it's more than "your kid is safe here". They do organized games and spend a lot of time on the playground. My 4 year old goes to school there so it's just too convenient. It's definitely a lot of money for how little she is there (1-2 hours a day).

Three kids here. We don’t have time for that stuff. I sit with each one thirty minutes a day to work on schoolwork, and we do piano once a week for 60 per kid. Otherwise they play with eachother. Summer camps though are killer at 500/week.

Anonymous wrote:I’ve long wondered why cults don’t offer more free and emergency childcare. There is a lot I would overlook and/or embrace for a reliable sick day babysitter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This year, 2024? This is a lot. Paid by dad's child support, I don't earn enough to cover this.

For one child:
Around $1300 for one child. I signed her up for four art classes at about $275 each so she'd have somewhere to go on cold days after school. That's 6-8 weeks between late January and March. Plus $85 for a ticket to Shen Yun and $45 for a one-day class. But that's not regular spending for us. That was seasonal while sun sets early and parks unappealing. When current classes end and seasons change, class time will be replaced by free time out at the park.

P

Sorry to inform you but Shen Yun is a cult that creates propaganda and conspiracy theories.

Who cares? It's a show. One doesn't get sucked into cult by watching people dance on a stage....not to mention it's a cult that isn't even part of American culture. I saw it too and thought.... "hmm, next time I'm taking the kids to a Disney musical".... I didn't think any deeper about it than that.

I’ve long wondered why cults don’t offer more free and emergency childcare. There is a lot I would overlook and/or embrace for a reliable sick day babysitter.

Anonymous wrote:This year, 2024? This is a lot. Paid by dad's child support, I don't earn enough to cover this.

For one child:
Around $1300 for one child. I signed her up for four art classes at about $275 each so she'd have somewhere to go on cold days after school. That's 6-8 weeks between late January and March. Plus $85 for a ticket to Shen Yun and $45 for a one-day class. But that's not regular spending for us. That was seasonal while sun sets early and parks unappealing. When current classes end and seasons change, class time will be replaced by free time out at the park.

P

Sorry to inform you but Shen Yun is a cult that creates propaganda and conspiracy theories.

Anonymous wrote:One kids 11k and another kid 20k. Both have 2 music instruments, 2 seasonal sports, and 1 different year round leisure sport of their choices.

11k and 10k not 20k

One kids 11k and another kid 20k. Both have 2 music instruments, 2 seasonal sports, and 1 different year round leisure sport of their choices.

Kid 1 is about $5500 a year and kid two is about $4000 a year for extracurriculars right now.