Summer School CANCELLED!!

[marlasmom]

PLEASE don't take this the wrong way and get defensive. Everyone should have three months' living expenses in savings - that's in addition to whatever unemployment, etc. you might expect to get. This is vital especially in the sitution of a single mother. You need to have that together before planning luxurious vacations. When your hours were cut, it would have been a good time to scale back your trip a bit. When you didn't spend your budgeted amount, however, and your bank account was eroding, that would be the time to postpone another vacation. I'm not addressing the issue of cancelled summer school. It's purely and simply a financial fact that everyone needs to get straight. And you must NEVER rely on credit cards to pay for a vacation. You can use credit cards but ONLY if you know you can pay the bill when it comes in.

I feel "preachy' and like maybe I'm stepping over the line, but I learned the hard way and I want to help others avoid those kinds of problems.

Please think about it.

 

[gemmie214]

Originally posted by dvcreg
Isn't it delightful how you innocently post something only to find out that people resent your life's choices and are waiting for an opportunity to tell you so?

Please don't feel obligated to justify or explain how you choose to live your life. It's absolutely no one's business. It's apparent that there's an underlying issue that's never going to get resolved so why waste your time?

As I've said before, life has a way of bringing the unexpected into our lives, and we're rarely as prepared as we'd like to be.

I hope that you're able to find an affordable solution.

I did not know that we all had to agree on everything all the time. We all have opinions and I did not see anything mean spirited in this discussion..just differing opinions. I find that all these different opinions makes the CB the interesting place it is.

I also understand that life throws curveballs once in a while but when it happens you sometimes have to restructure your life to accommodate the situation. Again it looks like people have different opinions on this issue.

I also hope that an affordable and enjoyable solution is found.

 

[imgoingtodisney]

at 12yrs old the kid can stay home by herself - so that cuts 1/2 your summer daycare
Yes it's nice to have them occupied but its now thought of as a leisure activity NOT daycare
Is DD ok to be home alone?

DS who turns 11 in May will spend 3wks (15days) at camp and 13 days at home by himself

 

[Regina]

I did not know that we all had to agree on everything all the time.

No, we don't have to agree all the time, but this wasn't presented as a situation that was to be debated.

I have a real problem when a simple "EEK!! I can't believet this happened" is greeted with a rehash of every life decision that the person made.

It's irrelevant, and infers that they're somehow to blame because they didn't have a crystal ball to foresee this situation.

Maybe I'm reading more into some of the responses than what's intended. From my viewpoint, this poor mom is being taken to task for choosing to take her kid's on a trip to WDW. Note that she wasn't the one who mentioned it, but it's being thrown in her face as if it makes this unforeseen problem her fault.

 

[disykat]

I really think the only reason people are critisizing here is because people generally assume that working people pay for childcare. People start to get touchy when we are spending their tax dollars. Although I sympathize with having to find last minute daycare, I tend to think she really lucked out in the past having a summer school program (free or maybe lowcost? it's hard for me to imagine free!) and reality is hitting this summer.

 

[vickyBaby]

Originally posted by dvcreg
From my viewpoint, this poor mom is being taken to task for choosing to take her kid's on a trip to WDW.

Well, if that is what you are thinking, that is not what I'm trying to convey.

It is outright mean spirited and cruel to force your children to go to summer school because you do not want to pay for childcare. That is the problem. Summer is for playing and fun. Summer school is a Punishment.

If the OP had said that the free summer camp in her town was taken away, I never would have stepped into this thread. I would absolutely agree that it was a lousy situation.

 

[disneychrista]

at 12yrs old the kid can stay home by herself - so that cuts 1/2 your summer daycare

A 12yo, regardless of how "mature" the parent thinks he/she is, is NOT ready to stay home for 8+ hours 5 days a week. A few hours here or there, maybe. But never 8+ hours a day, 5 days a week, for 11 weeks.

Final comment: I did not lie about my child needing additional help, I did not force them into 6 weeks of extra school (the only thing they complained about was the FREE school lunches they got during the program), I simply filled out a form along with the 800+ other students familys. THE SCHOOL offered the summer school for ALL students. They once offered a GATE (gifted and talented education) summer program, which my DD's attended until they ended it. If you think only those with learning disabilities or those who are in remedial classes should go to summer school, then this is something to take up with your local school boards, not with a parent, who is only participating, legitimately, in a summer school program.

 

[Regina]

Well, if that is what you are thinking, that is not what I'm trying to convey.

Then it must be safe to assume that you regret having made those comments about the trip to WDW and DL.

I consider myself extremely fortunate for having been a SAHM and I recognize that my childcare options were much different than moms who work.

It's not my place to criticize someone who took advantage of a program that helped her in this regard or to take her for task for sending her girls to school. They are her children, it's her choice.

I hope that the OP is able to find an reasonable alternative.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

Ok gang...since this has pretty much turned into a debate.....
this thread is closed!
Feel free to start it over on debate...