Who watches your kiddos in the summer

[tdollar]

Try your local Boys and Girls club.... I believe it is income based but still only $100 per month per child with an income over $100K. Our local Boys and Girls club does several activities with the children over the summer (pool, movies, zoo).

Good Luck! I face the same issue as well!

 

[Abbeys_mom]

Try your local Boys and Girls club.... I believe it is income based but still only $100 per month per child with an income over $100K. Our local Boys and Girls club does several activities with the children over the summer (pool, movies, zoo).

Good Luck! I face the same issue as well!

This. Anyone have any experience? DD goes to a Montessori school, and summer school ends at noon. We work until 5. DH used to work evenings, but changed his schedule this year. Now summer presents a problem for us. Someone told us about B&GC, it is $50 a week around here.

I would love to hear your experiences with B&GC.

 

[Mom_Rides]

DD will continue to go to a private babysitter, as she normally does, this summer. In the fall she will enter Pre-K with extended care at $150 a week. They offer a summer program for $120 a week. That is an all day, 6a-6p, program and includes lunch. If there are multiple children the cost is half off for any additional children in the family. DD will go to this program next summer and likely the following summers until she is old enough to stay home by herself.

DSS's will stay at home together for the weeks that they are with us this summer. We are on vacation the first week they are with us, so that leaves 4 weeks that they will be on their own. DSS-10 will likely go to MIL's during the last week or so that they are with us due to football for older DSS. But he loves that because Grandpa takes him fishing everyday.

 

[NYCDiane]

I need some ideas...

What is up with summer camp prices??? Basic summer camp around here runs about $200 per child per WEEK, and I have two kiddos! Our DW trip planned for August with 12 nights at POP, QSDP, 10d MYW tickets and 4 RT flights is going to cost significantly less than summer childcare for 10 weeks! How does that make sense....enlighten me please!

Maybe I am spoiled, last year my BIL watched them for us, and before that I was a SAHM. What do you do? My mother is disabled and unable to watch them, and all of our other relatives have FT jobs. Are there any other safe, reliable alternatives? I only work PT which is perfect during the school year, but summertime is such a dilemma!

The camp I'm sending my daughter to is $2700 for 9 weeks, plus $35 for a trip they're taking. It's Mon through Fri, 9am - 4pm. This doesn't include lunches or other extras. So it breaks down to a little over $300 per week (including the extras).

Unfortunately, I have absolutely no one to leave her with while I have to work. She's 12 and there's no way I'm leaving her home by herself for the entire summer while I work. It wouldn't be the least bit fair to her. I've been sending her to this camp for the past 5 or 6 years now and she loves it.

 

[pixiewings71]

My girls are on a modified traditional school calender, what that really means is they get 6 weeks (or so, some years it's 7 weeks) off for summer, what we normally do is play dates with friends with parents who stay home (we trade off for a weekend day), they stay home together (DBF works later than I do and I get off earlier in the day so they aren't home for a really long day) for a couple of the weeks and they normally go visit their older sister in Idaho for 4-5 weeks, so it works out nicely. I mean, they are gone for most of the "summer" and we miss them, but I don't have to worry about someone to take care of them, they love going to Idaho to visit (DD23 doesn't work and my whole family lives in the same town so they get a lot of time with cousins, aunts, uncles, and best of all Grammy (my Mom) lol) it works out quite well for us. This summer DD23 is getting married so we are all spending some town there this summer.

I know, I'm very lucky to not have to worry about this, if I wasn't so lucky I do have a GREAT friend who would watch them for me all week (as in they could stay at her house overnight all week lol) and she wouldn't charge me at all....she watched them for me when I went back to work, it was amazing....

 

[Scrappygrrl]

We are using YMCA summer camp, 350/week for 9 weeks and that is one of the cheaper options. My son is 6 going on 7 (will enter 2nd grade in the fall). He used to go to hie previous daycare summer camp, but he think's it is too babyish (and I sort of agree). The daycare camp is about 250/week.
The benefit as we see it for a "real" summer camp vs his daycare camp is that I am hoping we are starting a foundation wherein he loves his summer camp and will want to be a Junior counselor when he hits 12 years old; that way he will be busy with summer camp those tween/early teen years (12-15), rather than having too much time at home to potentially get into trouble. If he stayed in daycare camp until 12 (when he ages out) then it would be unlikely that he would want to start a strange summer camp as a junior counselor, kwim?
I try to look at it as I am saving money now that he is no longer in daycare, but now I pay more in summer. So it is a wash, i guess!

 

[2disneyboys]

I am very fortunate. My MIL has watched both of my boys since they were 6 weeks old (and after school during the school year once they started school). I have always supplied all thier "stuff" and also paid her, but no where NEAR what it would cost me to put them in a center. MIL has always been a SAHM and FIL is "semi-retired" so the boys have so much fun particularly during the summer, some nights I have to FORCE them to come home! MIL & FIL take them fishing, they have a pool, they load up the bikes & go to the boardwalk on the beach to ride bikes, swim, have picnics, go to the zoo, they go on these cool "day or 2 day" trips (like last summer they went to the Beach in NC (we are in VA) and saw wild horses. Another trip, they went on, they saw baby sea turtles hatch and crawl to the ocean. they have an awesome time.

It has been hard on my realtionship with MIL @ sometimes (for her to be the "day mother"), but I think we have finally gotten past all that, and even if we hadn't, nothing has ever been anything less than the best interest of my boys, and they all enjoy thier time together so much I don't know that I could break it up. I know that I am very very fortunate!

 

[bigbabyblues]

We are fortunate that DH works only every third day, and I am part time with fairly flexible days. I can take off on the days DH has to work to take care of our boys. DH's parents live only a few minutes away, and FIL (he's retired) will watch them in a pinch if he is going to be home, but he doesn't want to be a full time babysitter and I don't blame him. MIL works full time.

In our area, there aren't many choices for summer care. There are no camps, no Y, no programs like that, there are only 3 daycares and they fill up fast.

 

[angierae]

The Boys and Girls Club is a great idea. I never used them for summer but DD16 was a member for years for after-school during those years where she was too big for 'daycare' but not quite ready to be home alone in the afternoons. (So like 10-13ish).

 

[jodifla]

My son will go to three weeks of day camp, two at our gym for $150 a week and one YMCA camp out by a lake for $375 for the week (includes food and transportation.

Then, I'll shift my hours at work to the late shift...4 to midnight or so, so I'd only need a couple hours of sitting during the week.

 

[DawnM]

Goodness! Maybe I should offer something in my home for the summer for a few kids.

I am not currently working but when I was, I was a school counselor so I did have off with the school calendar.

Dawn

 

[tlbwriter]

My DD went to daycare in the summer, and this is our first year not doing that (she's 11). We're lucky that my parents live in our town, so she'll spend any non-camp days with them. She has several camps lined up (Girl Scouts, local art camps) and we'll take a week of vacation. And yes, the camps cost more than daycare! So much for saving money now that she's out of regular daycare!

 

[kimara]

Goodness! Maybe I should offer something in my home for the summer for a few kids.

I am not currently working but when I was, I was a school counselor so I did have off with the school calendar.

Dawn

Dawn--I'm with you! I am currently a Stay At Home Mom and after reading this thread I have found another way to earn more money for my next Disney trip. I could charge $200 per kid per week and just take an extra kid or two as I care for my own kiddos.

Good Luck to all of you with this costly problem--wish I could help out!

 

[scrapquitler]

I need some ideas...

What is up with summer camp prices??? Basic summer camp around here runs about $200 per child per WEEK, and I have two kiddos! Our DW trip planned for August with 12 nights at POP, QSDP, 10d MYW tickets and 4 RT flights is going to cost significantly less than summer childcare for 10 weeks! How does that make sense....enlighten me please!

Maybe I am spoiled, last year my BIL watched them for us, and before that I was a SAHM. What do you do? My mother is disabled and unable to watch them, and all of our other relatives have FT jobs. Are there any other safe, reliable alternatives? I only work PT which is perfect during the school year, but summertime is such a dilemma!

My DD goes to Girl Scout Day Camp. It costs about $350 for two weeks, she gets picked up by the bus (I have to drive to the next town over to meet the bus) at 7:20AM and she gets dropped off (again, I have to meet the bus) at 5:15. I think it is a bargain.

 

[leight]

OP- good luck- I think you were given some good ideas with SAHM, teachers, the YMCA, church camps, and Boys/girls clubs. Also check with the school program- many have after care programs that convert to summer camps at reasonable rates.


My 11yr dd has gone to the school's program since we moved to our new home 3 summers ago- prior to that my mom watched them but they outgrew that option and prefer to be closer to their friends. The school program is inexpensive and they have a good (not great) program. They only do 4 field trips and I wish they would go to the community pool every day but they don't because of liability. Otherwise its just a safe babysitting service so I can't really complain. This year is the first she will be at the middle school-apparently there are really only 6th graders there like her- so it will have much more activities. Its more money- but still super cheap- previous summers we were paying $40 a week(mon-thurs 7am-6pm) with breakfast, lunch & snacks provided- although I always packed hers so she shared or had a choice. This summer it will be $57 mon-thurs -but there will be more computer lab and outdoor activities. I work Mon- thurs so the friday is not a big deal at all. DD13 prefers to stay home- this is her third year doing so- but we live in a cul-de sac and 3 out of 4 of her friends in the cul de sac have SAHMs so she's always with someone in the afternoon. Plus my BFF lives in our subdivision and always checks in on her, is there for emergencies and includes her on beach/mall trips with her own teens when she wants to go. But dd13 is and has been a responsible child who we felt comfortable having her home alone. DD11 has never been that type of child and we will continue to use the school program as need- she will go in the AM prior to school next year because I just can't trust her to get out the door with everything and middle school starts too late.

 

[StephMK]

One year, I hired a college nanny to watch them for about 6 hrs a day. I was gone 8.5 but they are pretty comotose the first hour of the day & I knew they could handle being alone the last part of the day.

It was great, she asked if she could watch 2 other kids she usually sat for. They all came over & were the same ages as my kids. Built in playmates, great nanny & my oldest DD had someone to talk to & could watch her younger sibs the other part of the day.

The next year when DD was older, we paid her to watch the younger ones. I created a daily schedule that they followed & that avoided most of the arguments (but not all!).

 

[lilrooster76]

Luckily I am a stay at home father (disabled) so I watch my 3 boys. I am planning to send the older 2 to summer camp this year. They both have ADHD and there are some good camps around here that have programs for them

 

[AndreaDM]

We have an awesome summer camp through the city parks and rec department that is 9 weeks for $275, not per week, TOTAL! The only extras we pay are packing their lunch and spending money for their weekly field trips (roller skating, baseball game, museum, bouncy house place, etc.). They go swimming every week, hiking, all kinds of fun things that sure beat sitting in front of the tv all day!

And the thing about a lot of summer day camps is that sometimes they start late or end earlier than your work day which = MORE expense!

Yeah, that's our only issue, the camp is from 9-4, I work from 8:30 - 5, so we still pay someone (who's son also goes to the camp) to watch her for an hour in the morning and and hour after camp until we get home.

 

[labdogs42]

We are using YMCA summer camp, 350/week for 9 weeks and that is one of the cheaper options. My son is 6 going on 7 (will enter 2nd grade in the fall). He used to go to hie previous daycare summer camp, but he think's it is too babyish (and I sort of agree). The daycare camp is about 250/week.
The benefit as we see it for a "real" summer camp vs his daycare camp is that I am hoping we are starting a foundation wherein he loves his summer camp and will want to be a Junior counselor when he hits 12 years old; that way he will be busy with summer camp those tween/early teen years (12-15), rather than having too much time at home to potentially get into trouble. If he stayed in daycare camp until 12 (when he ages out) then it would be unlikely that he would want to start a strange summer camp as a junior counselor, kwim?
I try to look at it as I am saving money now that he is no longer in daycare, but now I pay more in summer. So it is a wash, i guess!

Wow -- the price differences are amazing to me. Y camp in my areas is about $125 a week. $375 seems outrageous to me!

We have an awesome summer camp through the city parks and rec department that is 9 weeks for $275, not per week, TOTAL! The only extras we pay are packing their lunch and spending money for their weekly field trips (roller skating, baseball game, museum, bouncy house place, etc.). They go swimming every week, hiking, all kinds of fun things that sure beat sitting in front of the tv all day!



Yeah, that's our only issue, the camp is from 9-4, I work from 8:30 - 5, so we still pay someone (who's son also goes to the camp) to watch her for an hour in the morning and and hour after camp until we get home.

Nice! I wish I could find a camp for that price!

My DS will do YMCA camp for most of the summer, but we're also springing for a few "special" camps like Camp Invention, zoo camp, and a science camp. The Y camp is paid weekly, so if I send him to another camp, I don't have to still pay for Y camp. When he went to daycare "camp"< iI had to pay even if he didn't go for a week.

If I didn't have a full time job, I would totally have a camp in my backyard for kids. What a great idea for stay at home moms!

 

[mwatson011]

Wow, it is amazing how prices differ! Thank you to all who suggested boys/girls club, I called and they charge $105/week/child. This is about half of my next cheapest option, so I am thrilled!

I wonder what it would cost/entail to start up an at-home summer camp? I mean, really $200 per child per week, five kids and you are rolling in $1k a week! Include extended hours at no additional charge and that would be a bargain in this neck of the woods...but five kids on top of my own all day every day...heck, I would pay someone $1k to not make me do it!