What do you consider reasonable for a day camp price?

[LoveBWVVBR]

Just curious as to what people consider reasonable for a week of day camp? Normally camps in our area cost between $100-$300 (on the far upper end) for a week of very good, 9am-3pm day camp. These aren't childcare camps, but more enrichment camps. I've recently encountered 2 that look wonderful but are much, much more expensive for a week and I am wondering if their prices are out of line or if my expectations are out of line. I live in Coastal FL in a nice-ish area, but not a super rich town or anything.

ETA - We pay less than $300 per kid for a full week of Sea World camp which is just fantastic and the standard by which I judge all other camps, so camps that cost 3 times this much have me scratching my head as to what sort of experience they are providing that justifies that??

 

[Hikergirl]

The ones that are run by the school district (baseball, basketball, football) are about $120 for the week, 1/2 days. If you do 2 weeks, you get a discount on both weeks, but the program is the same for each week.
I have put my kids in tech camps at the local CC for about $350 for 2 weeks of 1/2 days.
My youngest ds goes to a 6 week day camp through our town, full days for $350. However with all the extra field trips, special lunches and craft costs we end up spending closer to $550. He isn't doing it this year.
He did a soccer camp one year that was $250 for the week, full days.
This year he is doing a basketball camp that is going to run me $300 for the week, full days.
There are some tech camps offered for over $1000 for the week. We looked into them but decided that was way too much money for a week of day camp.

There are others here, but those are the ones I'm familiar with.

 

[wilkeliza]

I think my nephews looked at a hockey camp that are just day camps and each session is 875 per a week. That does not include gear costs or food. Of course they are being trained by NHL hockey coaches and getting stop in visits from their favorite players but it is still a lot. I'm sure their parents would be thrilled with only 100-300 a week for camp.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Day camps with any technological component are $400-$800.
Day camps with field trips are $500-$600.
Private day camps are $300-$500.
School based day rec camps are $200-$300.
Church run day camps (more than VBS - actual camps) are $100 or a little less.

Edit to Add: Now, these are the prices here, but I don't find most of them reasonable b/c I don't need the obvious daycare component they provide. I sign my kids up for one Church-run Fine and Performing Arts camp run by volunteering pros each year ($65 for 3 hours, $75 for 4 hours - split by age)...it's run by a different faith, but b/c faith is not a component of the camp, they accept everyone...

 

[Lvsdisney]

DD's preschool offers a summer "camp" (more focused on athletics, water play and crafting than regular school routine) and we pay $156/wk for 9-3:30
I am also able to sign up DS for the same amount (less sibling discount) as they offer a program geared towards early elementary kids as well.

Last year I sent DS to a summer day camp (sports, swimming, fishing, etc) and it was $2500 for 8 weeks, and included lunch. Other day camps in the area with similar offerings range from $55-$75/day. I am in SE PA (outside of Philly).

 

[pigletto]

Varies a great deal from area to area. I don't need daycare, but I do put Ds in camps for enrichment.
He goes to a few weeks at a local university and the camps are excellent. They're things like Robotics, EcoScientist, Masterchef, Engineering, Coding etc. There's swimming and outdoor time and catered healthy meals. Those will run about $250 for the week.

DS also does golf camp, it's afternoons only, and they basically play golf and get instruction in a group, grab a snack from the clubhouse and call it a day. That's $135 for the week.

A couple of summers ago ds and his basketball team had the opportunity to go to an elite sleep away sports camp. That included pro athletes, and retired coaches coming in, sailing, ropes courses, kayaking, water trampoline park, meals, tuck, excellent staff to camper ratios and training most of the day. That was $1300 for the week and his team got their week for free and got to go together as an apology from the governing body of their sport. I won't go into the details but they run the camp and brought several teams for free that week. It was fantastic but not something we would do again.. it wasn't $1300 worth of fantastic.

We've never done them, but the local YMCA or city run camps are in the $150 range I think.

 

[aprilgail]

This is from one of my daughters friends camp now-

• Tuition for 7 weeks: $5,250 - $5,750 includes transportation and fees.

• Tuition for 4 weeks: $3,900 - $4,200 includes transportation and fees.

When my daughter was little and went it was about 350-400 a week for camp that went from 730am -4pm

 

[AZMermaid]

9-3ish Day camp through the schools/Ymca/boys and girls club run in the 150-175 range.

Privately run camps (zoo camp, general sports camp, art camp, etc) run 250-350ish. Under 250 is a good price here, over 300 or so is getting pricey. There are options here in the $400-500 range, but that's too rich for my blood!

I'm in the Phoenix area

 

[DreamIsaWish]

I just got the info for Boy Scout camp. Full week, overnight, all meals, transportation to camp, many opportunities for merit badges... $350. Feels like a bargain to me and he LOVES it.

 

[Elliesmommy]

We do YMCA, it is about $125-$175 a week depending on the activities. These are generally 9am-3pm. I have tried other private camps, they are upwards of $300 a week and the activities are very comparable. YMCA has been doing it for years and they are pros. You may want to look into theirs. I know the Boys and Girls clubs also have them and I could only imagine they would be comparable to YMCA.

 

[Northernlites]

My son is going to Engineering camp for grades 2 and 3 at the University in our city. Fee is $250 for 9 to 4 for the week. He is also going to golf camp taught by a PGA player and that is $250 a week. He is also going to an art camp at the Museum for $245 a week. IMO I find the higher prices usually equate to better staff as the camp can pay higher wages to the staff. My experience with Y camps are there is usually one large group of children of all ages and the staff have a hard timing managing the many different maturity levels.

 

[lanejudy]

A "good" high quality summer outdoor activity daycamp 9am-4pm is around $250-$300 per week here.
Decent full-day programs run by the Y or the local recreation department are more in the $125-$150 range.
Camps run by a local museum don't tend to be quite full time but in the $200-$300 range.
Specialty athletics or technology camps tend to be half-day programs but might be similar priced as the rec dept camp.
Overnight camps run $750-$1000.

 

[bravestmerida]

Agree with the poster that noted range will vary substantially based on area.

Last year we paid almost $700 a week for our 5 year old to attend daycamp near my office during the hours you note. Before and after care was an extra $125 a week. Conversely, the YMCA camp is $300, with before and after care an extra $100.

The least expensive camps are the Boy/Girl Scout camps and city camps running about $175-250 a week up to the tech camps at private schools that are closer to $800 a week. The school district also runs summer school, which is $200 a week.

 

[1st*toright]

Really does depend on the area. My preschooler's day camp (full day) is a little over $300 per week, and it is pretty standard. I was just looking at current rates for the day camp my older DD did when she was in elementary school - more enrichment type activities at a university near us- and that will set us back a little more than $500 a week next year (when the LO ages out of her current summer program), but it is a really cool program and includes swim lessons and a ropes course as well as courses that are STEM or arts related that the kids get to choose. Older DD does a sleep away music camp that is a little over $1000 a week, but again, a really excellent program and she has a fabulous time with the other music nerds (and she doesn't go all summer, just a few weeks). There are programs through our local rec department that are cheaper, but we had mixed results with those when ODD was younger - some were great, others not so much. The university program was the most consistent and the most interesting for her.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

Depends on the camp and who's running it, what they do, etc.

Local parks and rec day camp: $165/week no meals provided but lots of activities, field trips, and swimming = very reasonable
Our churches "bible school" day camp = $195/week, again no meals provided but lots of activities. I'm torn on this one because it is a "canned" camp and our church uses it in place of the typical bible school so I think a lot of kids get excluded because of the price. The kids that go seem to love it, so I guess it's worth it.

Day camps provided by local daycare facilities run around $150/Week with meals and some field trips but also a lot of laying around playing video games and watching movies.

Science camps provided by the local university run $250/week, no meals provided and not much done for the $$, not worth the money for the one's we've done.

Cubscout day camp runs $75/week and is great, but typically runs in the evenings, not during the day.

It really depends on what you are looking for, what you want your kids to be doing as to whether or not it's worth it. I'm a fan of any camp that sends them home at the end of the day tired and dirty. Wired up from video games, not so much - so I'll pay the extra for the city camp.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far! The 2 camps I'm questioning are $600 and $800 for the week respectively for 9-3 or 9-4 hours. I actually think the $800 one is probably worth it. It's a culinary academy for kids run by a chef and it gets rave reviews. However, I have 2 kids so...$1600 for a week?? Eeeek! The other one is a camp at the local engineering college. We've done sports camps there and they've been fantastic, but they are also in the $100-$200/week range. The academic camps there start at $600 a week for day camp. To me that seems so high, at least for this area.

 

[lanejudy]

It's probably too late for this summer, but can you take advantage of a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account? Many employers offer one with regular deductions from your paycheck, but you have to sign-up at the annual benefit (re-)enrollment period and "use it or lose it." Adults in the household must work or be in school, requiring need for childcare for kids up to age 12.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

It's probably too late for this summer, but can you take advantage of a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account? Many employers offer one with regular deductions from your paycheck, but you have to sign-up at the annual benefit (re-)enrollment period and "use it or lose it." Adults in the household must work or be in school, requiring need for childcare for kids up to age 12.

As a self-employed person I definitely deduct these camps as I need childcare to work