Camp Vent!!

[JoiseyMom]

I live in Jersey too, and the closest day camp also charges $500 + a week. I know alot of the parents work at the camp or drive one of the buses to get free tuition. I sent my oldest daughter there for 4 week for a few summers, but that was all I could afford. Our local camp is Meadowbrook and it's a great camp, just expensive.

I would never beat on anyone for spending their own hard earned money on whatever they want. It's their money.

I agree with the "getting it off her part". The kids come home at dinner time, unwind, eat and then they change. You end up doing laundry at 10pm. It's so easly to get sidetracked with 4 kids.

Your camp costs more then mine!! At least for the younger kids!

 

[JoiseyMom]

So there is absolutely no lower priced option for child care for the summer?? Nothing at all for school age kids except $6000 summer camp??

Like I said there is my town rec that is cheap but they swim 2x a week, and hang out and do practically nothing all summer. Why would I do that to my child? I just check a local camp that I thought would be cheaper then mine..but for the teen program it wasn't they are all in the 5 - 6k range for travel or travel light.

In Brooklyn my kids went to the camps affiliated with the temple or JCC. We don't have that out here. Now I could higher a sitter to watch them all summer probably cheaper then camp, since DS goes to the same camp as DD. But that would do what?

Yes, my camp is expensive, as they all are. I vented about the cost just because they are too cheap to give enough shirts!!

 

[princessmom29]

Like I said there is my town rec that is cheap but they swim 2x a week, and hang out and do practically nothing all summer. Why would I do that to my child? I just check a local camp that I thought would be cheaper then mine..but for the teen program it wasn't they are all in the 5 - 6k range for travel or travel light.

In Brooklyn my kids went to the camps affiliated with the temple or JCC. We don't have that out here. Now I could higher a sitter to watch them all summer probably cheaper then camp, since DS goes to the same camp as DD. But that would do what?

Yes, my camp is expensive, as they all are. I vented about the cost just because they are too cheap to give enough shirts!!

My point was that not everyone can afford $6000 x2 or more kids just for camp. If you can do that for your kids that's great, but there has to be some kind of alternative for the working class families who i am sure cannot spend $12,000 plus on child care for the summer. As long as the camp is safe, not getting to go on field trips or play on expensive toys is not going to kill the kid if mom and dad simply can't afford it. While it is nice to have somewhere to go and something to do every day, things like the rockclimbing and go carts you have mentioned are hardly necessary for adequate child care. They are luxury items you can obviously afford to give your kids. Popcorn and a rented movie would serve the same purpose at a fraction of the cost. My question was about what alternatives there were for those who cannot provide these kind of luxuries for thier kids.

 

[JoiseyMom]

My kids go to drama (day) camp- we call it theater camp here. Anyway, it is $80 pre child for two weeks and no shirts, but snack and script is provided and there are two performances one Friday and the other Saturday, tickets are $5 a person so we end up spending another $20 to see the 4 kids perform . So $340 for 4 kids to go to theater camp for two weeks. Not a bad deal huh? Still, I hate writing that check every year but it is worth it.

As for the $6000 camp yikes, I am sure it is worth it to the OP and the child but I would just have to entertain my kids at home if that is what camp cost here. Thank goodness it doesn't! I'm curious as to where all the day trips are going to... (unless it was already mentioned and I missed it)

They go on trips Tues Weds and Thursday. Every Tuesday alternates between Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor. They purchase season passes for them, but hold onto them so she won't get it until camp is over. I don't know if she could bring home, since I didn't ask. We havne't gotten family passes in a few years, since we don't like Six Flags (at least ours). They are going to see West Side Story on Broadway, Mountain Creek, Dorney Park, Blue Claws ball game (local minor league), Philly, Meadowlands, Spirit of NY/NJ, Medivel Times, and some shore trips and other local things. She is looking forward to Broadway the most.

Today then went to the shore and did this paddle boat thing. She had a blast. My kids love this camp, and have a ball. We almost took DD out of there last year (will not get into that one), and DS said do I have to stop too! He loves it.

Would I have thought 12 years ago when my older boys where her age that I would pay this much for camp. NO way...but it is 12 years later and times are different. Would I love it if it was cheaper yes, but this is how things are where I live.

 

[JoiseyMom]

My point was that not everyone can afford $6000 x2 or more kids just for camp. If you can do that for your kids that's great, but there has to be some kind of alternative for the working class families who i am sure cannot spend $12,000 plus on child care for the summer. As long as the camp is safe, not getting to go on field trips or play on expensive toys is not going to kill the kid if mom and dad simply can't afford it. While it is nice to have somewhere to go and something to do every day, things like the rockclimbing and go carts you have mentioned are hardly necessary for adequate child care. They are luxury items you can obviously afford to give your kids. Popcorn and a rented movie would serve the same purpose at a fraction of the cost. My question was about what alternatives there were for those who cannot provide these kind of luxuries for thier kids.

DS doesn't cost 6k, he is I think 2k less...I am not sure. For those that can't afford it, they stay home. Or they do it for 4 weeks, or they go to the local Rec center.

Not for nothing...a rented movie and popcorn is not the same as the social interaction of camp, adn the outside activities that they do there. Rented movie and popcorn is what we do on rainy days at home on weekends. If we could no longer afford to send our kids to this camp they would be in the pool or driving me crazy during the summer.

Also none of the camps in the area have any discounts so they obviously have enough kids. The rec program does close out and fill up. But like I said, the program is horrible not what I consider a camp. Others have different thoughts on the subject and that is fine.

And by the way..I am a working class family. I am in a mid range home in my town, just average. We are not rich or upper middle class in any way shape or form! At least not by Jersey standards.

 

[princessmom29]

DS doesn't cost 6k, he is I think 2k less...I am not sure. For those that can't afford it, they stay home. Or they do it for 4 weeks, or they go to the local Rec center.

Not for nothing...a rented movie and popcorn is not the same as the social interaction of camp, adn the outside activities that they do there. Rented movie and popcorn is what we do on rainy days at home on weekends. If we could no longer afford to send our kids to this camp they would be in the pool or driving me crazy during the summer.

Also none of the camps in the area have any discounts so they obviously have enough kids. The rec program does close out and fill up. But like I said, the program is horrible not what I consider a camp. Others have different thoughts on the subject and that is fine.

And by the way..I am a working class family. I am in a mid range home in my town, just average. We are not rich or upper middle class in any way shape or form! At least not by Jersey standards.

What about those for whom both parents work full time to get by, which is the norm here by the way. What i mean by working class is those where mom does not have the luxury to be home with the kids, or to have a backyard pool. They have to have full time child care in order to make enough money to put food on the table. You say the rec program is "horrible", but some have no other alternative!! I was talking about a rented movie and popcorn at summer camp. We did that with the kids a lot when it rained and we couldn't swim ect. We didn't have fancy emenities to keep them entertained all the time, and I don't think our kids suffered for it. I guess what I am saying is that camp shouldn't have to be a $6000 event with fancy entertainment all the time to be fun and enriching for kids. There needs to be something for kids whose parents just can't afford it, and if there is nothing to be had in the state of New Jersey where kids can be safe and happy and not bankrupt their parents that is a pretty sad commentary on the state of things!

 

[JoiseyMom]

What about those for whom both parents work full time to get by, which is the norm here by the way. What i mean by working class is those where mom does not have the luxury to be home with the kids, or to have a backyard pool. They have to have full time child care in order to make enough money to put food on the table. You say the rec program is "horrible", but some have no other alternative!! I was talking about a rented movie and popcorn at summer camp. We did that with the kids a lot when it rained and we couldn't swim ect. We didn't have fancy emenities to keep them entertained all the time, and I don't think our kids suffered for it. I guess what I am saying is that camp shouldn't have to be a $6000 event with fancy entertainment all the time to be fun and enriching for kids. There needs to be something for kids whose parents just can't afford it, and if there is nothing to be had in the state of New Jersey where kids can be safe and happy and not bankrupt their parents that is a pretty sad commentary on the state of things!

Well that is the state I live in. Most of the areas are working class, where both parents work. If I could find a full time job that paid decently I would be at work. Heck..I would take a decent part time job!! Realize something...the townhouses where I live in my town are going for over or close to 300k!! They weren;t that high when I moved to one...but I sold one 10 years ago for 160k and last year it was being sold for 2x that! The parents I know that can't afford to send their kids to camp keep them home. The others send them to camp. The rec isnt good for working parents since it is only to I think 2 or 3. Then they need to hire a baby sitter. Yes it is hard. I was a single mom when I moved out here 19 years ago. Thankfully I had a mom that could watch them after camp/school.

And let me ask you this, I was not a working class family when I worked full time and my DH worked full time and I happen to have a pool in my back yard?? So you feel that working class is only people that are both working to put food on the table?? Well if you can only live like that in my town, then you can't afford to live here since you wont be able to afford the taxes!! There are no rental apartments in my town, only private homes. Even though I am currently a SAHM, we are a middle working class family.

And even living where I live we have struggled financially. With the economy and layoffs and college for 2 kids and medical expenses and all the other things that can be thrown at a person. I have done it all and thankfully so far survived. My area is very expensive..but so is most of the state. Was it this bad when I moved her 19 years ago as a single mom? Nope...but it is now.

Now camp shouldn't have to be 6k, but you can say homes shouldn't be 1 mil or even 700k! Gas shouldn't be over 2.50 a gallon, eggs should be cheaper and so should milk. But these are the times we are living in.

But my thread wasn't about that. My thread was about a camp charging 6k and my feelings that more t-shirts should be included for that price. But instead I get bashed for spending that on a camp. I don't control the economy of the state or the country I live in.

ANd I do agree it is expensive and insane. But this is the world I live in. How do I get them to change their rates? I can't. If my kids don't go, some other child will fill that spot real quick.

 

[mum4jenn]

They go on trips Tues Weds and Thursday. Every Tuesday alternates between Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor. They purchase season passes for them, but hold onto them so she won't get it until camp is over. I don't know if she could bring home, since I didn't ask. We havne't gotten family passes in a few years, since we don't like Six Flags (at least ours). They are going to see West Side Story on Broadway, Mountain Creek, Dorney Park, Blue Claws ball game (local minor league), Philly, Meadowlands, Spirit of NY/NJ, Medivel Times, and some shore trips and other local things. She is looking forward to Broadway the most.

OK...Now THAT sounds more like "perks"!!! LOL!! I just could not get over how a towel and an air conditioned bus could be called a perk for that kind of money!!!! Glad to know they get at least something for that 6k.

 

[squirrel]

I'm not even going to comment on the price of the camp!

I would also expect 2 shirts min. when you mentioned the perks. You shouldn't have to do laundry for that one shirt so often. If the camp is doing the towels and swimsuits, why don't they give the kids one more shirt and do the shirts also!

 

[buzz5985]

Sounds like Boy Scout Camp. When my son was younger we would visit on Wednesday, he had the sames clothes on we dropped him off in. Would not leave until he showered. Picked him up on Saturday, yep, same clothes he put on Wednesday. By the time he became a teenager, all the younger kids were "gross" and "stinky" he seemed to forget he was the same way when he was their age! We won't mention the coons.

LOL That's right. He leaves Sunday. He has promised to try to remember to shower. I remember Cub Scout weekly overnight camp - I asked one of his friends if he showered at all (I was the den leader) and all the little boys said - he doesn't have to - he uses deodorant. LOL

 

[kaytieeldr]

This isn't about fairness. I wasn't thinking only my DD should get more then 1 shirt. I think every child in this program should be. And yes..for the price we are paying I think it is a reasonable expectation.

Can you present that suggestion to the camp's owners/management now, for next year (and beyond)? Do you know any of the other parents with kids in your daughter's program? Can several/all of you do that? The latter would be even more effective on a couple of fronts, but primarily to indicate to the camp that it's not just one person, feeling, I dunno, self-entitled? Please understand, I DON'T mean that's how you're behaving - just that it might be how just one parent might be perceived.

for the following year for the least ex*****ve rate

I've been reading and reading this - and I can't imagine WHAT combination of letters the DIS filter filtered out!

 

[jax677]

If that is the going price then it shouldn't seem expensive to you I guess. I would consider it average in that case. I guess what I didn't understand was in one post you said it was expensive then in another you said it was average. An average camp probably doesn't think extra shirts should be included.

I guess when you price the places they go, its not so expensive. My girls have done a few different camps and always enjoyed them. Its whatever the kids get used to I think.

 

[disneyjunkie]

My point was that not everyone can afford $6000 x2 or more kids just for camp. If you can do that for your kids that's great, but there has to be some kind of alternative for the working class families who i am sure cannot spend $12,000 plus on child care for the summer. As long as the camp is safe, not getting to go on field trips or play on expensive toys is not going to kill the kid if mom and dad simply can't afford it. While it is nice to have somewhere to go and something to do every day, things like the rockclimbing and go carts you have mentioned are hardly necessary for adequate child care. They are luxury items you can obviously afford to give your kids. Popcorn and a rented movie would serve the same purpose at a fraction of the cost. My question was about what alternatives there were for those who cannot provide these kind of luxuries for thier kids.

I live in Brooklyn. Our camp fees range from super cheap to $5000+

The price depends on the community the camp is located in. I live in an area that is considered an inner city section of Brooklyn. The camp fees here are less than the fees in say Park Slope or Brooklyn Heights.

However, camps in all areas are ran the same. (Unless it's a special camp - drama, sports...) If it's a 4 day camp, the kids go on trips twice a week. If it's a 5 day camp, they go on trips three times a week.

The trips include everything from bowling to Dorney Park.

No matter what community, the camp is located in, sitting the kids in front of a video would not fly. Arts and crafts are great, but if you want kids to attend your camp, the number of trips better out number the art projects.

No matter how cheap the camp may be, parents expect the kids to spend a large amount of time out of the building.

One of the camps in my area is $200.00 for the whole summer. (It was free when I was a kid) The camp runs from July 1- August early August 4 days a week. Each camper receives one camp uniform (shirt, shorts, cap, back pack) that they must wear on Tuesday and Thursday.(trip days)

The trips are pretty much the same each summer

Bowling
roller skating
movies
bike a thon in Prospect Park (complete with police escort from the camp to the park for the 5th-8th graders. Younger kids load their bikes on a police van then ride the subway to the park)
Bronx Zoo
South Street Sea Port
Sesame Place
Dorney Park
Hershey Park
Great Adventure
Bear Mountain
Central Park

 

[shaylahc1]

I really don't "get" this thread....if you can afford to pay $6000 for day camp, you can afford another $30 to buy 2 extra shirts. Really.... On the issue of laundry, I have 4 kids and I wash 2 loads a day on average. When my kids went to day camp last year ($2000 for 3 kids to go for 4 weeks to day camp) I washed their laundry every night so they could have clean suits and towels and yes, their camp T-shirt (which was NOT included and I payed $10 for).

My kids aren't doing any camps this summer. For $6000 I'd skip the camps and take the kids on a nice vacation to Europe instead

 

[dvcnewgirl]

I believe you do what you want to do with your money and no one should judge . I agree with you if you spend $6000 they can afford to throw in a couple of shirts.

 

[MickeyP]

I, too, do not get, this thread. Ask for another shirt. I'm sure they have extras. Explain how you don't want to waste water and soap and electricity washing it twice. They'll give you 1 and then when you leave. I would too.

And yes, this is on the wrong board!

 

[jax677]

I don't understand the need for this vent. Its not the first time you have used this camp, yes? Did they change the rules from last year about the amount of shirts you get?

 

[JoiseyMom]

OK...Now THAT sounds more like "perks"!!! LOL!! I just could not get over how a towel and an air conditioned bus could be called a perk for that kind of money!!!! Glad to know they get at least something for that 6k.

I call them perks because all the camps are similar in prices but they didn't offer these amenities.

 

[JoiseyMom]

I'm not even going to comment on the price of the camp!

I would also expect 2 shirts min. when you mentioned the perks. You shouldn't have to do laundry for that one shirt so often. If the camp is doing the towels and swimsuits, why don't they give the kids one more shirt and do the shirts also!

I wish I knew...that is why I am venting .

 

[JoiseyMom]

I've been reading and reading this - and I can't imagine WHAT combination of letters the DIS filter filtered out!

I have no idea either...maybe my spelling was off !!