Let's do a summer childcare frustration thread!!!!

[siren0119]

I run a town funded camp that ends at noon. If the parents aren't getting the kids, then it's grandparents, neighbors, or friends. A few people have complained that I should make it a full day camp. No way. Aside from limited budget, the kids would be heat stroked. We have tried a few times to coordinate with the local Y to transport the kids to their program after our's ends. But no one really signs up because they feel it's too expensive....which always amazes me too. My particular program has so many parents that drive late model cars, have huge houses, go on expensive vacations, and dress quite nicely. Yet they complain to me about the cost of reasonably priced daycare.

This is where I wonder if I'm in the minority. We do not live near any relatives, and our friends that live close also work full time. I know that the local half day programs are getting enrollment or they wouldn't exist, it's just frustrating to know that we could afford some of the enrichment camps, but we have no options for transportation and I can't take that much time off from work to make sure they got to and from. There's never going to be a program that meets EVERYONE's needs, I just wish I could find something that would allow my kids to do something fun for a week or two and that aligned with my work schedule.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Daycare watches tv and plays video games?
My kids were in daycare from age 1ish to 12. Never ever did that. it was tons of sports, crafts, field trips, etc.

Our daycare was open year round except one week a year.

Before and after than full time during school breaks.

 

[Boardwalk Jedi]

This is where I wonder if I'm in the minority. We do not live near any relatives, and our friends that live close also work full time. I know that the local half day programs are getting enrollment or they wouldn't exist, it's just frustrating to know that we could afford some of the enrichment camps, but we have no options for transportation and I can't take that much time off from work to make sure they got to and from. There's never going to be a program that meets EVERYONE's needs, I just wish I could find something that would allow my kids to do something fun for a week or two and that aligned with my work schedule.

Can you hire a high school or college aged babysitter to get them home and hang out with them for a few hours afterwards? FWIW, I have no idea the going rate of babysitting these days.

 

[AP1209]

Can you hire a high school or college aged babysitter to get them home and hang out with them for a few hours afterwards? FWIW, I have no idea the going rate of babysitting these days.

We did that a few years ago when I worked at an office. We had a college aged young lady drop off and pick up or DD for summer camp. Had to maybe hang out with her for an hour or two in the afternoon until I got home. It worked pretty well. We posted an ad on care.com and interviewed 3 people. Worked well.

 

[amberpi]

There are tons of day camps in our area of all types, science, music, athletic stuff, art. Have you looked at any of the private ones? The thing that scares me in a few years is that I know SO many parent friends who have to be on the website the minute they open enrollment (at least they don't have to camp out) with mom and dad on the phone to see who gets in. Sounds super stressful. I wish ya'll luck.

 

[fortwildernessishome]

We have tried a few times to coordinate with the local Y to transport the kids to their program after our's ends. But no one really signs up because they feel it's too expensive....which always amazes me too. My particular program has so many parents that drive late model cars, have huge houses, go on expensive vacations, and dress quite nicely. Yet they complain to me about the cost of reasonably priced daycare.

I never got this either!!! Folks should cut corners on everything else you mentioned and when it comes to daycare/summer camp splurge in that area! I get that people have limited budgets, but I would cut other areas of my budget (vacations, clothes, dinners out etc.etc.) and not scrimp on the most important people in my life; my kids!!

My kids are grown and I was fortunate that I didn't need any childcare. But it would drive me crazy to hear friends/family who were quite well off, complaining about the cost of childcare, but not complaining about their $500 per month car payment or annual vacation budget!!

 

[Magical2017]

One thought, since you do not want in-home care:
Send them to he day camp
Hire a local college student to pick them up. Do you belong to a pool? Sitter could have options for afternoons, such as look, bielong, park, library program, local museum, skating, zoo, etc. Free options would be best, of course, but it could work.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

What about church camps? I have several friends who sign their kids up for every single one they can because it's cheaper than paying the YMCA daycamp rates. Then, the weeks there are no church camps available they put their kids in the YMCA camp.

 

[Boardwalk Jedi]

We did that a few years ago when I worked at an office. We had a college aged young lady drop off and pick up or DD for summer camp. Had to maybe hang out with her for an hour or two in the afternoon until I got home. It worked pretty well. We posted an ad on care.com and interviewed 3 people. Worked well.

Forgot to add, a lot of the counselors at my camp babysat some of the campers afterwards.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

Your situation sounds perfect for someone in my line of work--I work at a school so I'm off all summer (except for a couple in-service days in August), and I wouldn't mind watching a few extra kids for a couple hours per day if the opportunity presented itself to me. Can you maybe put some feelers out for local school staff who might be looking to make a little extra money over the summer? I have a relative who is a retired teacher who does casual summer sitting for a few select families and they love that a teacher is watching their kids.

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

I don't think we necessarily behaved better, we just knew better than to call our parents at work to tell them our brother (or sister) was bothering us.

Well, I suppose I grew up in a very different household than most as it seems. We were well behaved, not because we were goody-two-shoes, but because my parents regularly used the fear of God and the burden of sin against us. Disobeying what they said did not honor our mother or father and them even hearing a whim of it meant some form of punishment. Plus my father worked on 5-10 minutes from home so depending on his day he could drop in unannounced at any time depending on when he took his lunch break

I too was tasked with looking after my younger brother all summer, and sometimes my mom would volunteer me to also watch some of his friends intermittently. Then again, by the time I was 13 I had been babysitting for some time and was a full-time babysitter over the summer for other families.

Different times I suppose.

 

[2China2009]

We are in the same situation this summer. our boys are a little bit older, they will be going into grades 7&8 and there is just about nothing for teens where we live. I am a full time students and have to take some classes this summer, this is the semester they have to be done. DH worked full time about 40 minutes away from home. Two of my classes are on Tues & Thurs and I will be gone all day. (9-5) DS's can stay home by themselves for a few hours, but after about hour 3 I start to get the phone calls and texts that their fighting or doing something their not allowed to be, or hes being mean, or doing this or that.

I don't want to leave them home all summer, bingeing on fortnite 8 hours a day & fighting. Our school district is big into team sports doing lilttle 4 day "camps" as fundraisers for the team. I mean just about every single schools sport runs some kind of "camp" They are all only Mon-Thurs and are all strictly 9am-12noon. But there are no providers for anything for the middle school ages where they don't need to be babysat, but don't need to run loose 8-9 hours a day either.

It is DEF not like when we were kids where our parents went to work all day, the kids stayed home, you rode your bikes, played outside with your friends, and we just behaved.

My girls started staying home in 4&8th grade. I am the sole provider for our family. Our pep talk about staying home alone was very serious. I told them that there is no fighting or texting me about stupid things throughout the day. In order for me to go to work and to provide for us that they had to do their part too. After getting up they had some chores, breakfast etc. They could go outside on the trampoline and be on their iPads etc. They also had to take care of the dog and get laundry folded. I told them I was not going to pay for a sitter to come over when they were capable of being alone. It has worked out well for us. They have also been in many summer activities thAt they have enjoyed.

 

[EveDallas]

I run a town funded camp that ends at noon. If the parents aren't getting the kids, then it's grandparents, neighbors, or friends. A few people have complained that I should make it a full day camp. No way. Aside from limited budget, the kids would be heat stroked. We have tried a few times to coordinate with the local Y to transport the kids to their program after our's ends. But no one really signs up because they feel it's too expensive....which always amazes me too. My particular program has so many parents that drive late model cars, have huge houses, go on expensive vacations, and dress quite nicely. Yet they complain to me about the cost of reasonably priced daycare.

I never got this either!!! Folks should cut corners on everything else you mentioned and when it comes to daycare/summer camp splurge in that area! I get that people have limited budgets, but I would cut other areas of my budget (vacations, clothes, dinners out etc.etc.) and not scrimp on the most important people in my life; my kids!!

My kids are grown and I was fortunate that I didn't need any childcare. But it would drive me crazy to hear friends/family who were quite well off, complaining about the cost of childcare, but not complaining about their $500 per month car payment or annual vacation budget!!

Agreed!! It's crazy to me how people have no problem dropping $$$$ on unnecessary things but want to cheap out on childcare. I recently had a couple who wanted me to cut my baby sitting rate in half for them because "money is tight". Um - you live in a house worth nearly half a million and drive an Audi and a Lexus. Go sell that sad song somewhere else.

 

[siren0119]

Can you hire a high school or college aged babysitter to get them home and hang out with them for a few hours afterwards? FWIW, I have no idea the going rate of babysitting these days.

It's not the kids being watched that's the issue - my husband and I work opposite shifts so he's home during the day. It's the transportation. We are a one car family and I have the car at work until 5pm, when he takes it to go to work. Uber/Lyft is too expensive for two round trips each day (because my husband would have to accompany them) and I haven't had any luck finding a student who's willing to be a taxi for 20 minutes a day (which I totally understand, their time is better spent on a job that would pay for multiple hours of work).

 

[PollyannaMom]

It's not the kids being watched that's the issue - my husband and I work opposite shifts so he's home during the day. It's the transportation. We are a one car family and I have the car at work until 5pm, when he takes it to go to work. Uber/Lyft is too expensive for two round trips each day (because my husband would have to accompany them) and I haven't had any luck finding a student who's willing to be a taxi for 20 minutes a day (which I totally understand, their time is better spent on a job that would pay for multiple hours of work).

Do you work close enough that your DH could occasionally drop you off and keep the car? (Or you could Uber/Lyft that one day, or in one direction?) Then, instead of signing them up for for a program, they could do outings with Dad once a week - the zoo, a museum, that sort of thing? It's not the same as being busy every day, but it would break up the monotony of being home.

 

[siren0119]

Do you work close enough that your DH could occasionally drop you off and keep the car? (Or you could Uber/Lyft that one day, or in one direction?) Then, instead of signing them up for for a program, they could do outings with Dad once a week - the zoo, a museum, that sort of thing? It's not the same as being busy every day, but it would break up the monotony of being home.

Nope I work 40 miles from home - if I were close enough I'd use my lunch break to handle transportation from the half day programs. And I have to visit clients during my workday so I can't be without a vehicle at any point when I'm at work. We are lucky to live in a town with *some* public transportation (that can get them to a train to Boston or to the neighboring small city where there's a nice zoo), and we are within walking distance of the town pool and library so they will have a decent amount of things to do this summer. It's more that I see some week long organized enrichment camps that I KNOW my kids would really enjoy, but none of the locations are on our public transit routes and the half day programs are tough with full time working parents.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Nope I work 40 miles from home - if I were close enough I'd use my lunch break to handle transportation from the half day programs. And I have to visit clients during my workday so I can't be without a vehicle at any point when I'm at work. We are lucky to live in a town with *some* public transportation (that can get them to a train to Boston or to the neighboring small city where there's a nice zoo), and we are within walking distance of the town pool and library so they will have a decent amount of things to do this summer. It's more that I see some week long organized enrichment camps that I KNOW my kids would really enjoy, but none of the locations are on our public transit routes and the half day programs are tough with full time working parents.

Oh, I get it, then. - That is a bummer!


ETA: It looks like we may be getting one of those kiddie ride services here:

https://www.zemcar.com/parents

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

I never got this either!!! Folks should cut corners on everything else you mentioned and when it comes to daycare/summer camp splurge in that area! I get that people have limited budgets, but I would cut other areas of my budget (vacations, clothes, dinners out etc.etc.) and not scrimp on the most important people in my life; my kids!!

My kids are grown and I was fortunate that I didn't need any childcare. But it would drive me crazy to hear friends/family who were quite well off, complaining about the cost of childcare, but not complaining about their $500 per month car payment or annual vacation budget!!

The problem is, it IS expensive. When my kids were in full time daycare, they were my second highest bill, almost the same as our mortgage. I drove a car that barely ran for over a year until my youngest got out of daycare and I could afford the payment for a newer (still used) car.

A lot of the half day summer programs offered here are twice what full time daycare cost for a week and don't include food/snacks/supplies/etc.

That's if you can even find one for a given week. My childcare plans for the summer fell through last week. A good 75% of the programs I've looked at filled up in February. I just don't get why there aren't more programs offered. Based on the length of the waitlists I've come across, it's not for lack of demand.

 

[Skippy918]

Many of the daycares here run summer camp programs for up to age 12-13. We’ve been using our former daycare for camp since the kids like it, it’s full day and close to home. Many of the specialized camps are more expensive and not the whole day. To me it seems like there are more camps designed for those with part time hours, stay at home or work from home jobs and not regular 8-5 office or retail positions.
My dd had asked about gymnastics camp and then I asked her, well who is going to pick you up at 2 and watch you till I get home at 5?

 

[fortwildernessishome]

The problem is, it IS expensive. When my kids were in full time daycare, they were my second highest bill, almost the same as our mortgage. I drove a car that barely ran for over a year until my youngest got out of daycare and I could afford the payment for a newer (still used) car.

A lot of the half day summer programs offered here are twice what full time daycare cost for a week and don't include food/snacks/supplies/etc.

That's if you can even find one for a given week. My childcare plans for the summer fell through last week. A good 75% of the programs I've looked at filled up in February. I just don't get why there aren't more programs offered. Based on the length of the waitlists I've come across, it's not for lack of demand.

Oh I know daycare is super expensive! I also know that summer programs are expensive. When my kids were young we did a couple sports camps, not because we needed daycare, but because it was a great experience for them. So yes, I know its pricey.

My post you quoted was simply agreeing with another poster, that I always hated to hear people that were well off with their finances complaining about childcare cost and wanting to save money on that area, but not in other areas like their large car payments, large mortgage and large vacation budget!